~~~
WWN 1970s:
1975 Jan-Mar VIII 1(75) - VIII 3(75)
~~~
1975 Apr-Jun - VIII 4(75) - VIII 6(75)
~~~
1975 Jul-Sep VIII 7(75) - VIII 9(75)
1975 Oct-Dec VIII 10(75) - VIII 12(75)
1976 Jan-Mar IX 1(76) - IX 3(76)
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1977 Jan-Mar X 1(77) - X 3(77)
1977 Apr-Jun X 4(77) - X 6(77)
1977 Jul-Sep X 7(77) - X 9(77)
1977 Oct-Dec X 10(77) - X 12(77)
1978 Jan-Mar XI 1(78) - XI 3(78)
1978 Apr-Jun XI 4(78) - XI 6(78)
1978 Jul-Sep XI 7(78) - XI 9(78)
1978 Oct-Dec XI 10(78) - XI 12(78)
~~~
~~~
Site
Overview
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ADVENTIST LAYMEN'S FOUNDATION OF CANADA (ALF)
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William H. Grotheer, Editor of Research & Publication for the
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From a WWN letter to a reader: RE:
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~~~
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Place of the Bible In Education, The - Alonzo T. Jones
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Letters to the Churches - M. L. Andreasen
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Daniel and the Revelation - Uriah Smith
Spiritual Gifts. The Great Controversy, between Christ and His Angels, and Satan and his Angels - Ellen G. White
Canons of the Bible, The - Raymond A. Cutts
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~~~~~
General Note: All the Specials and Commentaries are in the last file of the year. There are 4 files for each year: jm=Jan-Mar; aj=Apr-Jun; js-=Jul-Sep; od=Oct-Dec.
In
memory of
Elder William Henry Grotheer, Editor
"Watchman,
What of the Night?" ( WWN) is a
thought paper that was published monthly continuously
from Jan, 1968 to the end of Dec. 2006 . by
the Adventist Laymen's Foundation of Mississippi, Inc.(ALF), with William
H. Grotheer as the Editor of Research & Publication.
Due to his failing health, Elder Grotheer requested that ALF of Canada continue publishing thoughts through its website www.AdventistAlet.com which now has developed into frequent Blog Thought articles plus all of the Foundation's historical published works written and audio.
As of 2010, with the official closing of the ALF of USA , The Adventist Laymen's Foundation of Canada with its website www.Adventist Alert.com is the only officially operating ALF branch established by Elder Grotheer worldwide.
We are thankful for the historical legacy that is now available through
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Victoria, BC V8W 3R9 Canada
The Nov. 1977 issue discusses "What is the "Watchman What of the Night?"
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~~~~~
WWN 1975 Apr - Jun
1975 Apr -- ANALYSIS -- Part 1 -- (Times of the Gentiles) -- In the January thought paper - "Lift Up Your Heads" - we outlined the significance of the prophecy which Jesus gave as recorded by Luke. This was done in harmony with the counsel of the servant of the Lord when she wrote: In the twenty-first chapter of Luke Christ foretold what was to come upon Jerusalem, and with it He connected the scenes which were to take place in the history of this world just prior to the coming of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 1
In the presentation of Christ, there where three major
sign divisions. The first marked the time of the destruction of Jerusalem.
The second group of signs - signs in the sun, moon, and stars - proclaimed
"the period of the revelation of the Son of man." 7
The third division marked the fulfillment of "the
times of the Gentiles." 2
or nations. In this thought paper, we shall begin an analysis of the first
two divisions to discover what lessons we can learn as we seek to find
the answer of what God is saying to us by permitting the final prophecy
which Christ gave to be fulfilled before our very eyes in this generation.
Jesus
stated - "When
ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation
thereof is nigh." 3
In 66 A. D., Cestius did come, and surround Jerusalem with armies. Josephus
tells us that
"he retired from the city, without any reason in the world. " 4
Titus resumed the siege and Jerusalem was trodden down of the Gentiles
four years later. This can be diagrammed thus:
----------66 AD-------------------- 70 AD
p 2 -- Suppose you had been living in Jerusalem in 66 A. D., and were operating a successful market place. You had heard the Apostles tell of the words of Jesus. What would you have done when the armies of Cestius suddenly withdrew from the city? What should you have done?
Suppose again you had been living in 68 A. D., and had
left your business, home, and possessions in Jerusalem, and were now trying
to re-establish yourself with difficulty in the country to which you had
fled in 66 A. D. Word comes to you that things are pretty normal in Jerusalem,
and that business is good. What would you have been tempted to do? What
would you have done? What should you really have done? Then comes 70 A.
