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FOUNDATIONOur F i rm

It is the mission of Hope Interna-tional and the editors of OurFirm Foundation to clearlypresent Christ and His truth. Thedays that yet remain of thisworld are few, and what we dowe must do quickly. We mustboldly proclaim the historic truthsof Adventism that place us on sofirm a foundation in the midst ofthis troubled world.—EDITORS

Co-Editors—Ron Spear, Jeff WehrAssociate Editors—Alan Esselbach, Clark

Floyd, Beth Jennings, Harvey SteckProduction Manager—Harvey SteckContributing Editors—Colin Standish,

Russell StandishDesign & Layout—Eddie HernandezCirculation—Stan Drake

To Subscribe:Prices for the annual subscription are listedbelow. We have kept them as low aspossible; but if your finances cannot meetthe requested amount, just send whateveryou can. We want this material available toall, regardless of personal finances. If youwish to give a donation to assist in providingsubscriptions for those whose funds may belimited, send your gift marked “SubscriptionAssistance” to the address below. Yourdonation is tax deductible.

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Inquire for overseas air rates.Large Print Edition — US $60.00Audio subscription — (2 cassettes per

month): US $60.00 per year. For for-eign subscriptions please inquireregarding postage.

Hope International publications may beobtained from the following sources:

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Monday–Thursday: 9:00–5:30Friday: 9:00–12:00 Pacific

TimePhone: (360) 832-6602Fax: (360) 832-3720E-Mail: Editor@hopeint.orgWeb: http://www.hopeint.org

Copyright ©1999Hope International

Shipping Information: For all prod-ucts advertised in this publication (un-less otherwise noted):• Please add 10% of your total orderfor shipping, plus $2 for handling.• For destinations outside the USA,please add 15% plus $2 for handling.• If actual shipping chargers aregreater, you will be billed the differ-ence.Washington residents: Please add7.7% sales tax to your total order, in-cluding shipping and handling.All prices are in U.S. dollars.! Our Firm FOUNDATION February 1999

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All Christians believe in the deathand resurrection of Jesus Christ.Many Christians today believe thatHe is coming back very soon. Yet

only Seventh-day Adventists understandand proclaim that Christ began a specialwork in the Most Holy Place in the heav-enly sanctuary in 1844. This most pre-cious truth about Jesus is what has madeus “Adventists.” This most precious truthis what led our pioneers to keep all ofGod’s Ten Commandments—thus mak-ing us “Seventh-day Adventists.” Thismost precious truth has inspired greatmissionary efforts, making this the “Sev-enth-day Adventist Move-ment.” This most precioustruth has provided us with thebasis of our message—namely, the three angels’ mes-sages. See Revelation 14:6–12.This most precious truth hasbeen the catalyst behind ourAdventist lifestyle, making usamong the healthiest peopleon the globe. This most pre-cious truth reminds us everyday that earth’s probation isalmost over.

This most precious truth wasbased upon the 2300-dayprophecy found in Daniel 8:14.It was through careful study ofthe Bible that our pioneersknew that the 2300-day proph-ecy pointed to the time when the recordbooks would be opened and the judgmentprocess would begin. They recognized thatthis time prophecy would culminate in thefulfillment of the first angel’s message that“the hour of his [Christ’s] judgment iscome.” Revelation 14:7. It was the timeprophecy that would set in motion the sec-ond and third angels’ messages. See Rev-elation 14:8–12. Yes indeed, 1844 has madea difference in our world. It is the reasonwe exist as a church. I pray that it will con-tinue to make a difference in my life aswell as in yours.

The time is now that we must recom-mit our lives to our dear Saviour. “Whilethe investigative judgment is going forwardin heaven, while the sins of penitent be-lievers are being removed from the sanc-tuary, there is to be a special work of pu-rification, of putting away of sin, amongGod’s people upon earth. This work ismore clearly presented in the [three an-gels’] messages of Revelation 14.

“When this work shall have been ac-complished, the followers of Christ willbe ready for His appearing. ‘Then shallthe offering of Judah and Jerusalem bepleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of

old, and as in former years.’Malachi 3:4. Then the churchwhich our LORD at His comingis to receive to Himself will bea ‘glorious church, not havingspot, or wrinkle, or any suchthing.’ Ephesians 5:27.” TheGreat Controversy, 425.

It is time that we proclaimthis judgment-hour message toevery nation, kindred, tongue,and people. The grand workof the judgment has begun;Babylon has fallen; God’swrath will soon be meted outupon the disobedient. Everyday people are placed inChristless graves. Let us there-fore renew our commitment tospread the three angels’ mes-

sages far and wide. Let us never ceaseour efforts until the work is finished, untileveryone has heard, and finally until pro-bation closes. Let us go forward in faith,hope, and love knowing that He has or-dained this movement to exist. He is theSource of our strength and the Light ofour path. We have nothing to fear ex-cept if we languish in the lethargy ofLaodicea. Therefore, let us arise andshine for our redemption draweth nigh!Amen.

Jeff Wehr—CO-EDITOR

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THEN shall the kingdom of heavenbe likened unto ten virgins, whichtook their lamps, and went forth tomeet the bridegroom. And five ofthem were wise, and five were fool-

ish. They that were foolish took theirlamps, and took no oil with them: but thewise took oil in their vessels with theirlamps. While the bridegroom tarried, theyall slumbered and slept. And at midnightthere was a cry made, Behold, the bride-groom cometh; go ye out to meet him.Then all those virgins arose, and trimmedtheir lamps. And the foolish said unto thewise, Give us of your oil; for our lampsare gone out. But the wise answered, say-ing, Not so; lest there be not enough forus and you: but go ye rather to them thatsell, and buy for yourselves. And while theywent to buy, the bridegroom came; andthey that were ready went in with him tothe marriage: and the door was shut. Af-terward came also the other virgins, say-ing, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he an-swered and said, Verily I say unto you, Iknow you not. Watch therefore, for yeknow neither the day nor the hour whereinthe Son of man cometh.” Matthew 25:1–13.

A special message has come to ourworld in the messages of the first and sec-ond angels:

“And I saw another angel fly in themidst of heaven, having the everlastinggospel to preach unto them that dwell onthe earth, and to every nation, and kin-dred, and tongue, and people, Saying witha loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to

him; for the hour of his judgment is come:and worship him that made heaven, andearth, and the sea, and the fountains ofwaters. And there followed another angel,saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that greatcity, because she made all nations drink ofthe wine of the wrath of her fornication.”Revelation 14:6–8.

Under the proclamation of these mes-sages, the midnight cry was made, and thebelievers in the messages were compelledto go out from the churches because theypreached the second appearing of Christin the clouds of heaven. The whole worldwas to hear that message, “Behold, thebridegroom cometh; go ye out to meethim.” Here is theparable of the tenvirgins.

When the tenvirgins went forthto meet the bride-groom, their lampswere trimmed andburning. Five ofthese virgins werewise. They antici-pated delay, and filled their flagons withoil, prepared for any emergency. Fromthose flagons their lamps were supplied,and not left to go out. But five of theirnumber had not this foresight. They madeno provision for disappointment or delay.

The second call is made, and the tenvirgins are still watching for the bride-groom. Hour after hour passes. Their eyesare anxiously looking for the appearanceof the bridegroom. But there is a delay,

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and the weary, watching ones fallasleep. But at midnight, at the verydarkest hour, when their lamps aremost needed, the cry is heard, “Be-hold the bridegroom cometh.” Thesleeping eyes are opened. Everyoneis astir. They see the procession theyare to join moving on, bright withtorches and with music.

They hear the voice of the bride-groom and the voice of the bride.The five wise virgins trim their lampsfrom the oil in their flagons, andtheir lamps burn brightly.

“But five of them were foolish.”These had made no provisionwherewith to replenish their lamps,and when aroused from their slum-bers they found their lights goingout. Their flagons were empty.

Their first thought was to bor-row of their neighbors, and they saidto the wise virgins, “Give us of youroil; for our lamps are going out.”But the answer comes back, “Notso; lest there be not enough foryourselves and for us. Go ye ratherto them that sell, and buy for your-selves.” And while they went to buy,the procession moved on and leftthem behind. The bridal train en-tered within the house, and the doorwas shut. When the foolish virginsreached the banqueting hall, an un-expected denial was given them.They were left outside in the black-ness of the night. The door was shut.

All the Christian world is repre-sented in this parable. The brideconstitutes the church that is wait-ing for the second appearing of ourLord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Somewho have a nominal faith are notprepared for His coming. The oil ofgrace is not feeding their lamps, andthey are not prepared to enter in tothe marriage supper of the Lamb.The representation is such as to callforth our earnest study, that we mayknow what preparation we who areliving in the last days are to make,that we may enter in and partake ofthe marriage supper of the Lamb.We are to accept the last messageof mercy given to a fallen world:“Blessed are they that do his com-mandments, that they may haveright to the tree of life, and may en-ter in through the gates into thecity.” Revelation 22:14.

There is a delay in the comingof the Bridegroom in order that all

may have an opportunity to hear thelast message of mercy to a fallenworld. The first and second angels’messages are all united and com-plete in the third: “And the third an-gel followed them, saying with aloud voice, If any man worship thebeast and his image, and receive hismark in his forehead, or in his hand,the same shall drink of the wine ofthe wrath of God, which is pouredout without mixture into the cup ofhis indignation; and he shall be tor-mented with fire andbrimstone in the pres-ence of the holy an-gels, and in the pres-ence of the Lamb.”Revelation 14:9–10.

John was shownthese things in holy vi-sion. He saw the com-pany represented by thefive wise virgins, withtheir lamps trimmedand burning, and he ex-claimed in rapture,“Here is the patience ofthe saints: here are theythat keep the com-mandments of God,and the faith of Jesus.And I heard a voicefrom heaven saying unto me, Write,Blessed are the dead which die in theLord from henceforth: Yea, saith theSpirit, that they may rest from theirlabours; and their works do followthem.” Revelation 14:12–13.

Many who heard the first andsecond angels’ messages thoughtthey would live to see Christ com-ing in the clouds of heaven. Had allwho claimed to believe the truthacted their part as wise virgins, themessage would ere this have beenproclaimed to every nation, kindred,tongue, and people. But five werewise and five were foolish. The truthshould have been proclaimed by theten virgins, but only five had madethe provision essential to join thatcompany who walked in the lightthat had come to them. The thirdangel’s message was needed. Thisproclamation was to be made. Manywho went forth to meet the Bride-groom under the messages of thefirst and second angels, refused thethird angel’s message, the last test-ing message to be given to theworld.

A similar work will be accom-plished when that other angel, rep-resented in Revelation 18, gives hismessage. The first, second, and thirdangels’ messages will need to be re-peated. The call will be given to thechurch, “Come out of her, mypeople, that ye be not partakers ofher sins.” Revelation 18:4.

“Babylon the great is fallen, isfallen, and is become the habitationof devils, and the hold of every foulspirit, and a cage of every unclean

and hateful bird. Forall nations havedrunk of the wine ofthe wrath of her for-nication, and thekings of the earthhave committed for-nication with her,and the merchants ofthe earth are waxedrich through theabundance of herdelicacies. . . . Comeout of her, mypeople, that ye benot partakers of hersins, and that ye re-ceive not of herplagues. For her sinshave reached unto

heaven, and God hath rememberedher iniquities.” Verses 2–5.

Take each verse of this chapter,and read it carefully, especially thelast two: “And the light of a candleshall shine no more at all in thee;and the voice of the bridegroom andof the bride shall be heard no moreat all in thee: for thy merchants werethe great men of the earth; for bythy sorceries were all nations de-ceived. And in her was found theblood of prophets, and of saints, andof all that were slain upon the earth.”Verses 23–24.

The parable of the ten virginswas given by Christ Himself, and ev-ery specification should be carefullystudied. A time will come when thedoor will be shut. We are repre-sented either by the wise or the fool-ish virgins. We cannot now distin-guish, nor have we authority to say,who are wise and who foolish.There are those who hold the truthin unrighteousness, and these ap-pear outwardly like the wise.

Said Christ, “Every plant, whichmy heavenly Father hath not

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% Our Firm FOUNDATION February 1999

planted, shall be rooted up. . . .Those things which proceed out ofthe mouth come forth from theheart; and they defile the man. Forout of the heart proceed evilthoughts, murders, adulteries, for-nications, thefts, false witness, blas-phemies: these are the things whichdefile a man.” Matthew 15:13, 18–20.

It is impossible for men to readthe human heart, for the tares soclosely resemble the wheat. It is notgiven to human beings to try toseparate them. But the angels ofGod know them, for their fruits de-clare their character. Have they notbeen commissioned to counterworkthe work of those who fight againstthe truth of God’s Word? These an-gels will never make a mistake ingathering the wheat from among thetares.

“Beware of false prophets, whichcome to you in sheep’s clothing, butinwardly they are ravening wolves.Ye shall know them by their fruits.Do men gather grapes of thorns, orfigs of thistles? Even so every goodtree bringeth forth good fruit; but acorrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.A good tree cannot bring forth evilfruit, neither can a corrupt tree bringforth good fruit. Every tree thatbringeth not forth good fruit is hewndown, and cast into the fire. Where-fore by their fruits ye shall knowthem. Not every one that saith untome, Lord, Lord, shall enter into thekingdom of heaven; but he thatdoeth the will of my Father whichis in heaven. Many will say to me inthat day, Lord, Lord, have we notprophesied in thy name? and in thyname have cast out devils? and inthy name done many wonderfulworks? And then will I profess untothem, I never knew you: depart fromme, ye that work iniquity.” Matthew7:15–23.

This is the test. Those who arecounted among the wise virgins willlet their light burn in good works.There are many who will not remainat the feet of Jesus, and learn of Him.They have not a knowledge of Hisways. Let none rest in the idea thatbaptism has saved them, while theygive no evidence that they are con-formed to the image of Christ, whilethey cling to their old habits, whilethey exert their influence on the side

of the world, and weave their fab-ric with the threads of worldly ideasand customs. These have not keptthe oil in the vessels with theirlamps. They are not ready for theBridegroom. The oil is the holygrace that is sent from Heaven, and

there must be an inward adorningwith that grace, that they may beenabled to stand when Heappeareth.

