THE REVIEW AND HERALD December 13, 1892
Let the Trumpet Give a Certain
Sound. As God called the
children of
After the truth has been
proclaimed as a witness to all nations, every conceivable power of evil will be
set in operation, and minds will be confused by many voices crying, "Lo,
here is Christ, Lo, he is there. This is the truth, I have the message from
God, he has sent me with great light." Then there will be a removing of
the landmarks, and an attempt to tear down the pillars of our faith. A more
decided effort will be made to exalt the false Sabbath, and to cast contempt
upon God himself by supplanting the day he has blessed and sanctified. This
false Sabbath is to be enforced by an oppressive law. Satan and his angels
are wide-awake, and intensely active, working with energy and perseverance
through human instrumentalities to bring about his purpose of obliterating from
the minds of men the knowledge of God. But while Satan works with his lying
wonders, the time will be fulfilled foretold in the Revelation, and the mighty
angel that shall lighten the earth with his glory, will proclaim the fall of
Babylon, and call upon God's people to forsake her.[a]
At the time of the loud
cry of the third angel those who have been in any measure blinded by the enemy,
who have not fully recovered themselves from the snare of Satan, will be in
peril, because it will be difficult for them to discern the light from heaven,
and they will be inclined to accept falsehood. Their erroneous experience will
color their thoughts, their decisions, their propositions, their counsels. The
evidences that God has given will be no evidence to those who have blinded their
eyes by choosing darkness rather than light. After rejecting light, they will
originate theories which they will call "light," but which the Lord
calls, "
By many the words which the
Lord sent will be rejected, and the words that man may speak will be received
as light and truth. Jesus says, "I am come in my Father's name, and ye
receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive."
Human wisdom will lead away from self-denial, from consecration, and will
devise many things that tend to make of no effect God's messages. We cannot
with any safety rely upon men who are not in close connection with God. They
will accept the opinions of men, but cannot discern the voice of the True
Shepherd, and their influence will lead many astray, though evidence is piled
upon evidence testifying to the verity of truth for these days. The truth is
powerful to turn men to Christ, to quicken their energies, to subdue and soften
their hearts, and inspire them with zeal, devotion, and love to God. The
Sabbath truth must in no case be covered up. We must let it appear in strong
contrast with error. As the end approaches,
the testimonies of God's servants will become more decided and more powerful,
flashing the light of truth upon the systems of error and oppression that have
so long held the supremacy. The Lord has sent us messages for this time, that
will establish Christianity upon an eternal basis; and all who believe the
present truth, must stand, not in their own wisdom, but in God's wisdom, and
raise up the foundations of many generations; and they will be registered in
the books of heaven as "repairers of the breach," the "restorer
of paths to dwell in." In face of the bitterest opposition, we are to
maintain the truth because it is truth. God is at work upon human minds; it is
not man alone that is working. The great illuminating power is from Christ; the
brightness of his example is to be kept before the people in every discourse.
His love is the glory of the rainbow encircling the throne on high. The Lord has said, "I
do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between
me and the earth. . . . And I will remember my covenant, which is between me
and you, and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more
become a flood to destroy all flesh." In the rainbow above the throne is
an everlasting testimony that "God so loved the world that he gave his
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life." Whenever the law is presented before the people, let
the teacher of the truth point to the throne arched with the rainbow of
promise, the righteousness of Christ. The glory of the law is Christ; he came
to magnify the law, and to make it honorable. Make it appear distinct that
mercy and peace have met together in Christ, and righteousness and truth have
embraced each other. When you look to his throne, offering up your penitence,
praise, and thanksgiving that you may perfect Christian character, and
represent Christ to the world, you abide in Christ, and Christ abides in you;
you have the peace that passes all understanding. We need continually to
meditate upon Christ's attractive loveliness. We must direct minds to Jesus,
fasten them upon him. In every discourse dwell upon the divine attributes. As the bow in the cloud is
formed by the union of the sunlight and the shower, so the rainbow encircling
the throne represents the combined power of mercy and justice. It is not
justice alone that is to be maintained; for this would eclipse the glory of the
rainbow of promise above the throne; men could see only the penalty of the law.