D., and the destruction of Jerusalem with "vengeance". Wouldn't
you have thanked God for the words of Jesus, and been exceedingly joyous
that you had believed what had been spoken, and acted in harmony with
those words?
The second division of the prophecy of Jesus concerned the "signs in the sun and in the moon, and in the stars." 5 Matthew enlarged this aspect of the prophecy of Jesus and declared that "the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven." 6 These major signs mark the beginning of a "period", not a single event. We read: While wholly unconscious of their condition and their peril, the church and the world were rapidly approaching the most solemn and momentous period of earth's history, - the period of the revelation of the Son of man. Already had the signs which Christ Himself had promised, - the sun clothed in darkness by day and the moon by night, - declared His coming near. 7
This period of "the revelation of the Son of man" is likewise three-fold. 1) Jesus came as "the Son of man" in the clouds of heaven to the Ancient of Days in 1844 to begin the work of Judgment. 8 While the Father presides, all judgment is placed in the hands of Christ because "He is the Son of man." 9 How reassuring to know that One who became us in all aspects save in the acts of sin, and who can understand what we have faced in each decision of life, will render the final decision
p 3 -- in our eternal destiny.
2) The Son of man is to be revealed in humanity.
Those who live through the final hours of human history
"must reflect the image of Jesus fully." 10
Now Jesus is the human name given to the Son of God when He became the
Son of man. This means simply that the saints of earth's final hour will
walk as He walked when He was here as a Man among men. How important then,
that we understand the nature of the Incarnation, 11
for unless we do, we shall never reflect the image of Jesus fully.
3) The final event of the period
of the revelation of the Son of man is His coming in the clouds of glory
to gather the subject of the Kingdom given to Him in the Judgment, and
to vindicate those who have in turn vindicated God by reflecting in earth's
last hour, the image of Jesus fully. 12
The signs which marked the eve of the period of the revelation
of the Son of man can be diagrammed thus:
May 19, 1780--------------------Nov.
13, 1833-----------------------Oct. 22, 1844
Suppose you had been living in 1832 in one of the New
England States, and an announcement was made that a Baptist layman was
coming to town to tell about the end of the world in a little more than
ten years from then. You were a member of the Methodist church, and on
the Sunday morning prior to the meeting, your pastor warned his congregation
not to get alarmed because there had always been rabble rousers telling
that the end of all things was near. After all what could this layman
know more than all the great scholars of the Church? What would you have
done? What should you have done? Would there have been deep religious
ties holding you to the thinking to which you had been accustomed?
Suppose that you had still been in New England on the
night of November 13, 1833. You had listened to your pastor, and had not
gone to hear William Miller the year previous. But now you read your Bible,
and having seen with your own
p 4 -- eyes the sign which Jesus gave, what would
you do? What should you have done if strictly honest with yourself and
God?
Suppose after listening to the preachers of the Advent
- for their number had grown since the final sign which Jesus gave to
mark the period of the revelation of the Son of man - you joined the Movement.
Then came the summer of 1844. According to your belief and expectation
you looked for the coming of Jesus to earth that Fall - October 22, to
be specific. How would you have related yourself to the business as usual
routine that was still evident in the world? How should you have?
William Miller and those associated with him misunderstood
the meaning of the prophetic phrase -"the cleansing of the sanctuary."
They believed that this referred to the destruction of the earth by fire.
They were correct in their understanding of the time part of the prophecy
- the 2300 Days. Now we face the final sign that Jesus gave in Luke 21:
- Jerusalem is no longer trodden down of the Gentiles or nations. It can
be diagrammed thus:
----------1967------------------------Second
Advent
We cannot afford the luxury of a single mistake in interpreting
the meaning of this final sign, which marks the completion of the times
of the Gentiles. What is God seeking to tell us in permitting this sign
to be fulfilled before our eyes today? We must know what it signifies
so as to know how to relate ourselves to its fulfillment. There can be
no question but that it relates to the final scenes of this earth's history.
It is also clear by comparison that the generation, which was alive during
any of the other signs, did see fulfilled the event to which those signs
pointed. We are thus past the point where we can play tidily-winks with
our eternal destiny.
We must know, we must understand the significance of this
final sign given by Jesus.
p 5 -- Further, how we react today to what God
is saying by this sign is the same way we would have reacted had we been
living when the other signs occurred. Every prophecy of God demands a
commitment on the part of each individual who is alive at the time of
its fulfillment.