The parable of the talents isgiven to represent the kingdom ofheaven, and to show the necessityof an accurate use of the endow-ments that God has entrusted to us.It is of the highest importance thatwe understand these parables andknow wherein they have any bear-ing upon us individually. The tenvirgins are represented as watchingin the evening of this earth’s his-tory. They represent the church ofprofessed Christians. This lessonshould fill our minds with seriousthought, and drive us to our Bibles,the Word of the living God. It shouldlead us to most earnest supplicationthat God will lead us into all truth.

Said Christ: “Therefore whoso-ever heareth these sayings of mine,and doeth them, I will liken himunto a wise man, which built hishouse upon a rock: and the rain de-scended, and the floods came, andthe winds blew, and beat upon thathouse; and it fell not: for it wasfounded upon a rock. And everyone that heareth these sayings ofmine, and doeth them not, shall belikened unto a foolish man, whichbuilt his house upon the sand: andthe rain descended, and the floodscame, and the winds blew, and beatupon that house; and it fell: and

great was the fall of it.” Matthew7:24–27.

The apostle says: “But ye, be-loved, building up yourselves onyour most holy faith, praying in theHoly Ghost, Keep yourselves in thelove of God, looking for the mercyof our Lord Jesus Christ unto eter-nal life. and of some have compas-sion, making a difference: and oth-ers save with fear, pulling them outof the fire; hating even the garmentspotted by the flesh. Now unto himthat is able to keep you from fall-ing, and to present you faultless be-fore the presence of his glory withexceeding joy, to the only wise Godour Saviour, be glory and majesty,dominion and power, both now andever. Amen.” Jude 20–25.

We must not stand in a neutralposition. Our position must be oneof strong and living faith. We are torear our houses for eternity, as isrepresented in the parable of thehearers and the doers of the Word.Those who are superficial in theirpiety may be willing to take thename of Christians, but they will notcomply with the conditions laiddown in the Word of God. They donot conform their characters to theWord of God and to the pattern Hehas given. All are hearers of theWord. They comment upon thatwhich they hear, but some, whilethey assent to the message sent byGod to them, do not have the faiththat will enable them to place theWord of God in their hearts. Godknows full well that if self does notdie, it will become a controllingpower in the soul. When the trans-forming power of God works uponthe hearts of men, then they are rep-resented by the wise virgins.

There are many who profess tobe the sons and daughters of Godwho have no connection with Him.But God sees every spot and stainthat is upon the characters of thosewho profess to follow Him, and Hewill prove every soul. He says: “Be-hold, I will send my messenger, andhe shall prepare the way before me:and the Lord, whom ye seek, shallsuddenly come to his temple, eventhe messenger of the covenant,whom ye delight in: behold, he shallcome, saith the LORD of hosts. Butwho may abide the day of his com-ing? and who shall stand when he

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February 1999 Our Firm FOUNDATION &

appeareth? for he is like a refiner’sfire, and like fullers’ soap: and heshall sit as a refiner and purifier ofsilver: and he shall purify the sonsof Levi, and purge them as gold andsilver, that they may offer unto theLORD an offering in righteousness.”Malachi 3:1–3.

God has commanded Hispeople: “Thou shalt love the LORD

thy God, and keep his charge, andhis statutes, and his judgments, andhis commandments, alway.” Deut-eronomy 11:1.

“And it shall come to pass, if yeshall hearken diligently unto mycommandments which I commandyou this day, to love the LORD yourGod, and to serve him with all yourheart and with all your soul, that Iwill give you the rain of your landin his due season, the first rain andthe latter rain, that thou mayestgather in thy corn, and thy wine,and thine oil. And I will send grassin thy fields for thy cattle, that thoumayest eat and be full.” Verses 13–15.

“And ye shall teach them yourchildren, speaking of them whenthou sittest in thine house, andwhen thou walkest by the way,when thou liest down, and whenthou risest up. And thou shalt writethem upon the door posts of thinehouse, and upon thy gates: that yourdays may be multiplied, and thedays of your children, in the landwhich the LORD sware unto your fa-thers to give them, as the days ofheaven upon the earth. For if yeshall diligently keep all these com-mandments which I command you,to do them, to love the LORD yourGod, to walk in all his ways, and tocleave unto him; then will the LORD

drive out all these nations from be-fore you, and ye shall possessgreater nations and mightier thanyourselves.” Verses 19–23.

“And Moses with the elders ofIsrael commanded the people, say-ing, Keep all the commandmentswhich I command you this day. Andit shall be on the day when ye shallpass over Jordan unto the landwhich the LORD thy God giveth thee,that thou shalt set thee up greatstones, and plaster them with plas-ter: and thou shalt write upon themall the words of this law, when thouart passed over, that thou mayest go

in unto the land which the LORD thyGod giveth thee, a land that flowethwith milk and honey; as the LORD

God of thy fathers hath promisedthee. Therefore it shall be when yebe gone over Jordan, that ye shallset up these stones, which I com-mand you this day, in mount Ebal,and thou shalt plaster them withplaster. And there shalt thou buildan altar unto the LORD thy God, analtar of stones: thou shalt not lift upany iron tool upon them. Thou shaltbuild the altar of the LORD thy Godof whole stones: and thou shalt of-fer burnt offerings thereon unto theLORD thy God: and thou shalt offerpeace offerings, and shalt eat there,and rejoice before the LORD thy God.And thou shalt write upon thestones all the words of this law veryplainly. And Moses and the prieststhe Levites spake unto all Israel, say-ing, Take heed, and hearken, O Is-rael; this day thou art become thepeople of the LORD thy God. Thoushalt therefore obey the voice of theLORD thy God, and do his command-ments and his statutes, which I com-mand thee this day.” Deuteronomy27:1–10.

The five wise virgins representthose who have perfected a Chris-tian character, who have washedtheir robes and made them white in

the blood of the Lamb. God’s mes-sage to His people is: “Remembertherefore how thou hast receivedand heard, and hold fast, and re-

pent. If therefore thou shalt notwatch, I will come on thee as a thief,and thou shalt not know what hourI will come upon thee. Thou hast afew names even in Sardis whichhave not defiled their garments; andthey shall walk with me in white:for they are worthy. He that over-cometh, the same shall be clothedin white raiment; and I will not blotout his name out of the book of life,but I will confess his name beforemy Father, and before his angels.”Revelation 3:3–5.

A great price has been paid forthe redemption of man, and nonewho are untruthful, impure, or un-righteous can enter the kingdom ofheaven. If men do not make Christtheir personal Saviour, and becometrue and pure and holy, there is onlyone course for the Lord to pursue.He must destroy the sinner, for evilnatures cannot inherit the kingdomof God. Thus it is that sin, if notdestroyed, will destroy the sinner,just as Satan designed it should.

As God made man, he was per-fect, reflecting the moral image ofGod. He was left free to choosegood or evil. If he should decide tochoose the evil, he must have theevil. And man abused the high pre-rogative of his nature. Christ gaveHis life to make it possible for all tobe wise virgins, partakers of the di-vine nature, that they might becomecomplete in Jesus Christ, perfect,without spot, and blameless. Thusthrough Jesus Christ human naturewas placed on vantage ground withGod, before the heavenly universeand the fallen world.

But the Lord does not releasemen from responsibility. “Work outyour own salvation,” He says, “withfear and trembling. For it is Godwhich worketh in you both to willand to do of his good pleasure.”Philippians 2:12–13. Here is a co-operation of God with man and manwith God. Here is encouragementfor the most earnest, noble strivings.Christ declares that the life is morethan meat, and the body than rai-ment. “What shall it profit a man,”He says, “if he shall gain the wholeworld, and lose his own soul? Orwhat shall a man give in exchangefor his soul?” Mark 8:36–37.

Continued on page 15

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' Our Firm FOUNDATION February 1999

By David Lin

!"#$%&'"(%")#)!*

TTHE Bible opens wi th a God who speaks. He spoke all things

into existence, and on the first day of human activity, God

spoke to man and gave Him orders to follow. Man understood

and learned to speak God’s language, and was soon giving

names to all the animals that God had made. See Genesis 2:19.

Man was given dominion over them.From the beginning, God and man

were in close communion.

Christ, the Son of God, came as the Word of God, teaching us that all creation is amanifestation of God’s mind, which we are privileged to receive by thoughtfully pon-dering over every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

Satan alienated man from God. Consequently, the moment man sinned, he becameafraid of God, and hid himself. God met the challenge by implementing His plan ofsalvation, which would reconcile man to God and replace fear with love. The planinvolved the Word-Made-Flesh, the Son of God, coming to earth as a Man to revealGod’s love, so that men could know God’s love and be reconciled to Him.

The plan of salvation involved an act on God’s part, and the act must be put intowords to impact the minds of men and women alienated from Him. The reconciliationGod sought depended on the power of His Word to convince mankind of His love. Sothe crux of the solution lay in communication.

!"#$%&'"(%")#)!*

by David LinDavid Lin writesfrom California.He is probablybest known forhis book ChinaLetters, acollection of hislettersconcerning thetheological crisisin the SDAChurch.

February 1999 Our Firm FOUNDATION (

!<#&'4#*$//%"127#"('#C$?/'8"('7#*$//#%''"()"#"('#A-/7D+$,$"8#*($.($4%+$,'2#"('*,$"$43#-<#"('D.,$+"1,'%8#%)7%"()"#A'#*$//.-4"$41'#"-%+')9#"-#A$%.(1,.(#"(,-13("('#3$<"#-<+,-+('.7:

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!"#"$%&'%#%()*"+$God first spoke to men orally.

Due to their length of life span andgood memory, the ancientsneeded no written records. Storiesof God’s dealings with men weretransmitted from one generation toanother by word of mouth, whichmay be termed “fluid” revelationsfrom God.

However, men became forget-ful, and the need for writtenrecords arose. The first writtenrecord of God’s commandments tomen was made by God Himself—engraved in stone and preservedin a chest called the “ark of thetestament.” Moses was then toldby God to write the Decalogue andadditional instructions in a book,called the Torah. It was the first“solidified” record of God’s deal-ings with men. For about a thou-sand years, it was the recognized“Bible” of the Jews. See Nehemiah8:1–12.

During that millennium moreprophetic writings accumulated tocomprise a second group of “fluid”revelat ions, which af ter theBabylonian exile were collected byEzra and placed with the Torah tocomprise the canon of the JewishScriptures, thus effecting a secondsolidification of divine revelation.

,-%&.$%/0&)*&1+23The entrance of sin was the

work of the “father of lies,” whohas been at work from the begin-ning to warp and block the mes-sages of God to man. As God com-municated with men, Satan triedto interfere, and, if possible, to si-lence God completely. One tacticwas to harden the hearts of theJewish leaders, making them de-clare the canon of Scripture closed.They held that no more writingscould be added to the 39 books.

This rigid stance of the Jewishleaders was part of the reason fortheir rejection of John the Baptistand Jesus Christ, leading eventu-ally to the Jewish nation being fi-nally rejected by God as His cho-sen people. See Matthew 21:43.

Then began a third period offluid revelation, when the NewTestament books were written. Af-ter some 200 years of fluidity,

twenty-seven manu-scripts, circulating inear ly Chr is t ianchurches, solidified intothe New TestamentScriptures. This wasagain accompanied byan effort to silence theprophetic gift forever.

Did it mean that withthe closing of the NewTestament canon, God’sWord was confined tothe ancient documentswritten before the sec-ond century, and thatHe could no longerspeak directly to Hispeople of modern times? God hasnever bound Himself in this way,but Satan always tries to silenceGod’s voice. If men will study theBible, they will see that the HolySpirit, which inspired the writingof the Scriptures, says that He willcontinue to speak to His churchthrough the gift of prophecy. See1 Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians4:11. This gift is “for the perfect-ing of the saints . . . till we all comein the unity of the faith.” Ephesians4:12-13. The presence and work ofprophets, both men and women,in the early church are recordedin Acts 13:1; 21:9–10.

Then came an era of spiritualdearth when no true prophet isknown to have arisen, and evenfluid revelation ceased. The papalapostasy lasted 1260 years, whilethe suspension of the gift ofprophecy was much longer—about seventeen centuries, duringwhich time as also during Samuel’stime, “there was no open vision.”1 Samuel 3:1.

,-%&4"5*&'%6*+2%7Now, it would be inconsistent

of God to give the gift of proph-ecy to His church and then to letit die off after one hundred years.No. That is not God’s will. He hasforetold in the Revelation that thegift of prophecy would be revivedin His remnant church. In Revela-tion 3:14 Christ introduces Himselfto the angel of the church of Lao-dicea, saying, “These things saiththe Amen, the faithful and true wit-ness, the beginning of the creation

of God.” Here theGreek wordmartus for “wit-ness” is the stemin marturia,translated “testi-mony” in Revela-tion 19:10 whereit says, “the testi-mony of Jesus isthe spir i t ofp r o p h e c y . ”Christ, the Begin-ning of the Cre-ation, is also Lordof the Sabbath.

So we havethree texts to

show that the gift of prophecy willreappear in God’s church in theend time. The third text is Revela-tion 12:17: “The dragon was wrothwith the woman, and went tomake war with the remnant of herseed, which keep the command-ments of God, and have the testi-mony of Jesus Christ.” Revelation19:10 explains, “The testimony ofJesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

The next step is to identifyGod’s true church, which is called“the remnant” of the woman’sseed. Revelation 12:17 says theyare they “which keep the com-mandments of God, and have thetestimony of Jesus.” Of religiousbodies that keep the seventh-daySabbath today, only Seventh-dayAdventists have a prophet. Ofchurches which claim to haveprophets, only Seventh-day Ad-ventists keep the true Sabbath. Soonly one church—the Seventh-dayAdvent is t Church—meets theterms in Revelation 12:17. We arevalidated by default.

No wonder the devil has raisedup his agents to attack both of themarks of the true church—the sev-enth-day Sabbath and our prophetE. G. White [the Spirit of Proph-ecy]!

The “apostolic letter” of PopeJohn Paul II is the latest attack onthe true Sabbath. To make up forhis lack of scriptural authority, thepope says that the meaning of theSabbath was transferred to Sunday,because Christians felt that theyhad the authority to do so. In para-graph 63 of “Dies Domini” he says,

)* Our Firm FOUNDATION February 1999

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“This is why Christians,called as they are toproclaim the liberationwon by the blood ofChrist, felt that theyhad the authority totransfer the meaning ofthe Sabbath to the dayof Resurrection.”