Were there no justice, no penalty, there would be no stability to the
government of God. It is the mingling of judgment and mercy that makes
salvation complete. It is the blending of the two that leads us, as we view the
world's Redeemer, and the law of Jehovah, to exclaim, "Thy gentleness hath
made me great." We know that the gospel is a perfect and complete system,
revealing the immutability of the law of God. It inspires the heart with hope,
and with love to God. Mercy invites us to enter through the gates into the city
of The salvation that Christ
made such a sacrifice to gain for man is that which is alone of value; for it
is that which saves from sin, the cause of all the misery and woe in our world.
The mercy of God is that which constantly draws the sinner to Jesus. If he
responds, coming in penitence with confession, in faith laying hold of the hope
set before him in the gospel, God will accept him; for "the broken and
contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." Thus the law of God is not
weakened by the gospel, but the power of sin is broken, and the scepter of
mercy is extended to the penitent sinner. The rainbow above the
throne is the bow of promise, testifying to the whole world that God will never
forget his people in their struggle against evil. Let Jesus be our theme. Let
us by pen and voice present, not only the commandments of God, but the faith of
Jesus. This will promote real heart-piety as nothing else can. While we present
the fact to men that they are subjects of a divine moral government, their
reason will declare to them that this is truth, that they owe allegiance to
Jehovah, and that this life is our time of probation. In this life we are
placed under the discipline and government of God to form characters and
acquire habits for the higher life. All the scenes in which we must act a part,
are to be carefully studied; for they are a part of our education, a part of
God's great plan. We should bring solid timbers into our character
building; for we are working both for this life and the eternal life. And as we
near the close of this earth's history, we either rapidly advance in Christian
growth, or we rapidly retrograde toward the world. Temptations will come in
like a flood; but we need not fail nor be discouraged while we know that the
bow of promise is above the throne of God. We shall be subject to heavy trials,
opposition, bereavement, affliction, but we know that Jesus passed through all
these. These experiences are valuable to us; the advantages of varying
experiences are not by any means confined to this short life; they reach into
eternal ages. Through patience, faith, and hope, in all the changing scenes of
earth, we are forming characters for the everlasting life. And whatever we are
called upon to bear, we may be assured that all things work together for good
to those that love God. (Emphases
added.) FROM WATCHMAN, WHAT OF THE NIGHT?
"The hour has
come,
the
hour
is striking
and striking
at you,
the hour and the end!"
Eze.
7:6 (Moffatt) TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: DO YOU BELIEVE THE MESSENGER OF THE LORD? After the truth has been proclaimed as a witness to all nations, every conceivable power of evil will be set in operation, and minds will be confused by many voices crying, "Lο, here is Christ, Lo he is there. This is the truth, I have a message from God, he has sent me with great light." Then there will be a removing of the landmarks, and an attempt to pull down the pillars of our faith. Α more decided effort will be made to exalt the false Sabbath, and to cast contempt upon God Himself by supplanting the day He has blessed and sanctified. This false Sabbath is to be enforced by an oppressive law. Satan and his angels are wide-awake and intensely active, working with energy and perseverance through human instrumentalities to bring about his purpose of obliterating from the minds of men the knowledge of God. But while Satan works with his lying wonders, the time 'will be fulfilled foretold in the Revelation, and the mighty angel that shall lighten the earth with his glory, will proclaim the fall of Babylon, and call upon God's people to forsake her. (Review & Herald, December 13, 1892) Note the three conjunctive adverbs of time - "After" - "Then" - "But while." Question #1 - If the truth has not been proclaimed as a witness to all nations and needs to be given by "short wave" etc., then there has been no attempt to pull down the pillars, nor remove the landmarks. Why then are you bashing the Church? Perhaps that which is being proclaimed by the Church is merely advancing truth and one needs to walk in its increasing light. (See R&H, March 25, 1890) Question #2 - If, however, there has been an attempt to pull down the pillars of our faith and remove the landmarks, it means simply that the truth has been proclaimed to all nations as a witness. What then is the purpose of extorting under a false premise, monies for "short wave," etc.? You cannot have it both ways. Do you really believe the Messenger of the Lord which you profess as the "voices" of the "Historic Adventist Movement"? This message was sent by FAX to Grosboll, Trefz, Osborne, Vierra and Balsiger, January, 1994..
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