This analysis will be continued in the next thought paper.
1 -- Ellen G. White, Counsels
to Writers and Editors, pp. 23-24
2 -- Luke 21:24
3 -- Luke 21:20
4 -- Josephus, Wars of the Jews, Bk. II, Chap. xix, Sec. 7
5 -- Luke 21:25
6 -- Matthew 24:29
7 -- Ellen G. White, Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. IV, p. 195
8 -- Daniel 7:9-10; 13-14
9 -- John 5:22,27
10 -- Ellen G. White, Early Writings, p. 71
11 -- See Manuscript -In the Form of a Slave, a study of the meaning
of the Incarnation and what it means to be a partaker of the Divine Nature
as revealed in the scriptures, and the Spirit of Prophecy.
12 -- Luke 21:27, Matthew 24:30-31
NOTES AND COMMENTS --
Bauer Tape -For April the subject will be -"God's True
Church."
Believe It or Not! -- The letter on the next page sent to Elder Bauer is being reproduced as a facsimile for only by seeing can one believe under such circumstances. Those of the laity and ministry who have been accorded such "brotherly love" know the malice, hatred, and professional jealousy which lies behind such a letter. Identical letters were also sent to the clerk and church school teacher at South Lake Tahoe. (The underscoring and paragraph markings are mine.) Take a good look at "A", and then compare with the Church Manual, 1967 edition, p. 233, which reads: "A vote of censure must not carry any provision involving severance of church membership in case of failure to comply with any conditions imposed. " Consider "B", and note that the Church Manual on the same page states that one censured "is not deprived . . .of the privilege of sharing the blessings of Sabbath school, church worship, or the ordinances of the Lord's house. " The gap between the actions of the hierarchy, and the verbalizing of "revival", "reformation", "perfection", and "righteousness by faith" in the general church paper continues to widen. May God have mercy on the deceived laity.
(Letter not attached here. Possibly a letter to Jean Colston from S. Lake Tahoe church re: censor for handing out material and threats of disfellowshipping and told not welcome in the church building.) (1975 Apr )---END--- TOP
1975
May -- ANALYSIS -- Part
2 -- (The Times of the Gentiles) -- In
this thought paper we continue the analysis of the prophecy of Jesus as
found in Luke 21:24. What does the fact that "the times of the Gentiles"
have been fulfilled in this generation before our eyes mean to us? What
is God saying to us? This is the all-important question.
Our spiritual forefathers, who were faced with questions
concerning their own experience as they had related to the message of
1844, turned to the study of the sanctuary to find enlightenment. From
the Heavenly Sanctuary they received light which assured them of God's
leading in their past experience and revealed to them their present duty
resulting from God's action in the Sanctuary above. Of this we read:
The subject
of the sanctuary was the key which unlocked the mystery of the disappointment,
showing that God had led His people in the great Advent movement. It opened
to view a complete system of truth, connected and harmonious, and revealed
present duty as it brought to light the position and work of God's people. 1
The key - the Word - produced faith in the hearts of this
little company of Advent believers, and they came to understand what was
to be "the closing work of the church". This likewise is described
by the servant of the Lord in these words: Another
class [after 1844] firmly held that the Lord had led them in their past
experience; and as they waited and prayed to know the will of God, they
saw that their great High Priest had entered upon another work of ministration,
and, following by faith, they were led to understand also the closing
work of the church, and were prepared to receive and give to the world
the warning of the third angel of Revelation 14. 2
p 2 -- We have nothing to fear for the future,
except as we shall forget the leading of the Lord, and His teaching in
our past history. We, too, must look to the sanctuary to find, if possible,
what God is saying to us by permitting this sign - the fulfilling of the
times of the Gentiles - to come to pass. In 1844, the Ancient of Days
caused "thrones to be placed", and the judgment to sit. 3
We have understood this to be the beginning of the Final Session of the
atoning work of Christ as the High Priest in the Most Holy Place of the
heavenly sanctuary. There from above the Cherubim, in a special sense,
the decisions the Eternal would be pronounced according to the intercession
of the Son of man. We have also understood that when the Son of man would
cease His intercession, probation's hour would close, and all human destiny
would be fixed.
It is obvious that human probation has not ceased with
the completion of the "times of the Gentiles." Can we, therefore,
find in the Bible a revelation of any specific activity on the part of
God in the sanctuary above that takes place prior to the close of probation
that would have a dynamic bearing on the work of God in the earth? There
is such a prophecy. Note what it states in Ezekiel 9: He
cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have
charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying
weapon in his hand. And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher
gate, ...and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer's
inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brazen altar.