All the pious rheto-ric that accompaniesthese words, plus quo-ta t ions f rom manychurch fathers andcouncils, add up to apal t ry argumentagainst a plain “Thussaith the Lord.” Theseventh-day Sabbathremains the only daysanctified by the Lordof hosts, who wrote the Sabbathcommand in stone and said, “Mycovenant will I not break, nor al-ter the thing that is gone out ofmy lips.” Psalms 89:34.

Walter Rea and his able fight-ers continue to attack Ellen Whiterelentlessly. We are not afraid; Godwill not be silenced. Walter Reaand his associates have yet to finda prophet other than Ellen Whiteto fulfill the prophecies of Revela-tion 3:14; 12:17 and 19:10. We restassured that she fills the bill by de-fault—she alone meets all the con-ditions of prophecy! No othercontemporaneous man or womanbegins to meet even half of them.

God began the prophetic linewith Moses, and ended it with “theweakest of the weak.” Ellen Whiteoften referred to herself with thesewords: “We have this treasure inearthen vessels, that the excellencyof the power may be of God, andnot of us.” 2 Corinthians 4:7.

The age-old objection that Ad-ventists are trying to “canonize”the Ellen G. White writings is astale tactic easy to foil. While notregarding her writings as an addi-tion to the New Testament canon,we believe that God is as free tospeak through a prophet today aswhen He spoke through Agabusand the other prophets in the firstcentury. God refuses to be gaggedby Walter Rea and his supportersdespite anyone’s rabid altercations.The glorious truths of God are to

be heard by Hisobedient children,and He is free tochoose His ownmouthpiece. I fmodern prophet-killers insist on ex-huming Ellen G.White to put her toshame, they willsoon realize thatthey have madefools of them-selves, and are fi-nally the biggestlosers.

89//)20Since God first

spoke the worldinto existence, He

has often spoken to men. He firstcommunicated directly, and thenthrough men and women to whomHe gave the gift of prophecy. Satanhas striven to silence God’s voicesince the times of antiquity, and heis still active today.

Divine revelation remained in afluid state until God wrote theDecalogue in stone and com-manded Moses to write the Torah.These records comprised the first so-lidification of divine revelation—tobe followed by another period offluid revelation. Over 30 inspireddocuments collected later by Ezrawere bound up with the Torah toform the Old Testament canon. Itmarked a second stage of solidifiedrevelation. Satan blinded the Jewsto the truths of Scripture. Thoughthey expected Elijah and the Mes-siah to come, the Jewish leadersdeclared the Scripture canon closed.They boasted that they knew all thetruth. Therefore, they rejected thenew light brought by John the Bap-tist and Jesus Christ. The tragic re-sult was that God had to reject theJewish nation as His chosen people.

Then a new stage of fluid rev-elation commenced. After the NewTestament canon was closed, andthe great apostasy began, the pro-phetic gift was suspended for manycenturies. It was restored in 1844,when God raised up His remnantchurch to proclaim the three angels’messages. In this church Godblessed His people with a compo-

nent of the “latter rain,” manifestedin the writings of the gift of proph-ecy.

Three prophetic texts in Revela-tion 3:14; 12:17; 19:10 foretell therestoration of the prophetic gift toGod’s remnant church. Only thewillfully blind fail to see the truththat these three texts point to theappearance of a modern prophet inthe last days. Revelation 12:17 de-mands that this gift of prophecy beassociated with a people who keepall the commandments of God.

Within the time frame of thenineteenth century, three modernprophets contend for recognition—Joseph Smith, Mary Baker Eddy andEllen White. The first two fail tomeet the condition of Revelation12:17 that the end-time prophetmust be a commandment keeper, soEllen White is validated by default.She also meets all other tests of atrue spokesperson for God.

:+$;(96"+$One more significant fact regard-

ing Ellen White calls for attention.The quantity and quality of her writ-ings are without equal. Their homi-letic value and spiritual tenor are ofthe highest order—worthy of awriter inspired of God. The pro-phetic chapters of The Great Con-troversy are most valuable. Thesebooks have proved to be a veritabledownpour of the “latter rain” tohonest-in-heart readers.

In the days of Elijah there werethree-and-a-half years of drought,prefiguring the spiritual famine ofthe Dark Ages. Then at the end ofthat period there was the sound ofan “abundance of rain.” 1 Kings18:41. This has worked out in thehistory of the Church. As the DarkAges have given way to the time ofthe end, the remnant people, whokeep the commandments of Godand have the testimony of Jesus,now appear on the stage of history.An “abundance of rain” has materi-alized in the voluminous writings ofthe Spirit of Prophecy. Seventh-dayAdventists have a rich heritage oftruth—far in advance of otherchurches—yet many of us fail to seeits worth!

“Blessed are your eyes, for theysee” (Matthew 13:16), says our

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February 1999 Our Firm FOUNDATION ))

!"#$%&'()#*+,-$.$/#&+&'*$0#1'23-#(345$641#$7(3#2('3+4('*

12#,#(3,$3"#,#$8194-+()$-##3+(),:

Milwaukie, OR . . . . . . . Mar. 6Witchita Evangelical Church, Witchita Ave.

Milton-Freewater, OR . Mar. 20Senior Center, 311 N. Main

McDonald, TN . . . Mar. 26–27The Ruitan Club, School Street

Fontana, CA . . . . . . . . Apr. 17First American Bapt. Church, 8282 Juniper Ave.

Eatonville, WA . . . . . May 3–8Spring Week of Prayer

Speakers: Ray DeCarlo, John Davis

Alvarado, TX . . . . . . May 7–9Alvarado Senior Center, 200 N. Spears

Milton-Freewater, OR . May 15Senior Center, 311 N. Main

Portland, TN . . . . May 20–231099 Wattwood Hollow Rd.

Eatonville, WA . . . . . Aug. 3–8Hope International’s

1999 Eatonville Camp Meeting

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UpcomingMeetings

UpcomingMeetings

Lord to His remnant people. Letus cherish and study the new lightshining upon us today. It is ashame that some of God’s peoplehave been deceived by Walter Reaand his associates. It is just as sadthat others, who have not dis-carded Ellen G. White’s writings,have let them collect dust on theirshelves. These books are a giftfrom our Redeemer—spiritual ar-mament for His people to help us

prepare for the final conflict. Thetime of trouble is near; we mustfortify our minds with the precioustruths contained in these books.They comprise an inspired appli-cator of God’s Word—applying itin the right place at the right timeto help us prepare for translation.

“ ‘Watch ye therefore . . . lestcoming suddenly he find you sleep-ing.’ Mark 13:35–36. Perilous is thecondition of those who, growing

!"#$%&'#()*+),*-(##.$/*0.1.2

Words of the Pioneers(2nd Ed.) contains over 33,000pages of early SDA writings. Itincludes over 200 works by 15major SDA pioneers, plus thefirst 22 volumes of the AdventReview and Sabbath Herald,plus several General Confer-ence Bulletins. It also containsthree other infobases, includ-ing the KJV Bible, d’Aubigné’sHistory of the Reformation, anda few recent SDA authors. It isthe only electronic source ofmost of these writings.

This CD-ROM, works either on IBM compatables running Windows 3.1 or Win-dows 95, or on Macintosh computers. All words are indexed and searchable withthe included software program, FolioVIEWS.

ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY for only $195.*

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Over 50 rare and historical classic Chris-tian resources. Works by Allix, d’Aubigné,Benedict, Wylie, Foxe, Knox, Calvin,Josephus, and many more! Also includesover 650 Reformation-era graphic illus-trations.

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weary of their watch, turn to the at-tractions of the world. While theman of business is absorbed in thepursuit of gain, while the pleasurelover is seeking indulgence, whilethe daughter of fashion is arrang-ing her adornments—it may be inthat hour the Judge of all the earthwill pronounce the sentence: ‘Thouart weighed in the balances, and artfound wanting.’ Daniel 5:27.” TheGreat Controvery, 491. !

!"#$%&'%()$%(*

!"#$%&'($)&*$)+,&

)! Our Firm FOUNDATION February 1999

F

for !eaven.

by Ron Spear

For six thousand years now the greatcontroversy has been in process. Godhas given to the human race in everygeneration the opportunity to prepare

their lives and characters for eternity. Butonly a very few in every generation havebeen willing to be made willing to acceptGod’s conditions of salvation—obedienceto God’s perfect law of liberty. It is notwhat man could do but those very few be-lieved that God had the power to do it inthem and they put forth every effort to en-ter in at the strait gate from the very nar-row way that leads to the city of God andeternal life.

“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wideis the gate, and broad is the way, thatleadeth to destruction, and many there bewhich go in thereat: Because strait is thegate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth

unto life, and few there be that find it.”Matthew 7:13-14.

“We are to strive, to agonize, to enterin at the strait gate; for many shall seekto enter in, and shall not be able. It willtake something more than mere seekingto enter in at the strait gate; for the gateto death is wide, and the road broad,and easy of access, and many there bethat go in thereat. If we would enter inat the strait gate, we must be partakersof the sufferings of Christ.” Review andHerald, July 5, 1892.

“Be not deceived. God is not mocked.Nothing but holiness will prepare youfor heaven. It is sincere, experimentalpiety alone that can give you a pure, el-evated character and enable you to en-ter into the presence of God, whodwelleth in light unapproachable. The

Ron Spear, authorand revivalist, is thefounding editor ofOur FirmFoundation. He hasserved the churchas a missionary,Union DepartmentSecretary,evangelist, pastor,and Field Secretaryfor the Review andHerald.

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heavenly character must be ac-quired on earth, or it can never beacquired at all.

“Desires for goodness and trueholiness are right so far as they go;but if you stop here, they will availnothing. Good pur-poses are right, butwill prove of no availunless resolutely car-ried out. Many will belost while hoping anddesiring to be Chris-tians; but they madeno earnest effort,therefore they will beweighed in the bal-ances and foundwanting. The willmust be exercised inthe right direction. Iwill be a whole-hearted Christian. Iwill know the lengthand breadth, theheight and depth, ofperfect love.

“L is ten to thewords of Jesus:‘Blessed are they which do hun-ger and thirst after righteousness:for they shall be filled.’ Ample pro-visions are made by Christ to sat-isfy the soul that hungers andthirs ts for r ighteousness .”Maranatha, 46.

God’s conditions for salvationis holiness—perfection of charac-ter—man cannot attain to this highstandard on his own by his goodworks. He must believe that Godis willing to do in him that whichis impossible for him to do with-out the union of the Holy Spirit’spower. Man’s part is to be madewilling to be made willing to al-low God to hold him in a dailyrelationship of justification andsanctification. See Selected Mes-sages, book 1, 366, 397; Matthew5:48; 1 Peter 1:15–16.

“For it is God which workethin you both to will and to do ofhis good pleasure. Do all thingswithout murmurings anddisputings.” Philippians 2:13–14.

“The Spirit of God does notpropose to do our part, either inthe willing or the doing. . . . Assoon as we incline our will to har-monize with God’s will, the grace

of Christ stands ready to cooper-ate with the human agent; but itwill not be the substitute to do ourwork independent of our resolv-ing and decidedly acting. There-fore it is not the abundance of

light, and evidencepiled upon evidence,that will convert thesoul. It is only thehuman agent accept-ing the light, arous-ing the energies ofthe will , realizingand acknowledgingthat which he knowsis righteousness andtruth, and thus coop-erat ing with theheavenly ministra-tions appointed ofGod in the saving ofthe soul.

“If the sinner orthe backslider settleshimself in disobedi-ence and sin, thelight may flash fromheaven al l about

him, . . . without breaking the be-witching power of falsehood andthe spell of the world’s decep-tion. . . .

“Obey not the voice of the de-ceiver, which is in harmony withthe unsanctified will, but obey theimpulse that God has given. . . .Everything is at stake. Will the hu-man agent cooperate with the di-vine ‘to will and to do’? If manplaces his will on God’s side, fullysurrendering self to God’s will, thehigh and holy endeavor of the hu-man agent takes down the obstruc-tion he himself has erected, therubbish is cleared away from thedoor of the heart, the defiance bar-ricading the soul is broken down.The door of the heart is openedand Jesus enters, to abide as a wel-come guest.” In Heavenly Places,27.

God has to be absolutely surethat we are safe to save. Ninety-nine percent is not acceptable withHeaven. Lucifer’s one-percent re-bellion soon became a one-hun-dred-percent rebell ion whichbrought war to heaven and sin intothis world. Let us take courage.The thief on the cross was one

hundred percent. All rebellion wasgone. He was justified and sancti-fied and safe to save.

“Christ died to make it possiblefor you to cease to sin.” Reviewand Herald, August 28, 1894.

“He that saith he abideth in himought himself also so to walk, evenas he walked. 1 John 2:6.

“We have before us the high-est, holiest example. In thought,word, and deed Jesus was sinless.Perfection marked all that He did.He points us to the path that Hetrod, saying, ‘If any man will comeafter me, let him deny himself, andtake up his cross, and follow me.’Matthew 16:24.

“Christ unites in His person thefullness and perfection of the God-head and the fullness and perfec-tion of sinless humanity. He met allthe temptations by which Adam wasassailed, and overcame these temp-tations because in His humanity Herelied upon divine power. This sub-ject demands far more contempla-tion than it receives. Christians striketoo low. They are content with asuperficial spiritual experience, andtherefore they have only theglimmerings of light, when . . . theymight discern more clearly the won-derful perfection of Christ’s human-ity, which rises far above all humangreatness, all human power. Christ’slife is a revelation of what fallen hu-man beings may become throughunion and fellowship with the di-vine nature. . . .

“Men and women frame manyexcuses for their proneness to sin.Sin is represented as a necessity,an evil that cannot be overcome.But sin is not a necessity. Christlived in this world from infancy tomanhood, and during that time Hemet and resisted all the tempta-tions by which man is beset. He isa perfect pattern of childhood, ofyouth, of manhood.