And the glory
of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, where-upon He was, to
the threshold of the house. And He called to the man clothed with linen
which had the writer's inkhorn by his side: And the Lord said unto him,
Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and
set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all
the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. 4
According to this prophecy, the Ancient of Days stands
up from the cherub, "whereupon He was," and goes to the threshold
of the house to command a special work to begin in the church. To use
a human comparison - when an earthly judge arises prior to the final verdict
of the court, the court goes into recess until
p 3 -- the judge is reasserted Is God, therefore,
saying to us, that the Heavenly Court has gone into recess as of 1967,
and that when reconvened, the final verdict will be rendered quickly?
Do we have any counsel as to how this prophecy of Ezekiel 9 is to be understood?
Note the following most carefully: The
true people of God, who have the spirit of the work of the Lord, and the
salvation of souls at heart will ever view sin in its real sinful character.
They will always be on the side of faithful and plain dealing with sins
which easily beset the people of God. Especially in the closing work for
the church, in the sealing time of the one hundred and forty-four thousand
who are to stand without fault before the throne of God, will they feel
most deeply the wrongs of God's professed people. This is forcibly set
forth by the prophet's illustration of the last work under the figure
of the men each having a slaughter weapon in his hand. One man among them
was clothed with linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side. 5
Several points need to be considered from this reference. Two groups of people are brought to view -"the true people of God" and "God's professed people." The work is defined as "the last work", "the closing work for the church." How does this relate to the sign that the times of the Gentiles are up? Let us note this point.
To the Church was committed a special work -"the
closing work of the church" (See quotation under footnote #2). This
has been described in another reference:
In a
special sense Seventh-day Adventists have been set in the world as watchman
and light-bearers. To them has been entrusted the last warning message
for a perishing world. On them is shining light from the word of God.
They have been given a work of the most solemn import, - the proclamation
of the first, second, and third angels' messages. There is no other work
of so great importance. 6
This threefold message of Revelation 14 was to go to every nation - the Gentiles. 7 (The same word for nations in the Greek is also used for Gentiles.) In a special sense, God appointed the Seventh-day Adventist Church as His instrument to give the final warning to the nations of earth. Thus when the times of the Gentiles or nations are fulfilled, there is only one of two conclusions to draw.
Either the church has completed her work, or else the
church has failed to do the task assigned, and God Himself has to enter
the picture. The latter conclusion
p 4 -- is presented in Ezekiel, and God orders
the closing work for the church to commence - the sealing of the 144,000
- so that He can complete through them the work which the whole of the
church failed to do.
There is a further deduction to be drawn. In the reference
found in Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 9, there is the reoccurrence
of the word -"entrusted," and concepts meaning the same. To
the Church "has
been entrusted the last warning message for a perishing World."
"The most solemn truths ever entrusted to mortals has been
given to us to proclaim to the world." "God's people are to
be true to the trust committed to them." 6
How we have handled this sacred trust determines the decision to be rendered
upon the Church in the sanctuary, for we read: In
the balances of the sanctuary the Seventh-day Adventist church is to be
weighed. She will be judged by the privileges and advantages that she
has had. If her spiritual experience does not correspond to the advantages
that Christ, at infinite cost bestowed upon her, if the blessings conferred
have not qualified her to do the work entrusted to her, on her will be
pronounced the sentence, "Found wanting." By the light bestowed,
the opportunities given, will she be judged. 8
When God, therefore, recognizes that the city - spiritual
Jerusalem or the church 9
has failed Him in doing the work "entrusted" to her, He arises
and takes things into His own hands, and orders the sealing work to commence.
Thus we can conclude, that in 1967, God told us that the Seventh-day Adventist
Church as a corporate body had been weighed in the balances of the sanctuary
and had been found wanting. The eternal results to each member of the
church will be how each relates to the decision of heaven in regard to
the church as a corporate body. It is how one relates to God's revealed
will that determines the destiny of each individual. Those who are sealed
out of spiritual Jerusalem, the Church, are those that sigh and cry for
all the abominations that have been done in the midst thereof. Those who
do sigh and cry - have "held forth the words of life", "reproved,
counseled, and entreated. Some who had been dishonoring God, repented
and humbled their hearts before Him. But the glory of the Lord had departed
from Israel, although many still
p 5 -- continued the forms of religion, His power and presence were lacking. 10
Are there any outward events that occurred in the official
actions of the church in 1967 which could cause the corporate body to
pass over the unseen line of their probation, even as the Jewish nation
stepped over that line in 34 A. D.? The answer is - Yes! Note the following
facts: Because
the General Conference is responsible for a large pool of capital, the
controlling investment and securities committee decided in 1967 to retain
professional counsel. Lionel D. Edie & Company, Inc., of New York
City, was chosen to do the research, analysis, and selection of securities
[stocks and bonds] for the General Conference portfolio. 11
The Seventh-day
Adventists have had representation on the Faith and Order Commission of
the World Council of Churches since 1967. They have also been full participants
in the annual meeting of the Secretaries of the various World Confessional
Families. 12
It is the Faith and Order Commission which engages in
doctrinal analysis of the differences separating the various confessions
of Christendom with the view of finding common ground for fellowship.