“The life of Christ has shownwhat humanity can do by beingpartaker of the divine nature. Allthat Christ received from God wetoo may have. Then ask and re-ceive. . . . Let your life be knit byhidden links to the life of Jesus.”The Faith I Live By, 219.

Satan has brought into some ofour pulpits his gospel—you are

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saved in sin—the devil’s greatestlie! He has captured the world withhis false gospel, which leads to thebroad way and to destruction. Thestrait gate is the very narrow way.Only those who are willing to bemade willing to obey by the powerof the Holy Spirit will finally reachthe gates of the city of God. Theprice of our salvation is obedienceto known truth without a compro-mise.

In closing, this inspired state-ment from the pen of God’s last dayprophet will inspire the true seekerfor truth by obedience:

“For it became him, for whomare all things, and by whom are allthings, in bringing many sons untoglory, to make the captain of theirsalvation perfect through sufferings.Hebrews 2:10.

“Christ’s invitation to us all is acall to a life of peace and rest—alife of liberty and love, and to arich inheritance in the future im-mortal life. . . . We need not bealarmed if this path of liberty islaid through conflicts and suffer-ings. The liberty we shall enjoy willbe the more valuable because wemade sacrifices to obtain it. Thepeace which passeth knowledgewill cost us battles with the pow-ers of darkness, struggles severeagainst selfishness and inwardsins. . . .

“We cannot appreciate our Re-deemer in the highest sense untilwe can see Him by the eye of faithreaching to the very depths of hu-man wretchedness, taking uponHimself the nature of man, the ca-pacity to suffer, and by sufferingputting forth His divine power tosave and lift sinners up to compan-

ionship with Himself. O why have weso little sense of sin? Why so littlepenitence? It is because we do notcome nearer the cross of Christ. Con-science becomes hardened throughthe deceitfulness of sin, because weremain away from Christ. Consider theCaptain of our salvation. He sufferedshame for us that we might not suffer

everlasting shame and contempt. Hesuffered on the cross, that mercymight be granted to fallen man. God’sjustice is preserved, and guilty man ispardoned. Jesus dies that the sinnermight live. Shame is borne by the Sonof the Highest for the sake of poorsinners, that they might be ransomedand crowned with eternal glory. . . .

“We must hide self in Jesus Christ,and let Him appear in our conversa-tion and character as the One alto-gether lovely, and the chief amongten thousand. Our lives, our deport-ment, will testify how highly we prizeChrist and the salvation He haswrought out for us at such a cost toHimself. While we look constantly toHim whom our sins have pierced andour sorrows have burdened, we shallacquire strength to be like Him. Weshall bind ourselves in willing, happy,captivity to Jesus Christ.” That I MayKnow Him, 287.

This promise is for God’s faith-ful few in this final generation:

“In the way that leads to the Cityof God there are no difficultieswhich those who trust in Him maynot overcome. There are no dangerswhich they may not escape. Thereis not a sorrow, not a grievance, nota human weakness, for which Hehas not provided a remedy.” TheMinistry of Healing, 249. !

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Christ has made it possible for manto rise in moral value with God. Byresisting all wrong, by subduing theevil temper, selfishness, and pride, hemay attain to the righteousness ofChrist. Man is to become one withChrist in God. Sin is degrading, andthere is no place for it in heaven. It isour privilege to have the power ofself-control, and if we do not have it,we reveal that sin still reigns in ourmortal bodies. In Christ is all suffi-ciency for a self-directed life. “Let himtake hold of my strength, that he maymake peace with me;” He says, “andhe shall make peace with me.” Isaiah27:5.

The ten virgins all claim to beChristians, but five are true and fiveare false. All have a name, a call, alamp, and all claim to be doing Godservice. All apparently watch for Hisappearing. All started apparentlyprepared, but five were wanting.Five were found surprised, dis-mayed, without oil, outside thewedding banquet, and the door wasshut. There are many who cry peace,peace, when there is no peace. Thisis the most perilous belief for thehuman soul to entertain. Christspeaks to all who bear His name,who claim to be His followers, toeat His flesh and drink His blood,else they can have no part with Him.Be not like the foolish virgins, whotake for granted that the promisesof God are theirs, while they do notlive as Christ has enjoined uponthem. Christ teaches us that profes-sion is nothing. “If any man willcome after me,” He says, “let himdeny himself, and take up his crossdaily, and follow me.” Luke 9:23.

Let no one take for granted thathe is saved. Sanctification is thework of a lifetime. Said Christ,“Whosoever therefore shall breakone of these least commandments,and shall teach men so, he shall becalled the least in the kingdom ofheaven: but whosoever shall do andteach them, the same shall be calledgreat in the kingdom of heaven. ForI say unto you, That except yourrighteousness shall exceed the right-eousness of the scribes and Phari-sees, ye shall in no case enter intothe kingdom of heaven.” Matthew5:19–20.

When we stand the test of God,in the refining, purifying process,when the furnace fires consume thedross, and the true gold of a puri-fied character appears, then we maysay as did Paul, “Not as though Ihad already attained, either were al-ready perfect: but I follow after. . . .This one thing I do, forgetting thosethings which are behind, and reach-ing forth unto those things whichare before, I press toward the markfor the prize of the high calling ofGod in Christ Jesus.” Philippians3:12–14.

These parables were spoken af-ter the solemn lessons given in thetwenty-third and twenty-fourthchapters of Matthew, when Christdwelt particularly upon His secondcoming, and revealed things whichwould transpire before His secondappearing in the clouds of heaven.“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,” Christsaid, “thou that killest the prophets,and stonest them which are sentunto thee, how often would I havegathered thy children together, evenas a hen gathereth her chickens un-der her wings, and yewould not!” Matthew23:37.

In this lamentationover Jerusalem isgiven the assuranceof protection to allwho will come untoChrist. He will acceptand protect them,poor, defenseless, de-pendent, even as thehen spreads her pro-tecting wings overher brood. If herchickens wanderfrom her, the hen hasa peculiar call bywhich she warnsthem of peril or storm. If they willheed the danger signal, and canreach their mother’s protectingwings, they find warmth and safety,for she will defend them while shehas any life. She forgets herself, andwill give her life in defending herhelpless little flock.

What a touching figure is this!What an idea it gives us of thewatchful care of Christ for all whotrust in Him. Christ longed to gatherIsrael under His mediatorial wings.He longed to hear their voice call-

ing upon Him, and saying: “Holdup my goings in thy paths, that myfootsteps slip not. I have called uponthee, for thou wilt hear me, O God:incline thine ear unto me, and hearmy speech. Shew thy marvellousloving-kindness, O thou that savestby thy right hand them which puttheir trust in thee from those thatrise up against them. Keep me asthe apple of the eye, hide me underthe shadow of thy wings.” Psalm17:5–8.

“Thy mercy, O LORD, is in theheavens; and thy faithfulnessreacheth unto the clouds. Thy right-eousness is like the great mountains;thy judgments are a great deep: OLORD, thou preservest man and beast.How excellent is thy loving-kindness, O God! therefore the chil-dren of men put their trust underthe shadow of thy wings. They shallbe abundantly satisfied with the fat-ness of thy house; and thou shaltmake them drink of the river of thypleasures. For with thee is the foun-tain of life: in thy light shall we seelight. O continue thy lovingkindness

unto them that knowthee; and thy righ-teousness to the up-right in heart. Let notthe foot of pride comeagainst me, and let notthe hand of thewicked remove me.”Psalm 36:5–11.

“I will abide in thytabernacle for ever: Iwill trust in the covertof thy wings.” Psalm61:4.

But Christ couldnot do for Israel allthat He desired to do,because they wouldnot respond to His in-

vitations. “Ye would not,” He said.Their will was stubborn and un-yielding. His last words to the im-penitent nation were, “Behold, yourhouse is left unto you desolate. ForI say unto you, Ye shall not see mehenceforth, till ye shall say, Blessedis he that cometh in the name ofthe Lord.” Matthew 23:37–39. !

Manuscript Releases, vol. 16, 267–276.

Continued from page 7

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)% Our Firm FOUNDATION February 1999

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DearReader,DearReader,

We haveprovided thisNewsWatchcorner inorder to keepyou postedon headlinenews thatrelates withprophesiedlast-dayevents.

If you havea news item ofinterest andwould like toshare it withus, please sendus a copy. Seepage 2 for ourmailingaddress andfax number.

<%7%2)(&=>%$;"%6&=/+$>

8%2"+96&8*2)>>(%26& "$&?@A

B2%C)2)*"+$6“With roughly a year to go un-

til ‘Y2K Day,’ opinions on the ex-tent of the Year 2000 computerproblem are divided.

“Some await the apocalypse;others think the problem will bemerely annoying. In any case, thefederal government’s own out-look inspires little confidence.

“Should the most dire predic-tions about the problems cometrue, the new millennium willpack quite a wallop: phones andlights won’t work, automatic tell-ers won’t give cash, airports willclose and paychecks won’t showup in the mail.

“Is the one year remainingenough time to prevent Y2Kproblems?

“Joel Willemssen of the U.S.General Accounting Officedoesn’t sugarcoat his answer. ‘Allthe government agencies will notbe done on time. There will besome failures,’ he says.

“ ‘Right now as a country wedo not know where we stand onwater, power and telecommuni-cations. If you don’t have water,power or telecom, you can’t getthe job done,’ he says.” RickLockridge, CNN, December 29,1998.

The Bible states that “A pru-dent man foreseeth the evil, andhideth himself: but the simplepass on, and are punished.” Prov-erbs 22:3. May we as Christiansbe truly prudent in light of theportentous events before us.

D$79(>%$;%6&*+&E%(C&F)23

42)$7&G9H"(%%“The Vatican today released

the papal bull IncarnationisMysterium, signed by Pope JohnPaul II, formally announcing theGrand Jubilee of 2000.” CatholicWorld News, November 29, 1998.The pope states that “the GreatJubilee of the Year 2000 will be-gin on Christmas Eve 1999” and

“will continue until theclosing of the JubileeYear on the day of . . .6 January 2001.”IncarnationisMysterium ,Sect. 6.

Speakingof “the ecumeni-cal character of theJubilee” (Ibid., Sect. 4),the pope declares: “May the Ju-bilee serve to advance mutualdialogue until the day when allof us together—Jews, Christiansand Moslems—will exchange thegreeting of peace in Jerusalem.”Ibid., Sect. 2. In the Biblical bookof Revelation we are told, speak-ing of the powers of earth, that,“These have one mind, and shallgive their power and strengthunto the beast.” Revelation 17:13.

The pope speaks of threesigns linked to the Jubilee: pil-grimage, the sign of the holydoor, and indulgences [the remis-sion of punishment still due fora sin that has been sacramentallyabsolved. American HeritageDictionary, 694]. Are these re-quirements of Holy Scripture? —No, a thousand times no! “Theconditions of obtaining mercy ofGod are simple and just and rea-

sonable. TheLord doesnot requireus to dosome griev-ous thing inorder that wemay have the

forgiveness of sin. We need notmake long and wearisome pil-grimages, or perform painful pen-ances, to commend our souls tothe God of heaven or to expiateour transgression; but he thatconfesseth and forsaketh his sinshall have mercy. See Proverbs28:13.” Steps to Christ, 37.

The pope also speaks of his“historic memories,” referring tothe year A.D. 1300 when “PopeBoniface VIII solemnly inaugu-

rated the first Jubilee in history.”Incarnationis Mysterium, Sect. 5(the first in papal history that is).The pope seems to have forgot-ten what type of man PopeBoniface was, “of whom impar-tial history says, ‘Of all the Ro-man Pontiffs, Boniface has leftthe darkest name for craft, arro-gance, ambition, even for avariceand cruelty.’ ” Millers Church His-tory, 532.

As for the reason whyBoniface instituted this first Jubi-lee, contrary to what Pope JohnPaul says—that he was respond-ing to the wishes of the peopleof Rome (IncarnationisMysterium, Sect. 5)—history re-lates that it was “to replenish thepapal treasury,” and as historygoes on to testify: “The plan wasa complete success.” Large sumswere gathered into the papal trea-sury. The Age of Faith, by WillDurant, 813. Inspiration, speak-ing of the papal power, pointsout that she was “decked withgold and precious stones andpearls, having a golden cup inher hand.” Revelation 17:4. Whowould dispute the fact that theRoman Catholic Church is by farthe wealthiest church in theworld? In any case, we surely candeduce that the upcoming Jubi-lee will bring another large in-crease into the papal coffers.

These and a multitude ofother events herald the sooncoming of our great King JesusChrist! May we all be ready forthat magnificent and grand eventis my prayer.

February 1999 Our Firm FOUNDATION )&

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Philip Garber

I n the following write-upfrom the Berea BaptistBanner, November 5,

1998, is given a supposedhistory of the Sabbath,which really refers to Sun-day when the word “Sab-bath” is used. The articlebegins as follows:

“In the year 321 A.D.Constantine made the firstlaw enforcing the obser-vance of the first day of theweek. This law reflected theviews of the Christian be-lievers of the empire.”Christian News, November30, 1998.

The first issue we mustaddress is whether Con-stantine’s Sunday law actu-ally reflected the views ofChristians in the RomanEmpire at that time. Onequestion we might ask is,Was the Christianity ofConstantine’s day of thepure and holy character asthat which marked the daysof the apostles? And to thiswe must answer in thenegative. The apostle Paulis clear that after his death(A.D. 64–67) “grievouswolves” would come intothe church of God. See Acts20:29. Paul also spoke of

that time as the time of agreat “falling away” (see 2Thessalonians 2:3) in whichthe majority of the pro-fessed people of Godwould not receive the “loveof the truth.” Verse 10. Rev-elation 12 speaks of the truechurch fleeing “into the wil-derness” (verse 6) whereGod preserved a faithfulremnant. So we can see thatby the time of Constantine’sSunday law the church haddeteriorated significantly,and therefore it would notbe a safe guide for deter-mining the scriptural valid-ity of Sunday as a day ofworship.

Christian Edwardson inhis book, Facts of Faith,118, puts this history in aconcise form:

“While Constantine’spurchased converts, andthe superficial-minded mul-titude followed the popu-lar church, there were manyhonest, God-fearing Chris-tians, who resented this sin-ful compromise with pa-ganism; and, when theysaw that all their protestswere useless, they with-drew to places where theycould more freely follow

their conscience and bringup their children away fromthe contamination of thefallen church, which theylooked upon as the‘Babylon’ of Revelation 17.”

In summary, we cannotagree with the Berea Bap-tist Banner when it statesthat Constantine’s Sundaylaw reflected the views ofthe Christian believers ofthe empire, primarily be-cause it leaves the false idea

in the mind that all Chris-tians believed in the Sun-day legislation. While wewould agree that a major-ity of those who professedChristianity went along withConstantine’s Sunday law,there were faithful groupsof believers who at thattime separated from afallen, world-loving church.

Many of these faithful Chris-tians continued to observethe true Sabbath—even un-der increasing pressurefrom the Roman Church.

The Berea Baptist Ban-ner continues as follows:

“As the years passed, theCatholic Church went to theextremes on the Sabbath,somewhat like the Phari-sees in the time of Christ.This caused some of theChristians in the Dark Agesto oppose the Christian Sab-bath. The Reformers wenteven farther away from theteaching of the New Testa-ment on the Lord’s day.Martin Luther said the be-liever had a right to work,ride, or dance upon it, if hewould.”

The writer of the abovearticle is correct when hestates that the RomanChurch went to extremesregarding Sunday obser-vance, which he incorrectlycalls “the Sabbath.” Duringthe Dark Ages the RomanCatholic Church, to makeup for its lack of scripturalauthority to enforce Sundaysacredness, fabricated manysuperstitious stories.Among them, stories weretold of supposed ancientparchments falling fromheaven with warnings andthreatenings against all whodesecrated the Sunday.Other stories were told of

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)' Our Firm FOUNDATION February 1999

The first landing of the Pilgrims—1620

how when people hadgone out into the fields towork on Sunday they hadbeen struck by lightning.

Our Baptist writer con-tinues by stating that this ac-tion by the Roman Churchcaused some Christians tooppose the “Christian Sab-bath.” In answer to thecharge here leveled againstthese ancient Christians, letus turn to the pages of his-tory to see what is writtenabout the Waldenses andAlbigenses of that time pe-riod. William Jones in hisHistory of the Church, chap-ter 5, section 1, answers thataccusation this way:

“Because they wouldnot observe saints’ days,they were falsely supposedto neglect the Sabbath also,and called Insabbatati orInsabbathists.”

Another writer puts itthis way, “They were calledInsabbatati, not becausethey were circumcised, butbecause they kept the Sab-bath according to the Jew-ish law.” DeutscheBiographie, article,Goldast. 9, 327. Wecan see clearly fromthese sources thatthese faithful Chris-tians did believe inGod’s holy and trueSabbath day. Theydid not keep thesaint’s days andSunday becausethey were merelyinventions of Rome.

As for the alle-gation that “the Re-formers went evenfarther away fromthe teaching of theNew Testament onthe Lord’s day,” let us be-gin by stating that the Re-formers understood that theSunday observance teach-ing stood upon a shakyfoundation, and that therewas no New Testament evi-dence to prove that itshould be kept as the Sab-bath. While the Reformers

did not come to the under-standing regarding our ob-ligation to obey the fourthcommandment, they clearlyunderstood thatSundaykeeping was not tobe forced upon the popu-lace as obligatory. It wouldbe well for the so-calledreformers of our day to goback and study about howthe Reformers came to theirconclusions. Perhaps, wecould be spared from re-peating the mistakes of theDark Ages.

The following are theclosing arguments from theBerea Baptist Banner articleentitled “More Church His-tory on the Sabbath”:

“While Europe was sur-rendering her Christian Sab-bath law, England and Scot-land, supported by JohnKnox, kept the true Chris-tian Sabbath for the world.A strong Puritan element ofEngland sailed in the May-flower for New England.They delayed landing andspent their first Sabbath in

the New World on Clark’sIsland. America in the mainhas recognized andguarded the same sacredtime.”

Was John Knox reallythe great defender of Sun-day sabbatarianism sostrongly implied by thewriter above? On the con-

trary, as we view the pagesof history, we find that thePuritans of the century fol-lowing Knox were the realoriginators of this asceticSundaykeeping. Consideras evidence of that fact thefollowing source:

“The Puritans (q. v.),who, justly offended by thevices and frivolity of thetimes, . . . added to Sunday-keeping an austerity bywhich neither it nor theSabbathkeeping of the Jewshad ever before beenmarked. This great partywhen predominant for atime in the reign of CharlesI. [A.D. 1625–1649], availedthemselves of the opportu-nity to maintain and spreadtheir Sabbatarian opinions,not only in numerous trea-tises, but through what hasproved to be the more last-ing and influential means ofthe Westminster Confessionand Catechisms.

“Chiefly through theseformularies was effectuallyintroduced into Scotland

that scrupulous abstinencefrom recreation as well asbusiness on Sunday, whichstill distinguishes thepeople. For it is a mistaketo suppose that eitherSabbatarianism or asceti-cism was recommended byKnox [A.D. 1505–1572].Agreeing with the other Re-

formers, Knox, in settingforth in his Confession ofFaith (1560) ‘the works ofthe First Table,’ says not aword about the Sabbath.”Chamber Encyclopaedia1894, vol. 7, 9.

The writer of the BereaBaptist Banner then contin-ues by building a case thatthe Puritans brought theSunday-sabbath to America.Then he strongly suggeststhat this is what has madeour nation so great. Theabove writer also states thatthey “delayed landing” sothat they could keep theirSunday. The obvious impli-cation of that writer is that,while the pilgrims had anopportunity to land, theydid not do so, all in orderthat they might keep theirSunday-sabbath. We findhere a definite misstating ofthe historical facts. First ofall, the pilgrims first sightedland “at early dawn of thesixty-first day of their voy-age” [Thursday, November9, 1620]. And on November

11, “the Mayflowerdropped her an-chor at noon on aSaturday near theclose of autumn.”The Great Repub-lic, vol. 1, “TheLanding of the Pil-grims,” by JohnGorham Palfrey,147–148. The ac-count goes on tosay that “In the af-ternoon, ‘fifteen orsixteen men, wellarmed,’ were senton shore to recon-noitre and collectfuel.” Ibid., 148. Sowe see that the pil-

grims first landed on the soilof the New World on Satur-day, November 11. As forthe Clark’s Island incident,referred to by the Baptistwriter, that did not occuruntil late on Friday, Decem-ber 8. An exploration partylanded upon the island be-cause of a storm where they

February 1999 Our Firm FOUNDATION )(

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stayed to dry out and re-coup through Sunday (De-cember 10, 1620). The de-layed landing theory fallsflat on its face in light of theobvious historical facts.

Let us now look a littlecloser at the implication thatthe Pilgrims “Puritan” Sun-day-sabbath has made us agreat nation. First of all, wemust ask ourselves thequestion, Was itSundaykeeping that has ex-alted our nation, or was itanother principle alto-gether? I believe that thefarewell address of theirpastor John Robinson, be-fore they left Holland, con-tains the foundational prin-ciples that have made ournation so great. JohnRobinson began his fare-well sermon as follows:

“ ‘Brethren, we are nowerelong to part asunder, andthe Lord knoweth whetherI shall live ever to see yourfaces more. But whether theLord hath appointed it ornot, I charge you beforeGod and His blessed angelsto follow me no farther thanI have followed Christ. If

God should reveal anythingto you by any other instru-ment of His, be as ready toreceive it as ever you wereto receive any truth of myministry; for I am very con-fident the Lord hath moretruth and light yet to breakforth out of His holyword. . . .

“ ‘Remember yourchurch covenant, in whichyou have agreed to walk inall the ways of the Lord,made or to be made knownunto you. Remember yourpromise and covenant with

God and with one another,to receive whatever lightand truth shall be madeknown to you from Hiswritten word; but withal,take heed, I beseech you,what you receive for truth,and compare it and weighit with other scriptures oftruth before you accept it;for it is not possible theChristian world shouldcome so lately out of suchthick antichristian darkness,and that full perfection ofknowledge should breakforth at once.’ Martyn, vol.5, 70–71”; The Great Con-troversy, 291–292.

This foundational prin-ciple of the Pilgrims wastheir solemn covenant “ ‘towalk together in all Hisways made known or to bemade known to them.’ J.Brown, The Pilgrim Fathers,74.” The Great Controversy,291.

It is interesting to notethat the first major work-day for the newly landedpilgrims was “Monday,December 25th, whichwas Christmas, of course,but that made no differ-

ence to the Pilgrims . . . forthey scorned Christmas asa ‘human invention,’ an-other Roman ‘corruption,’a survival from heathendays.” Saints and Strang-ers, George F. Willison,160. The principle they fol-lowed was “to abandoneverything that couldboast of no other author-ity than tradition or thewill of man, and to followas far as possible the ‘pure’word of God.” ChambersEncyclopaedia, 1894, vol.6, 488. Therefore, we con-clude that if the Pilgrimswere living today with theknowledge we have, theywould reject Sunday wor-ship as a “human inven-tion” and a Roman “cor-ruption.” They wouldobserve the true Bible Sab-bath, since it is not basedon human tradition, butupon the pure Word ofGod.

Brothers and sisters,may God keep us faithfulto the principles of reli-gious freedom that havemade this nation great. !

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Sally and JimHohnberger, ofRestorationInternational,reside inPolebridge,Montana, and havededicated theirlives full-time toreaching allpeople with thepractical gospel.

Part 2

StudyStudy

Show Thyself Approved.

A friend once said to me, “Slow

down your studies so you can

learn faster.” I thought that advice

was foolishness when I first heard

it. How could I ever gain all the knowl-

edge I needed if I didn’t read quickly? How-

ever, when I realized that God was asking

me to slow down in this way, I decided to

try it. Just as we are better nourished when

we don’t eat too fast, I found that by read-

ing more slowly, I did learn faster!

Last month we looked at one color-cod-

ing system that some find useful in mark-

ing their Bibles.

This month we will look at three little

disciplines that have helped me make the

most of my Bible study time—to slow

down and make it practical.

Next month we will finish this series

by discussing how we can best benefit from

topical studies.

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The first discipline is to pray before

and during study time for divine enlight-

enment. This is a discipline of recogniz-

ing our dependency upon God in order

to read and interpret the Scriptures aright.

Without Christ we will formulate con-

cepts—but not necessarily heavenly con-

cepts and principles. We cannot learn

properly without Christ as our Teacher

leading us continually.

The second discipline is to make a

personal application through reflection

upon what you have just read. This is

not only after reading for an hour, but

rather stopping often—at times it may be

necessary to stop after each verse or sen-

tence within that verse that strikes the

conscience. Stop to let God instruct you.

By slowing down in this way, you will

actually learn faster and remember more.

February 1999 Our Firm FOUNDATION !)

Stopping to reflect upon your read-ing for personal application toyourself and to your family today,is worth more than reading largevolumes of information in a super-ficial, fact-gathering mode, or forthe reproof of others.

God has much to say and teachus personally. We need to slowdown our reading in order to al-low Christ to truly lead us and beour Teacher.

I want you to know that thisway of studying didn’t come natu-rally to me. I had to deny old waysand inclinations, and so will you.My reading seemed awkwardwhen I first stopped after eachparagraph to discipline myself toslow down. To develop a newhabit requires repetition before itbecomes a dominating, seeminglynatural habit. However, God willkindle our minds to think differ-ently. Often at first He would askme a question to prompt me tothink the matter through logicallyand objectively. Peculiarities in mypersonality didn’t like this method,but I needed this correction, in-struction, and experience. My co-operation and effort is essential—though difficult at times—but therewards of a changing life are wellworth it.

To slow me down, God sug-gested a variety of ways to helpme think about and practicalizewhat I had just read. Here are afew:

11111 —Write down meaningfulquotations that have a practical ap-plication to your life.

22222—Learn how to collect and or-ganize these quotations into spe-cific topics or categories. I had todiscipline myself to brevity and alimited number of quotations. Asyou go over and over the gatheredquotations, weed out what is re-petitive, and save only the best,practical “how to” quotations on aparticular topic. You can gain a bal-anced approach to a topic becausecounsel will be given from severalperspectives, correcting both ex-cesses and negligence.

33333—Word studies can be help-ful, depending upon your person-ality. For me, I found that too of-ten I would get so deep into themultiple word studies that I wouldlose the overview of what I waslearning. If I stayed in this type ofstudying exclusively, I didn’t growin my personal, practical life ofwalking and changing with Jesus.I found that this format of studywas better done on a small scaleto be effective. You will need toevaluate yourself and seek God’sdirections at all times for whichway is most effective for your walkwith Him and what hinders you.

44444—Sit back in your chair andask the Lord, “What does this meanto me today? How will the appli-cation of this method of studychange me inhow I relateto my spouse,chi ldren orneighbors to-day?” As youthink aboutthe practicalapplicat ion,God then willimpress thet h o u g h t supon yourmind. In thisway God is truly our personalTeacher.

We, as the students, must beable to discern the spirits. Johnsays, “Try the spirits whether theyare of God.” 1 John 4:1.

If the thoughts are of God, theywill lead us to repentance and a turn-ing away from self-centered or un-balanced ways. They will be full ofhope that with God I can do what Heis asking. They will call us to a deathof self in Christ Jesus our Lord. Allgood things come from God.

Test all your thoughts by Isai-ah 8:20: “To the law and to the tes-timony: if they speak not accord-ing to this word, it is because thereis no light in them.” Satan too, cansuggest thoughts and concepts. Ifthe thoughts lead to hopelessness,doubt, despair and a giving up, itis characteristic that Satan is sug-

gesting these thoughts, and theymust be denied and turned awayfrom through a connection withChrist.

55555—End your study time withten to fifteen minutes of decision-making time about how your read-ings today will change the way youlive. What will you do differentlytoday? Make a resolve with Christ,and He will go with you to see thatyou do what you have promised.That is a loving, caring Saviour! YetHe will not do it for you, but Hewill call for a continuous and con-scious decision and surrender fromyou to keep your promise. Hewants you to experience whatgrace can do in your flesh—howyou can change your habits todaythrough cooperation with Him. Itis your effort with Christ that will

make the dif-ference. Chris-t iani ty is notsupposed to bea spineless ,weak religionthat leaves youin Satan’ssnares and evilhabits of life todominate you.No, with Godthere is powerover all weak-

nesses of the flesh. We haven’t ex-perienced God’s power consis-tently because we haven’t givenGod our all—our complete coop-eration with Him—which is ourprivilege.