Since 1967, this commission has been holding study consultations in different
parts of the world in regard to the Holy Eucharist so as to find a common
basis so that all - Catholics and Protestants alike can celebrate the
Lord's Supper together. (The Catholics call it the Mass.) At the World
Council gathering in Uppsala, the official communion service held in the
cathedral did see Catholic observers in attendance take part unofficially,
and without any publication of the fact. 13
We had observers at this gathering, including the editor of the Review. 14
It would be interesting to know if any of the observers from the Seventh-day
Adventist church took part.
We shall pursue our analysis of the times of the Gentiles
as to its meaning and significance in the next thought paper -"ANALYSIS
-III"
p 6 --
1 -- Ellen G. White, Spirit of Prophecy, IV, p. 268
2 -- Ibid., pp. 271-272
3 -- see-Daniel 7:9-10 ARV
4 -- Ezekiel 9:1-4
5 -- Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 3, p. 266
6 -- Ibid., Vol. 9, p. 19
7 -- Revelation 14:6.
8 -- White, Op. cit. Vol. 8 p. 247
9 -- Ibid., Vol. 3, p. 267
10 -- Ibid., Vol. 5, p. 210
11 -- Robert E. Osborn, "Investment Practices of the General Conference",
Spectrum, Vol. 5, No. 2, 1973, p. 52
12 -- Gerald F. Moede, Commission on Faith and Order, World Council of
Churches, Letter to M. Ireland, dated 27th March, 1974.
13 -- Ibid., Letter dated February 8, 1974.
14 -- See Review & Herald, July 25, 1968, p. 1.
NOTES AND COMMENTS
-- Adventist Representative -- According to Gerald F. Moede,
the representative of the Seventh-day Adventist Church on the World Council
of Church's Commission on Faith and Order is Dr. Raoul Dederen of Andrews
University. Your tithe is used to help pay the salary of this representative.
Priorities for Ordination.
- Under a photo in the Review & Herald, March 13, 1975 appeared
this caption - "Richard M. Davidson, president of the Flagstaff,
Arizona, Ministerial Association and pastor of the Seventh-day Adventist
churches in Flagstaff, Winslow, and Page, was ordained to the gospel ministry
during camp meeting in Prescott." p. 16.
What If?
-The Zidonian Herald, Samarian edition, had on a certain day in
the year B. C. 865 carried the following news release: -"Jezreel,
Imperial Palace. Elijah, president of the Ministerial Alliance of Baal,
and prophet of Jehovah had a very friendly and profitable audience with
King Ahab at the sixth hour today. Elijah remained as dinner guest of
the King."
Bauer tape of the month
-"Overcoming". (1975 May) ---END--- TOP
1975
Jun -- ANALYSIS -- Part
3 -- (The Times of the Gentiles)
-- In this analysis, we shall cover four different areas of thought
which are interrelated. The conclusions drawn result from the fact that
the prophecy of Luke 21:24 given by Jesus Himself has been fulfilled.
We might call it "The Fall-Out" from fulfilled prophecy.
The Sealing --
When God arose
"from the cherub, whereupon He was," He
ordered the sealing work to proceed in
"the midst of Jerusalem." 1
God has borne long with the disobedience of His professed people. It has
been written: The
Lord God is a jealous God; yet He bears long with the sins and transgressions
of His people in this generation. . . . Because the people are disobedient,
unthankful, unholy, as were ancient Israel, time is prolonged that all
may hear the last message of mercy proclaimed with a loud voice. The Lord's
work has been hindered, the sealing time delayed. Many have not heard
the truth. But the Lord will give them a chance to hear and be converted.