The third discipline is themost essential part. Now we haveto enter the discipline of respond-ing to Christ when He calls for ourheart. We must learn to walk withGod through the day, all day long,learning to say No to self and Yesto God amidst our daily activities.

These are all disciplines, aren’tthey? God honors even our timidsurrender. He loves to show us Hispower. May God bless you as youseek to follow Christ as a Christianshould! Won’t you try to incorpo-rate these disciplines into your lifetoday? !

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!! Our Firm FOUNDATION February 1999

By David Lin

IIn his excellent book Magnificent Disappointment, C. Mervyn Maxwell calledWilliam Miller “the best man available,” and he was absolutely correct. Bornin 1782, William Miller finally gave his heart to Jesus Christ in 1816. Concerning his conversion, he wrote, “I saw that the Bible did bring to view justsuch a Savior as I needed; . . . I was constrained to admit that the Scriptures

must be a revelation from God; they became my delight, and in Jesus I found afriend.” Apology and Defense, 5.

Miller began an intense study of the Bible beginning with Genesis. He wrote, “When-ever I found any thing obscure, my practice was to compare it with all collateral pas-sages, and by the help of Cruden[’s Concordance] I examined all the texts of Scripture.. . . Then by letting every word have its proper bearing on the subject of the text, if myview of it harmonized with every collateral passage in the Bible, it ceased to be adifficulty.” Ibid., 6.

Then in 1818, Miller discovered the 2300-day prophecy of Daniel 8:14, “Unto twothousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” He was cor-rect in his understanding that the 2300 days represented 2300 years. The Bible clearlysupports the principle that a “day” represents a “year” in Bible prophecy. See Numbers14:34; Ezekiel 4:6.

He was also correct about the close connection between Daniel, chapter eight, andDaniel, chapter nine. He discovered that the 2300-day prophecy began at the sametime as the seventy-week prophecy [literally, 490 years] found in Daniel 9:24–27. Bothtime prophecies began in 457 B.C.

When he added 2300 years to 457 B.C. he concluded that this great prophecy endedin 1843. Later he corrected his calculation to 1844, when he realized that you must addone year for the year that is missing in the calender between 1 B.C. and A.D 1.

So what was it that was prophesied to happen in 1844? The Bible said, “Unto twothousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” (All emphasissupplied unless otherwise noted.) Like so many Bible students of his day, Miller be-lieved that the “sanctuary” in Daniel 8:14 referred to the earth. He thought to himself,“Is Jesus coming that soon to cleanse the earth with fire? Is He really coming in justtwenty-five to twenty-six years?”

You might think that Miller got so excited that he went out and told all the localtownsfolk within the next few days. You might even imagine a man so zealous to

Jeff Wehr writesfrom Rice,Washington. Heis a co-editor ofOur FirmFoundation andregularly servesas an author andspeaker forHopeInternational.

by Jeff Wehr

February 1999 Our Firm FOUNDATION !"

proclaim the soon coming of Christthat he was making plans to takethis message all across America byvoice and pen. Did he?—Not ex-actly! Five years passed by beforeMiller began to share with individu-als here and there about the 2300-day prophecy and Christ’s soon re-turn. To be sure, Miller was nofly-by-night sensationalist or end-of-the-world fanatic. In fact, it was notuntil 1831 that he was willing to gopublic with his studies on Daniel8:14. Imagine that! Thirteen yearswent by before Miller promised Godthat he would preach about the2300-day prophecy. But there wasone condition which Miller made:He would only preach this messageif he received an invitation to doso.

Within one hour of making thatpromise to God, his nephew arrivedon horseback with an invitation forhim to present his studies to thechurch. Miller did not expect suchan invitation. In fact, he was abso-lutely furious that he received thatinvitation. He walked off into themaple grove and wrestled with Godover the situation. Finally, he sub-mitted to God’s will and presentedhis studies on Daniel 8:14.

Now, let me ask you a question:Who wanted William Miller topreach? Did William Miller want Wil-liam Miller to preach?—No! It wasGod who wanted him to preach thatmessage!

Now we must ask another im-portant question: Why did Godchoose William Miller to lead out inthe preaching of Daniel 8:14? I be-lieve it was because William Millerwas the best man available. We allknow that Miller was wrong in hisbelief that Jesus would return toearth in 1844 to cleanse it with fire.But remember, none of his contem-poraries were able to correct himon this particular point.

In his day, scholars and pastorswere far behind Miller in their un-derstanding of the prophecies. Manyof them had nothing to say aboutthe soon return of Jesus. Obviously,Miller was ahead of them.

Many of these pastors were post-millenialists—teaching that Christwas to come spiritually before themillennium and then physically af-ter the millennium. They believed

that there would be a thousandyears of peace on the earth beforethe physical return of Christ.Strangely enough, they thought thatthe millennium had already arrived,and they pointed to the great Biblesocieties and foreign missions asproof. Obviously, Miller was moreright than they. He knew that theBible said that “evil men and seduc-ers shall wax worse and worse.”2 Timothy 3:13. He knew that Christwas to come literally, phyically, andvisibly to usher in the millennium.He was correct in being a pre-millenialist.

Miller was in step with heavenlyagencies when he urged people toget right with God. In fact, at first,he believed that the cleansing rep-resented the removal of sin from thechurch. But as he continued hisstudy he concluded that the cleans-ing referred to both the cleansingof the church from sin and the puri-fication of the earth by fire.

He knew that the 2300-dayprophecy began in 457 B.C. andended in A.D. 1844. He knew thatthe 2300-day prophecy involved ajudgment-hour message. Clearly, hewas far ahead of his contemporar-ies who said nothing about the judg-ment to come. Therefore, he was thebest man available.

However, he did make a mistake.He was wrong when he assumedthat the cleansing of the sanctuaryat the end of the 2300-day proph-ecy was the same as the cleansingof the earth by fire.

Now, we must ask the question:How did he make this mistake? Wil-liam Miller knew that there was aheavenly sanctuary. In fact, onMiller’s list of things or personscalled “sanctuary” or “temple” in theBible, he had “heaven” as secondin a list of seven. But he dismissedany possibility that the heavenlysanctuary was in need of any cleans-ing. He also knew that there wasno earthly temple in need of cleans-ing. After all, by His sacrifice Jesushad already put an end to animalsacrifices in the earthly sanctuary.Therefore, he reasoned that Daniel8:14 must refer to the cleansing ofthe earth with fire.

Yet, Hebrews 9:22–23 clearlystates that the heavenly sanctuarywas in need of purification as was

the earthlys a n c t u a r y .“And almostall things [con-cerning theearthly sanctu-ary] are by thelaw [the cer-emonial law]purged withblood [withanimal sacri-fices]; andwithout shed-ding of bloodis no remis-sion [or for-giveness ofsin]. It wastherefore necessary that the patternsof things in the heavens [the earthlysanctuary serving as a pattern of theheavenly sanctuary] should be pu-rified with these [that is, with ani-mal sacrifices]; but the heavenlythings themselves [the heavenlysanctuary itself] with better sacrificesthan these [with the atoning sacri-fice of Jesus Christ].”

The apostle Paul declares thatthe earthly sanctuary was purifiedby animal sacrifices, and that theheavenly sanctuary will be purifiedwith “better sacrifices.” This seemsclear enough, so how did WilliamMiller miss it?

First of all, Hebrews 9:22–23does not say, “heavenly sanctuary”but “things in the heavens.” The pas-sage does not say “cleansed” but“purified.” It is entirely possible thatneither the Bible nor the Cruden’sConcordance he was using provideda cross reference between Daniel8:14 and Hebrews 9:22–23. But thenagain, let us remember that Hebrews9:22–23 was in everybody else’sBible too, and that nobody elseseemed to understand this passageeither.

Another reason that Miller madehis error about Christ returning toearth in 1844 was his understand-ing of the latter portions of Daniel’sprophecies. He saw the four pro-phetic chapters [chapters two, seven,eight, and eleven] as parallel visionsthat followed a sequence of the riseand fall of nations followed by aChrist-centered climax.

For example, the image ofDaniel, chapter two, made up of

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!# Our Firm FOUNDATION February 1999

four differentmetals, corre-sponded tofour consecu-tive empires.The head ofgold repre-sented theEmpire ofBabylon. Thesilver breastand arms rep-resented theMedes andPersians. Thebrass bellyand thighsrepresentedthe Grecian

Empire. The legs of iron representedRome. And the feet of iron and clayrepresented Europe. Then the Stonecut without human hands, whichsmote the image, representedChrist’s second advent. This Christ-centered event represents the endof the time of the end.

In Daniel, chapter seven, wehave the same empires being repre-sented but with different symbols.In this vision Babylon is representedby a lion with eagle wings. TheMedes and Persians are representedby a bear. The Grecian Empire isrepresented by a leopard with fourheads and four wings. Rome is rep-resented by a ferocious fourth beastwith iron teeth. Europe is repre-sented by the ten horns found onthe fourth beast. The Papacy isclearly the little horn power thatarose after the breakup of the Ro-man Empire. It was described asbeing a different kind of power thatwould speak great words against theMost High and wear out the saintsof the Most High. Like chapter two,the vision ends with a Christ-cen-tered climax. Here we find a judg-ment scene when the “Son of man,”Jesus Christ, comes to the “Ancientof days,” God the Father. The Judg-ment is set and the books areopened.

In Daniel, chapter eight, we havea continued repetition and enlarge-ment of the previous visions. How-ever, in this case, we begin with theMedes and Persians represented bya ram with two horns. Then we haveGreece represented by a goat witha notable horn. Followed again by

pagan Rome and then papal Rome,both are represented by a little horn.The Christ-centered climax ofDaniel, chapter eight, is the cleans-ing of the sanctuary at the end ofthe 2300-day prophecy.

In Daniel, chapters eleven andtwelve, we again begin with Medo-Persia followed by Greece, Rome,and the Papacy. The Christ-centeredclimax in this vision is when Michael[Jesus] stands up and delivers Hispeople. See Daniel 12:1. Then thespecial resurrection takes place.Those who have died in the thirdangel’s message are raised up tostand with the 144,000 to witnessthe glorious return of our Lord andSaviour Jesus Christ. See Daniel 12:2.

Miller saw these four Christ-centered climatic events as be-

ing parallel. He assumed that Christ’sreturn as the Stone that crushes theimage in chapter two was the sameas Jesus, the Son of man, coming tothe Ancient of Days for the judg-ment in chapter seven, which wasthe same as Christ cleansing thesanctuary in chapter eight, whichwas the same as Michael [or Jesus]intervening to rescue His people inchapter twelve. He thought that ifhe could find a time prophecy forany one of these four Christ-cen-tered events then he had a timeprophecy for all four. Did he have atime prophecy? Yes indeed! It wasthe 2300 days of chapter eight.Therefore, he concluded that Christas the Stone would come in 1844,that the judgment would end in1844, that the cleansing of the earth[which he interpreted as the “sanc-tuary”] would be cleansed with fireat Christ’s second coming in 1844,and that Christ as Michael would res-cue and resurrect His people in1844.

This all seems understandablyvery logical when you consider thatBabylon as the head of gold in chap-ter two and as the lion in chapterseven are parallel in time; that Medo-Persia as the silver breast and arms,the bear, and the ram are parallel intime; that Greece as the brass bellyand thighs, the four-headed leop-ard, and the goat are parallel in time;and that Rome as the legs of iron,the ferocious fourth beast with ironteeth, and the little horn are paral-

lel in time. If these are all parallel intime, then these Christ-centeredevents are parallel in time.

So what did William Miller over-look? First of all, in Daniel 7:13 the“Son of man” is not described ascoming to the earth, but coming tothe “Ancient of days.” The questionthen arises: Where is the “Ancientof days,” God the Father? He is inheaven. Therefore, Christ was notcoming to earth, but meeting the Fa-ther in some special place in heaven.

There are only 21 words inDaniel 7:13, but think how impor-tant are the details of this verse. Ido not know how Miller missed thisimportant distinction, but then ev-erybody else seemed to miss it alsoat that time. Therefore, we can con-clude that William Miller was stillthe best man available.

These four visions are, withoutquestion, parallel; however, they arenot identical in describing earth’s fi-nal scenes. All four Christ-centeredclimaxes have to do with the timeof the end, but they do not all spe-cifically apply to the very end of thetime of the end. Certainly Christ’scoming as the Stone is the very endof the time of the end. Christ com-ing as Michael also describes eventsat the very end of the time of theend. However, when Christ as the“Son of man” comes to the “Ancientof days,” although it is the time ofthe end, it is not yet the end of thetime of the end. When Christ be-gins to cleanse the sanctuary inheaven it is the time of the end, butit is not the very end of the time ofthe end. Again, all four Christ-cen-tered climatic events focus on thetime of the end, but two of them[Christ as the Stone and as Michael]are focused on the very end of thetime of the end, and the other two[Christ coming to the “Ancient ofdays” and beginning His work ofcleansing the sanctuary] are focusedon the beginning of the time of theend.

So what actually happened whenthe “Son of man” came to the “An-cient of days”? Daniel said, “I be-held 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 purewool: his throne was like the fieryflame, and his wheels as burning

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February 1999 Our Firm FOUNDATION !$

fire. A fiery stream issued and cameforth from before him: thousandthousands ministered unto him, andten thousand times ten thousandstood before him: the judgment wasset, and the books were opened.”Daniel 7:9–10.

After Daniel saw four ferociousbeasts representing the four con-secutive world empires coming upout of the stormy sea of human ac-tivity, his attention is drawn awayto behold a very different scene—namely, a heavenly scene. Danielbeholds the movement of God’s glo-rious throne which is described asa “fiery flame, and his wheels asburning fire.” In verses 21–22,Daniel again sees the “Ancient ofdays” in movement when he wrote,“I beheld, and the same horn [thePapacy] made war with the saints,and prevailed against them [describ-ing the 1260 years of Papal perse-cution of God’s true church]; untilthe Ancient of days came, and judg-ment was given to the saints of themost High.” Soon after the 1260-yearrule of Papal supremacy, the “An-cient of days” would come and thejudgment would begin and proveto be in favor of the saints.