2
Because the church appointed to proclaim the final message has failed in the trust committed to it, God has taken things into His own hands, and will provide the means whereby those who have not heard the truth will have opportunity to do so. God arises and orders the delayed sealing to commence - the selection of the 144, 000 through whom He plans to make His final witness. 3
The ones sealed are found in the "midst of Jerusalem". They are concerned about what is taking place in that city. We are told plainly that in Ezekiel's prophecy, Jerusalem represents the church. We read: Mark this point with care: Those who receive the pure mark of truth,
p 2 -- wrought
in them by the Power of the Holy Ghost, represented by a mark by the man
in linen, are those "that sigh and that cry for all the abominations
that be done" in the church. 4
These sealed ones receive a special mark. On their foreheads
is written
"God, New Jerusalem, and a glorious star containing Jesus' new
name." 5
These members of Old Jerusalem, receive a new citizenship. They obtain
a "new" mother. As Paul
wrote - "But
the Jerusalem, which is above is free, which is the mother of us all." 6
Let us face the fact, painful though it may be, that those who are presently
calling for us to be loyal to "The Church, Our Mother", indicating
it to be the earthly corporate organization, are deceivers of the people,
giving the trumpet an uncertain sound and lulling the laity into a fatal
security.
If the prophecy of Ezekiel 9 teaches anything, it teaches
plainly that the church as presently constituted will not go through,
and only those sealed from it will reach the New Jerusalem. This prophecy
also answers the question left unanswered in regard to Laodicea. The
Faithful Witness declared - "Because
thou art lukewarm . . . I am about to spue thee out of my mouth," 7
The sealed ones are classified with the overcomers of Philadelphia, for
the Philadelphian church is pictured as a group bearing the
"name of the city of my God, which is New Jerusalem." 8
Thus Laodicea - if the prophecy of Ezekiel 9 means anything - is spued
out.
The Final Form of
the Church -- In the light
of the prophecy of Ezekiel 9, and the comments found thereon in the Spirit
of Prophecy, what will the church look like in its final conflict with
the powers of earth that will be marshaled by the dragon host?
9
We have not studied the work of "the third angel" as we should
have. It should have engrossed our whole mind, our whole attention, for
we read:
I then
saw the third angel. Said my accompanying angel, " Fearful is his
work. Awful is his mission. He is the angel that is to select the wheat
from the from the tares, and seal, or bind, the
p 3 -- wheat
for the heavenly garner. These things should engross the whole mind, the
whole attention. 10
First note - the Angel said - the third angel "is to select the wheat from the tares." Surely heaven knows which way the process of selection and separation is to be carried out. It is not the tares that are to be removed from the wheat, but the wheat from the tares. Many today are thinking and writing, as if God had not arisen from the cherub whereupon He was, as if God had not commanded another work to begin. What might have been, and what is, are two different things.
Blessed are they who are willing to follow the unfolding
scroll of prophecy, and who discern in the events taking place, the message
of God for this hour. The expression in Early Writings where the angel
is quoted direct as saying that the wheat is selected from the tares is
not an isolated instance as found in the writings of the servant of the
Lord. In another place we are told - "The
gold will be separated from the dross in the church"
not the dross from the gold. 11
Also, "the little company" is plainly set forth as distinct
from the "many" who continue the forms of religious service
even though the glory of the Lord had departed from Israel. 12
The question comes as to how the wheat sealed and bound
for the "heavenly garner" will be organized? The same accompanying
angel also revealed this to the servant
of the Lord. The description reads:
He bade
me look in an opposite direction, and I saw a little company traveling
a narrow pathway. All seemed to be firmly united, bound together by the
truth, in bundles, or companies. Said the angel, " the third angel
is binding, or sealing, them in bundles for the heavenly garner."
13
These little companies are bound together, not by human
organization, but by truth, and truth alone. This and this alone will
firmly unite them. And is it not also of deep
interest that "the righteousness of Christ, ... is pure, unadulterated
truth, 14
and that those sealed are settled "into the truth, both intellectually
p 4 -- and
spiritually, so they cannot be moved. 15
The
Final Witness -- The
pure mark of truth is stated to be wrought in the sighing, crying ones
in Jerusalem by the Holy Spirit. 4
We are also told that those who are sealed "reflect the image of
Jesus fully." 16
In the light of this, it is noteworthy to observe before Jesus gave a
detailed account of the specific signs in Luke 21, He warned His followers
that they would be brought before synagogues, kings, and rulers for His
name's sake. This opportunity was to
"turn to (them) for a testimony." 17
Mark connects this witness directly with the witness of the Holy Spirit
through the lips of those who are thus delivered up. It reads: When
they shall lead you and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what
ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given
you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the
Holy Ghost. 18
Only as we reflect the image of Jesus fully can this be our experience. He emptied Himself, so that Father alone appeared in His life. The words he spoke; the deeds He did, were not His, but the Father who sent Him. 19 And only as we understand the incarnation in its reality - Christ in our fallen, defiled human nature, letting the power of the Holy Spirit act for Him - can we come to reflect that possibility. And when this does occur, God will have that group through whom He can give the final witness to the world - before courts of justice and legislative assemblies. Then those who have been deprived of hearing pure, unadulterated truth because of the failure of the church appointed to bear that witness, will be enabled to hear and make a decision before it is eternally too late. 20 This is the time in which we are living, the gathering of the personnel for that final testimony. If we cannot now yield ourselves to let the Holy Spirit use our voices, and pens to reprove, counsel, and entreat in regard to the abominations that are being done in the midst of the church, how can we
p 5 -- stand up, and let the Holy Spirit use our voices to call the religious federation gathered to the place called in the Hebrew tongue, Har-Magedon, for just what it is - the agency for the deification of Satan. 21 Well did Jeremiah ask - If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace [the comfortable pew], wherein thou trustest, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of the Jordan? 22
Significance
of the Date 1967 -- In the very year that the servant of
the Lord told Dr. P. T. Magan that we would have to remain here many more
years because of insubordination, she also wrote that we should study
Luke 21 regarding what was to come upon Jerusalem. 23
She did not include Matthew 24, nor Mark 13 which are parallel chapters.
The only item that is found in Luke 21 in regard to Jerusalem that is
not found in the other two books is the prophecy which relates to "the
times of the Gentiles." In other words, God intended to give His
chosen church every possible opportunity to accomplish its appointed mission.
He would bear long with them, but He was also telling the church that
there would be a limit beyond which He would go no further, and He gave
a sign to mark off that limit. This we have exceeded, and God let events
on earth take their course.
However, in this mercy of God, there is a challenge to those who have run ahead of God. Various groups - the Reformed Seventh-day Adventist body, the Rod, Brinsmead - Decade I - and others too numerous to mention, sought to anticipate the decision to be rendered in the balances of the heavenly sanctuary. Instead of sighing and crying in the "midst of Jerusalem", they sought to create their own city". God did appoint a corporate human organization to fulfill His intended mission on the earth - the final warning to the inhabitants of earth - the nations. And until God would so indicate that He had weighed this organization in the balances of the sanctuary, no human authority was in a position to so judge, or
p 6 -- to act as if God had already done so. And no human being had the insight to know what the decision of heaven would be until it was announced through the sign He Himself permitted to take place. Thus there needs to be a deep heart-searching, and repentance on the part of all those who have thus run ahead of God.
There is another side to this coin also. Even as Israel
of old sought to take the land of Canaan by storm after God said that
generation would die in the wilderness, so the corporate body will seek
to take the Latter Rain by storm to show that God is still with the organization.
But to know what God has said in letting Luke 21:24 be fulfilled will
keep us from being deceived by a false latter rain. We will be able to
rest on the Word of God instead of our senses. 24
Keep in mind that the leadership of the church today is
just as defiant as the Pharisees of old who
"defied earth and heaven to dispossess them of their rights. But
by lives of unfaithfulness they were preparing for the condemnation of
heaven and separation from God." 25
This is not stretching a point for we read - "
As it was in the days of Christ so it is now; the Pharisees do not know
their spiritual destitution. To them comes the message . . . " and
Revelation 3:17-18 is quoted. The leadership of Laodicea unmindful of
the decision rendered in the balances of the sanctuary, continue to defy
heaven to remove their candlestick out of its place. 26
But the message of Ezekiel 9 is simply that the candlestick has been removed,
and given to a group who will render to God fruit in due season - even
the group known in prophecy as the 144,000 on whose foreheads will be
put their destination - New Jerusalem.
1 -- Ezekiel 9:1-4.