Also in this glorious judgmentscene we see millions of angels min-istering unto God. This reminds usof that beautiful scene described inRevelation, chapters four and five,where the angels worship God insong and adoration.

As Daniel continued to watch,he saw record books beingopened, and he wrote that “thejudgment was set.” The judgment“was set” but it did not begin un-til “one like the Son of man camewith the clouds of heaven, andcame to the Ancient of days, andthey brought him near beforehim.” Daniel 7:13. When Jesus wastaken on a cloud of angels towhere the Father had just movedHis glorious throne, then the judg-ment began. As Jesus said, “the Fa-ther judges no man, but hath com-mitted all judgment unto the Son.”John 5:22. It was at this gloriousevent that the judgment-hour mes-sage of the first angel was fulfilled,“Saying with a loud voice, FearGod, and give glory to him; for thehour of his [Christ’s] judgment iscome; and worship him that made

heaven, and earth, and the sea,and the fountains of waters.” Rev-elation 14:7.

Sister White wrote concerningthis heavenly scene, “I saw a throne,and on it sat the Father and the Son.. . . I saw the Father rise from thethrone, and in a flaming chariot gointo the holy of holies [the MostHoly Place compartment] within theveil, and sit down. Then Jesus roseup from the throne. . . . A cloudychariot, with wheels like flamingfire, surrounded by angels, came towhere Jesus was. He stepped intothe chariot and was borne to theholiest, where the Father sat.” EarlyWritings, 54–55.

Imagine the solemnity of the mo-ment—the magnificent music, thesplendor of all those heavenly an-gels, the glorious throne of God, thetrumpeting of those silver trum-pets—as Jesus came to the Fatherin the Most Holy Place in heaven. Itwas, of course, much more gloriousthan our finite minds can compre-hend. As Sister White wrote, that“the heavenly temple, the abidingplace of the King of kings, where‘thousand thousands ministeredunto him, and ten thousand timesten thousand stood before him’(Daniel 7:10), that temple filled withthe glory of the eternal throne,where seraphim, its shining guard-ians, veil their faces in adoration—no earthly structure could representits vastness and its glory.” Patriarchsand Prophets, 357.

We know that Moses made acopy here on earth of the

sanctuary in heaven, but it by nomeans represented the “vastness”and the “glory” of that heavenlysanctuary. For example, the earthlysanctuary had two compartments,namely, the holy place (which was30 feet long and 15 feet wide and15 feet high) and the Most HolyPlace (which was 15 feet or 10 cu-bits in length, height, and width).In the holy place we find the tableof shewbread, the seven-branchedcandlestick, and the altar of incense.In the Most Holy Place we find theark of the covenant which containedthe Ten Commandments under-neath the mercy seat. Above themercy seat was the shining light ofGod’s presence.

Now let meask you aquestion: Wasthe glory ofGod’s shiningpresence re-stricted to thelocation justabove themercy seat?—Certainly not!We know thatthe light ofGod’s pres-ence left thes a n c t u a r ywhenever thechildren of Is-rael moved onto a new location. In fact, His shin-ing presence became a cloudy pil-lar of fire that guided the Israelitesalong the way. See Numbers 9:15–23.

The description of God’s thronein the book of Ezekiel [chapters oneand ten] is like unto a living throne,not a static throne. But perhaps theclearest example of the movementof God’s throne is when He estab-lishes it here on the New Earth. SeeRevelation 21:10–22:3.

My point is that the “Ancient ofdays,” God the Father, moved Histhrone into the Most Holy Place inthe heavenly sanctuary where thebooks were to be opened for thejudgment. The “Son of man” wastaken up in a cloud of angels andcarried to the Father for the judg-ment to begin and for the cleansingof the heavenly sanctuary to takeplace.

The Most Holy Place in heavenis not 15 feet or 10 cubits in length,height, and width. It is a gloriousplace that can hold millions of an-gels! It is vast and it is glorious! It isa place distinct from the holy placein the heavenly sanctuary. As SisterWhite wrote, “As Christ’s ministra-tion was to consist of two great di-visions, each occupying a period oftime and having a distinctive placein the heavenly sanctuary, so thetypical ministration consisted of twodivisions, the daily and the yearlyservice, and to each a departmentof the tabernacle was devoted.” Ibid.

The Most Holy Place in heavenis so vast that a cloud of angels es-cort Jesus to the Father. Three times

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!% Our Firm FOUNDATION February 1999

in the Biblewe find Jesustraveling on acloud of an-gels. Eachs u c c e s s i v etime that Hewas carriedon a cloud ofangels, theevent becamemore andmore glori-ous!

The firsttime we findJesus on acloud of an-gels was

when He ascended up into heaven.Luke recorded, “And when he[Jesus] had spoken these things,while they beheld, he was taken up;and a cloud received him out of theirsight.” Acts 1:9. And again, “And he[Jesus] led them out as far as toBethany, and he lifted up his hands,and blessed them. And it came topass, while he blessed them, he wasparted from them, and carried upinto heaven.” Luke 24:50–51. I couldimagine that the ascension of Christinvolved many angels. Yet, I believethat the emphasis of Christ’s ascen-sion was not on the power andsplendor of a myriad of angels ac-companying Him on His way toheaven, but about a very real Jesusthat the disciples had spent three-and-one-half years with in ministry.As they watched Him with whomthey had walked and talked, ascendup into heaven, the One who taughtthem how to pray and to exercisefaith in God, the One who had diedfor their sins, and who had lovedthem with an everlasting love, thissame Jesus was now on His way toheaven to intercede for them.Heaven became real to them as theysaw Jesus ascend with a great com-pany of the heavenly hosts.

The next time Jesus was takenup in a cloud of angels was whenthe 2300-day prophecy was fulfilledin 1844. I could imagine that manymore angels were involved in es-corting Jesus to the Father. Thou-sands upon thousands carried Jesusto the “Ancient of days” to beginthe work of judgment. Oh what aglorious scene that must have been!

But the most spectacular andawe-inspiring time will be whenJesus is carried by a cloud of angelson the occasion of His second ad-vent. This time He will come withall the heavenly angels. Jesus said,“When the Son of man shall comein his glory, and all of the holy an-gels with him, then shall he sit uponthe throne of his glory: and beforehim shall be gathered all nations:and he shall separate them one fromanother, as a shepherd divideth hissheep from the goats: and he shallset the sheep on his right hand, butthe goats on the left. Then shall theKing say unto them on his righthand, Come, ye blessed of my Fa-ther, inherit the kingdom preparedfor you from the foundation of theworld.” Matthew 25:31–34.

Here we have the glorious ap-pearing of Jesus at His second ad-vent. The books have been opened;every case has been decided, andHe rewards every man according tohis deeds. See Revelation 22:12.

Miller and his followers longedto see their friend Jesus come in theclouds of heaven back to this earth.But this was not the event proph-esied in Daniel 7:13 and Daniel 8:14.However, it will be a glorious eventto be sure! It is an event that Goddesires everyone on earth to knowabout. And William Miller was thebest Bible student of his day to makeit known.

Miller was right when he saidthat the 2300-day prophecy was vi-tally important. He was right whenhe said that the 2300 days repre-sented 2300 years. He was rightwhen he said that the 2300-dayprophecy began in 457 B.C. He wasright when He said that the proph-ecy ended in A.D. 1844. He wasright when he said that the firstangel’s message, concerning thejudgment-hour message, could bedated in the year of 1844. He wasright when he said Jesus was com-ing very soon. He was right in tell-ing people to repent and to pre-pare for Christ’s return. He wasright when he said Jesus wouldcome literally and personally. Un-fortunately, he was wrong whenhe said Jesus was coming to theearth, rather than to the heavenlysacntuary, in 1844. But he was stillthe best man available.

So where does this leave us to-day? We are the heirs of the greatestmovement, and the recipients of thebest Bible scholarship. We do notneed to be ashamed of the GreatDisappointment—when our Adventpioneers waited for Jesus to return.Remember, they were the best Biblestudents of their day, and there wasnobody who knew how to correcttheir mistakes.

We might confidently say that theGreat Disappointment was indeedan “Enlightened Disappointment”that led these courageous and con-secrated followers of Christ to dis-cover the all-important work of Jesusas our High Priest in the heavenlysanctuary. As a result God now hada people upon the earth preparedto proclaim that “the hour of hisjudgment is come.”

This judgment-hour messageholds an important and prominentplace in the proclamation of the ev-erlasting gospel. It ends when hu-man probation ends. It will declarethe results of the workings of theplan of salvation over the past 6,000years.

In the beginning of the Christianera, the burden of the disciples wasto proclaim to every nation about acrucified and risen Saviour. As Pauldeclared, “for I determined not toknow any thing among you, saveJesus Christ, and him crucified.” 1 Cor-inthians 2:2. They did not speak aboutthe judgment being in session. In-stead, Paul spoke about the judgmentto come. See Acts 24:25.

We are the generation that nowmust proclaim that “judgment iscome.” And as we draw near to theend of the end, when Jesus’ workas our Mediator is almost finished,when the sheep shall soon be sepa-rated from the goats for eternity,when the last case shall soon betried, the time has come when God’speople must present the solemntruth that the “judgment is come.”This is the great subject of our time!The judgment! The judgment!

How does your case stand, dearbrothers and sisters? How does yourneighbor’s case stand? May the Lordhelp us regain our vision as a move-ment to declare this most solemnmessage ever given to mortals. Eter-nity is certainly bound up in it. Oureternal life depends upon it. !

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February 1999 Our Firm FOUNDATION !&

IIIIIKevin Paulson, afreelance writer,resides inRedlands,California. He isthe Editor ofQuo Vadis, anew bi-monthlymagazine forSeventh-dayAdventist youngpeople.

by KEVIN PAULSON

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THE CONDITIONS OF ETERNAL LIFE

IIIII N A PRESUMED “contrast” between the investigative judgment and the gos-

pel of Scripture, Dale Ratzlaff states:

“The focus of the investigative judgment is on personal deeds in

order that one might be found worthy of eternal life. The good news

of the gospel is that the Father has already qualified us, who believe in

Christ, to share in the eternal inheritance in Christ.” 1

He goes on to denounce Ellen White’s teaching that “the people of

God are to be tested and proved on the basis of the Ten Command-

ments.” 2

Ratzlaff had best take up his argument with Jesus—not with Ellen White! Itwas Christ who declared to the rich young ruler, when asked about the condi-tions of eternal life: “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.”Matthew 19:17. The Saviour gave an identical answer to the lawyer when Hetold the Good Samaritan story. See Luke 10:25–28. The apostle Paul agrees withJesus:

“To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory andhonour and immortality, eternal life: but unto them that are contentious, and donot obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribula-tion and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, andalso of the Gentile.” Romans 2:7–9.

!' Our Firm FOUNDATION February 1999

Kevin D. Paul

In the book of Hebrews the sameauthor writes:

“And being made perfect, he[Christ] became the author of eter-nal salvation unto all them that obeyhim.” Hebrews 5:9.

When Ratzlaff criticizes historicAdventists for believing that “Godwill judge them on the basis of theTen Commandments,” 3 he is directlyconflicting with God’s Word, for thatis exactly what it teaches:

“For whosoever shall keep thewhole law, and yet offend in onepoint, he is guilty of all. For he thatsaid, Do not commit adultery, saidalso, Do not kill. Now if thou com-mit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thouart become a transgressor of the law.So speak ye, and so do, as they thatshall be judged by the law of lib-erty.” James 2:10–12.

Ratzlaff claims that just as believ-ers living in the new covenant areno longer subject to the ceremoniallaw, neither are they subject to theauthority of the Ten Command-ments:

“Paul says that the problem withthe Galatians was that they wantedto be under the law. It is clear fromthe Epistles that the old covenantlaw is seen in its totality. It includesboth the Ten Commandments andthe other laws.” 4

However, Paul makes a veryclear distinction between the obso-lete ceremonial law and the still-binding moral law when he writes,“Circumcision is nothing, anduncircumcision is nothing, but thekeeping of the commandments ofGod.” 1 Corinthians 7:19; see alsoRomans 2:25.

Ratzlaff denounces as legalismcertain statements by Ellen Whitewhich speak of our words, actions,and secret motives deciding oureternal destiny.5 After citing thesereferences, he asks in horror, “Whocould meet this test? Whose motivesare one hundred percent right allthe time? . . . This is not the gospel,it is condemnation.” 6

But again, Ratzlaff had best takeup his argument with the Bible.

Solomon wrote, “Fear God, andkeep his commandments: for this isthe whole duty of man. For Godshall bring every work into judg-ment, with every secret thing,whether it be good, or whether it

be evil.” Ecclesiastes12:13–14.

And once again,the New Testamentechoes the Old Testa-ment:

“For we must allappear before thejudgment seat ofChrist; that every onemay receive the thingsdone in his body, ac-cording to that hehath done, whether itbe good or bad.”2 Corinthians 5:10.

Ratzlaff makes acommon but unscrip-tural distinction whenhe writes:

“We must be care-ful not to confuse theinvestigative judgment with thejudgment of rewards which is taughtin Scripture. The investigative judg-ment is a salvation judgment to seewho is worthy of eternal life. In thenew convenant, . . . salvation judg-ment is based upon faith in Christand not upon works, not evenworks of righteousness.” 7

While our salvation has beenpurchased by the blood of Christ,the Bible is also very clear that “sal-vation judgment,” as Ratzlaff calls it,is based upon the outworking of ourfaith in Christ, shown by our right-eous works or the lack thereof.

In the parable of the sheep andthe goats, Christ declares to Hisfaithful followers, “Come, ye blessedof my Father, inherit the kingdomprepared for you from the founda-tion of the world” (Matthew 25:34),and then continues, “For I was anhungred, and ye gave me meat”—and so forth (verses 35–45). Thestructure of this passage makes itpointedly obvious that obedience ordisobedience is what ultimately de-cides one’s eternal destiny—notmerely the degree of one’s reward.

Jesus Himself declared, “That ev-ery idle word that men shall speak,they shall give account thereof inthe day of judgment. For by thywords thou shalt be justified, andby thy words thou shalt be con-demned.” Matthew 12:36–37. Suchclarity is repeated elsewhere in theSaviour’s declaration, “If thou wiltenter into life, keep the command-

ments” (Matthew19:17), and His state-ment concerningcommandment-keep-ing: “This do, andthou shalt live” (Luke10:28).

Paul too speaksof how God “willrender to every manaccording to hisdeeds” (see Romans2:6), and then he de-clares that those“who by patient con-tinuance in well do-ing seek for gloryand honour and im-mortality” will re-ceive eternal l ife(verse 7), while thosewho “do not obey

the truth, but obeyunrighteousness,” will experienceGod’s wrath (verse 8). Not the slight-est distinction can be found in theseverses between a “judgment of re-wards” and a judgment which de-cides salvation.

In short, there is nothing para-doxical about the Biblical teachingof salvation by faith, and judgmentaccording to works. In the firstplace, Biblical salvation is the sav-ing of people from sin. See Matthew1:21. The New Testament is clearthat the means of saving us fromsin includes sanctification as well asjustification (see 2 Thessalonians2:13)—the work of Christ in us aswell as His work for us (see Titus3:5).

To be saved by faith is not onlyto experience forgiveness throughfaith (see 1 John 2:1), but also byfaith to allow the Spirit’s power towork within us to help us overcomeall acts of sin in our lives (see Phil-ippians 2:12–13).

By contrast, the works whichcannot save (see Romans 3:20, 28;Galatians 2:16–17; Ephesians 2:8–9) are those originating from hu-man beings in their unconvertedstate (see Romans 2:17–23). Herewe discover the Bible’s easy solu-tion to the centuries-old squabbleover whether Paul and James con-tradicted each other. When Jameswrites that “by works a man is jus-tified, and not by faith only”(James 2:24), he is describing reli-

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February 1999 Our Firm FOUNDATION !(

lson

gious activity produced by conver-sion, whereas Paul, when he statesthat “by the deeds of the law thereshall no flesh be justified” (Romans3:20), is speaking of religious ac-tivity apart from conversion.

This distinction becomes evidentas we observe that Paul’s illustrationof the justification by works, whichhe condemns, is Abraham’s relation-ship with Hagar, which Abraham per-formed in his own strength and ac-cording to his own reasoning. SeeGalatians 4:22–24. In contrast, James’illustration of the justification byworks is Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac(see James 2:21)—an act performedby Abraham in God’s strength and inobedience to God’s command.

Either way, according to Scrip-ture, behavior decides our destiny.The only question is, Will this be-havior be motivated and empow-ered by God, or motivated and em-powered by self?

1"((&J%("%#%26&J%&G97>%7KRatzlaff places great emphasis on

the words of John 5:24: “He thatheareth my word, and believeth onhim that sent me, hath everlastinglife, and shall not come into con-demnation; but is passed from deathunto life.”

Ratzlaff uses the New AmericanStandard Version of the Bible in hisbook, which follows most othermodern translations in rendering theword “condemnation” as “judg-ment.” Ratzlaff therefore maintainsthat this verse teaches that believ-ers in Christ will not have to facethe judgment:

“He who believes is notjudged. . . . In other words, the truthof justification by faith is that theverdict of ‘not guilty’ has alreadybeen given to those who believe!And that is the good news of thegospel! And that is why true believ-ers do not ‘come into judgment,’ be-cause they have already beenjudged ‘in Christ.’ ” 8

But when the Bible is allowedto be its own interpreter, it is clearthat the King James Version, as wellas the New International Version, arecorrect in using the word “condem-nation” in John 5:24. (See the sidebarat the end of this article.)

There are three types of “judg-ment” in Scripture; any one of which

may be referred to in a given refer-ence: 1) investigative/examination;2) sentencing/condemnation; and3) executive/punishment. Contextand the Biblical consensus tell thedifference.

We have clearly seen in both Oldand New Testaments that all mustappear before God’s judgment seatto have their actions evaluated,whether they be good or evil. SeeEcclesiastes 12:14; 2 Corinthians5:10. So when John 5:24 speaks ofbelievers not coming “into judg-ment,” it is condemnation that is re-ferred to—not examination. Wehave already seen Christ’s state-ments about our having to give anaccount in the judgment for “everyidle word” (see Matthew 12:36–37),and that divinely-empowered com-mandment-keeping is the conditionfor receiving eternal life (see Mat-thew 19:17; Luke 10:25–28). Jesuscertainly did not contradict Himself,nor did He contradict the apostlePaul, who declares that “we mustall appear before the judgment seatof Christ.” 2 Corinthians 5:10.

We must also recognize thatwhen belief is stated to be the con-dition of salvation in the New Tes-tament (see John 3:16; Acts 16:31),this belief is never defined in con-trast with the obedience belief pro-duces. Biblical belief is not mere in-tellectual acknowledgment; it is thesurrender of the heart and life toGod’s transforming power, which iswhat the new birth and true obedi-ence are all about. See John 3. Thosewho have this belief, which includesobedience (see John 3:36, RSV), willescape condemnation (see John5:24).

G97>%7&H0& *-%&8;2"C*92%6Ratzlaff’s book insists that the

sanctuary doctrine has been “judgedby the gospel” and found wanting.The problem is that Ratzlaff’s viewof the gospel has been judged bythe Scriptures and found wanting.The doctrine of salvation by justifi-cation alone; the belief that we aresaved entirely by the work of Christfor us and not also by His work inus; the belief that new convenantgrace makes belief the only condi-tion of salvation rather than alsoobedience to the Ten Command-ments; the denial of sinless perfec-

tion in this life—all these teachingsrepresent a “gospel” foreign to thepages of the Bible. What Ratzlaffcalls “the acid test”—agreement be-tween one’s theology and the newcovenant gospel of grace9—is nota-bly flunked by his own “gospel” the-ology.

We therefore conclude that themost basic dispute of evangelicalslike Ratzlaff against the sanctuarydoctrine is without Biblical support.Our next article will examine otherarguments by Ratzlaff against thesanctuary doctrine itself. !

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<+2&<92*-%2&8*970Some Bible students will be

interested to know that theGreek word translated “con-demnation” in John 5:24 (KJV)refers to the condemnation orpunishment type of judgment inmany other scriptures. A concor-dance will show that the sameGreek word is translated in theKJV New Testament as follows:

“Damnation”: Matthew23:33; Mark 3:29; John 5:29

“Condemnation”: John 3:19;5:24

“Accusation”: 2 Peter 2:11;Jude 1:9

“Judgment”: Matthew 5:21–22; 10:15; 11:22, 24; 12:18, 20,36, 41–42; 23:23; Mark 6:11;Luke 10:14; 11:31–32, 42; John5:22, 27, 30; 7:24; 8:16; 12:31;16:8, 11; Acts 8:33; 2 Thessalo-nians 1:5; 1 Timothy 5:24; He-brews 9:27; 10:27; James 2:13; 2Peter 2:4, 9; 3:7; 1 John 4:17;Jude 1:6, 15; Revelation 14:7;16:7; 18:10; 19:2

"* Our Firm FOUNDATION February 1999

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Dear youth,A disposition in you to dress

according to the fashion, and towear lace and gold and artificials fordisplay, will not recommend to oth-ers your religion or the truth thatyou profess. People of discernmentwill look upon your attempts tobeautify the external as proof ofweak minds and proud hearts.Simple, plain, unpretending dresswill be a recommendation to myyouthful sisters. In no better way canyou let your light shine to othersthan in your simplicity of dress anddeportment. You may show to allthat, in comparison with eternalthings, you place a proper estimateupon the things of this life.

Now is your golden opportunityto form pure and holy characters forheaven. You cannot afford to de-vote these precious moments totrimming and ruffling and beautify-ing the external to the neglect ofthe inward adorning. “Whose adorn-ing let it not be that outward adorn-ing of plaiting the hair, and of wear-ing of gold, or of putting on ofapparel; but let it be the hidden manof the heart, in that which is notcorruptible, even the ornament of ameek and quiet spirit, which is inthe sight of God of great price.”

God, who created everythinglovely and beautiful that the eyerests upon, is a lover of the beauti-ful. He shows you how He estimatestrue beauty. The ornament of ameek and quiet spirit is in His sightof great price. Shall we not seekearnestly to gain that which Godestimates as more valuable thancostly dress or pearls or gold? The

gloomy.An in-s p i r e d writer hassaid: “But the path of thejust is as the shining light, thatshineth more and more unto theperfect day. The way of the wickedis as darkness: they know not atwhat they stumble.”

And shall the young live vain andthoughtless lives of fashion and fri-volity, dwarfing their intellect to thematter of dress and consuming theirtime in sensual pleasure? . . .

While you pray, dear youth, thatyou may not be led into temptation,remember that your work does notend with the prayer. You must thenanswer your own prayer as far aspossible by resisting temptation, andleave that which you cannot do foryourselves for Jesus to do for you.You cannot be too guarded in yourwords and in your deportment, lestyou invite the enemy to tempt you.Many of our youth, by their care-less disregard of the warnings andreproofs given them, open the doorwide for Satan to enter. With God’sWord for our Guide and Jesus as ourheavenly Teacher we need not beignorant of His requirements or ofSatan’s devices and be overcome byhis temptations. It will be no un-pleasant task to be obedient to thewill of God when we yield ourselvesfully to be directed by His Spirit.

Testimonies, vol. 3, 376–377.

inward adorning, the grace of meek-ness, a spirit in harmony with theheavenly angels, will not lessen truedignity of character or make us lesslovely here in this world.

Religion, pure and undefiled, en-nobles its possessor. You will everfind with the true Christian a markedcheerfulness, a holy, happy confi-dence in God, a submission to Hisprovidences, that is refreshing to thesoul. By the Christian, God’s loveand benevolence can be seen inevery bounty he receives. The beau-ties in nature are a theme for con-templation. In studying the naturalloveliness surrounding us, the mindis carried up through nature to theAuthor of all that is lovely. All theworks of God are speaking to oursenses, magnifying His power, ex-alting His wisdom. Every createdthing has in it charms which inter-est the child of God and mold histaste to regard these precious evi-dences of God’s love above thework of human skill. . . .

It is absence of religion thatmakes the path of so many profes-sors of religion shadowy. There arethose who may pass for Christiansbut who are unworthy of the name.They have not Christian characters.When their Christianity is put to thetest, its falsity is too evident. Truereligion is seen in the daily deport-ment. The life of the Christian ischaracterized by earnest, unselfishworking to do others good and toglorify God. His path is not dark and

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February 1999 Our Firm FOUNDATION ")

I received the noticethat you are going to usecolor in the future. This Iwas sorry to hear because,though the magazinelooks better, I can hardlyread print over color dueto my limited sight.Perhaps you can use thecolor so it doesn’t becomethe background forprinting. Thanks!

I enjoy the FirmFoundation; the formatand detail make it aspecial publication.Continue to use thesequalified writers toinstruct each of us. SoonJesus will come. We lookfor that day.

WW, Washington

We are enclosing adonation to help withthe printing of Our FirmFoundation. Soundsgreat to go full-color! Weappreciate the paper andthe messages presentedeach month.

The events takingplace indeed tell us thatJesus is coming soon.What a privilege we havein the messages by EllenWhite! IB, Oregon

Your monthlymagazine Our FirmFoundation is a blessingto us! We are thankfulthat a friend introducedus to it. It is full oftruths—God’s truths.May God bless you allfor your endeavors.

PD, Michigan

Thank you for themost informative OurFirm Foundation, whichI do read and pass on tothe brethren. May Godcontinue to bless you allat Hope International asyou work to save souls

that are in darkness andto prepare a people forthe soon return of Jesus.

EC, Guyana

I am a lay preacherand a literatureevangelist in our area ofabout fifty towns andvillages. I have comeacross a booklet fromyour outfit entitledSignposts of the SecondComing of Christ. I find itto be one of the mostwonderful booklets Ihave come across!

I would be verygrateful if you will sendme copies of thebooklets to let me reachmany people who do notunderstand anythingabout the Bible Sabbath,as the majority of thepeople here areSundaykeepers.

I appreciate the goodwork you are doing toreach all people, nations,and tribes with thehidden treasure of thegood news of thekingdom. PA, Africa

I wish to express mysincere thanks to ourheavenly Father for thegreat ministry you aredoing. Thank you foryour personal sacrifice. Ifonly the mainstreamchurch would return tothe old-time religion.

Your books and OurFirm Foundation wereintroduced to me thisyear. Your books havebeen a great spiritualblessing to my wife andme. I use your booksextensively in my talksand sermons. You haveblessed my ministry andopened my eyes to manyimportant issues.

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Please renew mysubscription to Our FirmFoundation. I don’t wantto miss a single issue. Ilike articles such as theone on the SDAReformed Church—itwas quite educationaland fair. Many of us havebeen wondering aboutthem.

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From BehindPrison Bars

I’m writing this noteto let you know howmuch I appreciate yourhelp with study material.I am much interested inthe sanctuary subject. Ifyou have anything onthat it would be ablessing. Also, anythingon Daniel and Revelationwould be helpful.Anything from Ellen G.White also.

Thank you so muchfor your help.

GW, California

I am writing to you inhopes you might be able

to help in the study ofprophecy—in the booksof Daniel and Revelation.I am currently in prisonand without funds, butwhatever you could sendme would be greatlyappreciated.

A Christian brotherhere that is a Seventh-day Adventist has shareda lot with me about yourviews on the Bible, and Ilike very much what heteaches me. I have twobooks now—The Desireof Ages and The GreatControversy. I just lovereading them. I wouldreally like acorrespondence courseand any other literatureyou can send. Thankyou.

DY, California

I would like toreceive your Bible studymaterials. In 1994 Ilearned about JesusChrist and was baptizedinto the Seventh-dayAdventist Church. Then Iturned away from God,and I’ve been in prisonever since. My grandpatold me how good yourlessons are, and aboutthe good books yousend. I sure need themnow as I try to find myway back to God.

VN, Louisiana

Greetings in the nameof Jesus! I just ran acrossone of your tracts—ATest and A Sign. This is avery interesting concept.Do you have anythingelse on the JewishSabbath? Do you have aBible study I could do,as I have a lot of sparetime on my hands and Ienjoy study.

JW, Oregon

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