2 -- Ellen G. White, Letter 106, 1897 quoted in The Faith I Live By,
p. 288
3 -- Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 3, p- 266
4 -- Ibid., p- 267
5 -- Ellen G White, Early Writings, p -15
6 -- Galatians 4:26
7 -- Revelation 3:16 Greek
8 -- Revelation 3:12
9 -- Ellen G. White, Testimonies, for the Church, Vol. 5, p. 213
p 7 --
10 -- Ellen G. White, Early Writings, p. 118
11 -- Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, p. 81
12 -- Ibid., p. 210
13 -- Ellen G. White, Early Writings, pp. 88-89
14 -- Ellen G. White, Testimonies to Ministers, p. 65
15 -- Ellen G. White, Manuscript. 173, 1902, (4BC:1161)
16 -- Ellen G. White, Early Writings, p. 71
17 -- Luke 21:12-13
18 -- Mark 13:11
19 -- ) Philippians 2:7 RSV, John 8:28; 12:49-50; 14:10
20 -- See Footnote #12
21 -- Ellen G. White, Testimonies to Ministers, p. 62
22 -- Jeremiah 12:5
23 -- Ellen G. White, Manuscript, 184, 1901; Letter 20, 1901 See
Counsel to Writers and Editors, pp. 23-24
24 -- Ellen G. White, Great Controversy, p. 625 -"Are the
people of God now so firmly established upon His word that they would
not yield to the evidence of their senses?"
25 -- Ellen G. White, Christ's Object Lessons, p. 294
26 -- Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 280
NOTES AND COMMENTS -- Bauer Tape of the Month -"The Review & Herald Fire"
Seventh-day Adventist Ecumenism
-- "Robert Hunter, pastor of the Morganton, North Carolina (SDA),
district, and a member of the local ministerial association, joined in
PULPIT EXCHANGE DAY, exchanging pulpits with (Father) Thomas Burke of
St. Charles Roman Catholic church. The theme of the city-wide program
was "Blest Be the Tie." Southern Tidings (Official Organ
of the Southern Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventist) April, 1975,
Telex Notes, p. 12.
Correction -- In the Special Report -1, we reported that the Northern California Conference had a loss from playing in the stock market of over Seven Million Dollars. A member of the Subcommittee on Organization and Finance advised us that "the figures you show in the right hand column are not cumulative." Thus the "paper" loss on the stock investments for the six year period covered in the report would be $2,053,298.42, if each loss is reflected in the following year's total. We arrived at our figure by adding the losses for each year together. But be it only Two Million dollars such practices by the hierarchy of the money of the laity is inexcusable. We have wondered what the total losses for the church as a whole have been. An unconfirmed report coming to this desk indicated a loss on paper of over Fifty Million Dollars. It would be well if the leadership of the church would either deny or confirm with facts and figures this loss so that the truth might be known. (1975 June)---END--- TOP
Quotes regarding WWN Thought Paper June, 1975 -- (Analysis -- Part 3 -- [Times of the Gentiles]) --
QUOTATION 1:
Spiritual death has come upon the people who should be manifesting life
and zeal, purity and consecration, by the most earnest devotion to the
cause of truth. The facts concerning the real condition of the professed
people of God, speak more loudly than their profession, and make it evident
that some power has cut the cable that anchored them to the Eternal Rock,
and that they are drifting away to sea, without chart or compass.
Ellen G. White, Review & Herald, July 24, 1888 - written about
two months before the GC where Jones and Waggoner gave the message of
Righteousness By Faith at Minneapolis.
QUOTATION 2: Think
of Christ's humiliation. He took upon Himself fallen, suffering human
nature, degraded and defiled by sin. He took our sorrows, bearing our
grief and shame. He endured all the temptations wherewith man is beset.
He united humanity with divinity: a divine spirit dwelt in a temple of
flesh. He united Himself with the temple.
"The Word was
made flesh and dwelt among us," because by so doing He could associate
with the sinful, sorrowing sons and daughters of Adam."
Youths Instructor, Dec. 20, 1900. Bible Commentary, 1147.
QUOTATION 3: What
is the seal of God? It is a sign or mark which angels, but not human,
eyes can read; for the destroying angel must see this mark of redemption.
The intelligent has seen the sign of the cross of Calvary in the Lord's
adopted sons and daughters. The sin of the transgression of the law of
God is taken away. They have on the wedding garment, and are obedient
and faithful to all God's commands." EGW, Letter 126,
1898. Ezekiel confirms this . . .Mark a Tau.
QUOTATION 4: I am often referred to the parable of the ten virgins, five of whom were wise and five foolish. This parable has been and will be fulfilled to the very letter, for it has a special application to this time, and, like the third angel's message, has been and will continue to be present truth till the close of time. In the parable the ten virgins had lamps, but only five of them had the saving oil with which to keep their lamps burning. This represents the condition of the church. The state of the church represented by the foolish virgins is also spoken of as the Laodicean state. (Review & Herald, Aug. 19, 1890). --- (1975 June) --- END --- TOP 2002