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Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, Nos. 17, 18
THE ONLY PEACE OF MIND
Volume
1
Numbers
17, 18
Copyright,
1953 Reprint
All
rights reserved
V.T.
HOUTEFF
Bright
Clouds Bring Gentle Rain
The
End of Human Idols and Their Worshipers
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 17
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I shall read from "The Mount Of Blessing," beginning with the
first paragraph on page 170. This
page is based on the scripture. "Bring
us not into temptation, but deliver us from the Evil one." -- R.V.
M.B., pg. 170 -- "Temptation is enticement to sin, and this does
not proceed from God, but from Satan, and from the evil of our own hearts.
'God can not be tempted with evil, and He Himself tempteth no man.'
"Satan seeks to bring us into temptation, that the evil of our
character may be revealed before men and angels, that he may claim us as his
own.... The enemy leads us into sin, and then he accuses us before the
heavenly universe as unworthy of the love of God...."
Every temptation resisted, every trial bravely borne, gives us a new
experience in character building. The
soul that resists temptation through Divine power reveals to the world and to
the universe the efficiency of the grace of Christ.
Here is seen that Satan is the great tempter of our souls, that he
constantly seeks to make us fall. But
he cannot do anything against us if our hearts be right with God, and if we
stay within the hedge He has built around us.
He can succeed only if we ourselves make it possible.
If we willingly yield to sin, we thus voluntarily surrender to Satan.
Let us not forget that no one can keep on going his own way and at the
same time pray the Lord's prayer without making a liar of himself.
But those who wholeheartedly take the Lord at His word and allow Him to
direct their steps, they never go wrong.
We should pray to be among this latter class.
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Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 17
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BRIGHT
CLOUDS BRING GENTLE RAIN
TEXT
OF ADDRESS BY V.T. HOUTEFF,
MINISTER
OF DAVIDIAN 7TH-DAY ADVENTISTS
SABBATH,
NOVEMBER 30, 1946
MT.
CARMEL CHAPEL
WACO,
TEXAS
This afternoon we are to study the tenth chapter of Zechariah. To find the time of the fulfilment of its prophecy and of the promises it contains, we need look no further than the first verse of the chapter.
Zech.
10:1 -- "Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain; so the
Lord shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one
grass in the field."
These figures of speech, you know, are not used by Inspiration
promiscuously, the term "latter rain" must have its special and
accurate significance. Inspiration
chose to use the term "rain", because rain makes things grow and
brings abundant harvest. The term
"latter" denotes the last rain before the harvest, the rain that
completes maturity and that ripens the grain.
The latter rain of Truth, therefore, is the very last, the one that is
to develop the people of God for the harvest, for the time in which God
separates the wheat from the tares (Matt. 13:30), the wise virgins from the
foolish ones (Matt. 25:1-12), the good fish from the bad (Matt. 13:47, 48),
and the sheep from the goats (Matt. 25:32, 33).
In short, the harvest is the day of cleansing, the day of Judgment, the
antitypical
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Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 17
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Day
of Atonement, the day in which the sinners are cut off. This spiritual latter
rain is, therefore, to do to the church just what the natural latter rain does
to the field. Without this latter
rain the saints could not develop for the heavenly garner, neither could the
tares for the fire. By the "latter rain," therefore, is illustrated
the last shower of Truth. And,
too, this last portion of Truth must come as freely to every member of the
church who lives just prior to the harvest time as does the rain come to every
grass in the field. Just as soon
as this final touch of development is accomplished, the sickle is to be put to
the precious golden grain. But
let us remember that it is not left in the field to rot, it is put into the
"barn," (Kingdom) while the tares are burned, so says the Lord
(Matt. 13:30). What is symbolized
by the "latter rain? Is it
miracle-working Truth, or is it miracle-working power? -- The prophet Joel
explains that the miracle-working power comes after both the "former and
the latter rain." Says he:
"And it shall come to pass afterward [after the former and the
latter rain -- Joel 2:23], that I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh; and
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams,
your young men shall see visions: and also upon the servants and upon the
handmaids in those days will I pour out My Spirit." Joel 2:28, 29.
Plainly, then, the "latter rain" is miracle-working Truth
that causes the saints to mature for the harvest of which the 144,000 are the
first fruits (Rev. 14:4). Then,
in order to quickly gather the second fruits, God pours His Spirit upon every
first fruit saint, (upon "every one grass") old or young, boy or
girl -- not upon one here and upon another there.
Obviously "bright clouds" represent agencies conveying Truth
which they scatter everywhere in the
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Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 17
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Lord's
vineyard -- over every church member -- "every one grass," wheat or
tare.
Literally speaking, dark clouds suggest a very heavy and damaging rain
that frightens the beholders. Conversely,
bright clouds suggest a gentle rain, the kind that descends in such a way so
that the ground can absorb all of it. It
does not waste itself.
Spiritually speaking, dark clouds would, therefore, represent a source
of dangerous reading matter and too voluminous for one to welcome or to
comprehend. But bright clouds
stand for a source of small, easily comprehended Truth-laden publications
packed with "meat in due season," Truth that comes in portions easy
to take in, easy to assimilate all of It, and thus to develop the recipient of
It for the "master's" use and for His service.
Then, too, spiritual "latter rain" must fall as freely and
without cost to the recipients as does literal rain.
Thus it is that never before has the world witnessed so much absolutely
free literature scattered away as this literature is.
Millions! So it is that
these small comprehensive publications, the bright clouds, laden with present
Truth, are now being scattered as leaves of autumn throughout Laodicea to
every church member, "to every one grass" in the vineyard of the
Lord. The final results?
"More than one thousand," attests Inspiration, "will
soon be converted in one day, most of whom will trace their first convictions
to the reading of our publications." -- "Review and Herald,"
Nov. 10, 1885. Accordingly, along
with the world's dark clouds that now hover over those who are pessimistic
about the promises of God, there are these bright clouds that hover over the
faithful believing and trusting children of God.
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And so, Brother, Sister, you need not listen to the voices that urge
you to shut yourself in from this gentle rain, or to tuck in under someone's
umbrella. Come out and avail
yourself of this much needed shower. It
is sent to give you the development which you need, and to enable you to
survive the great and dreadful day of the Lord, the Judgment for the Living.
Delay no longer, get out in the open and let the precious rain fall
upon you, let it soak in through and through lest the angels find you unfit
for the "barn" and they cast you into the fire along with the tares.
Inspiration makes it as clear as can be made that not a soul (not one blade of
grass), can be fit for the Kingdom ("barn") if it fails to absorb
this rain of Truth.
How important then that you should avail yourselves of it. No, you
cannot afford to stand dry under the umbrellas of Truth-haters.
Get out from under their devilish umbrellas lest you lose out
eternally, lest you hopelessly cry out, "The harvest is past, the summer
is ended, and we are not saved." Jer. 8:20.
Zech.
10:2 -- "For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a
lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went
their way as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd."
Here is conveyed the thought that this character-building and wisdom
and light-importing "rain" that fits one for the society of Heaven,
finds the waiting ones listening to idols speaking "vanity" and to
diviners telling false dreams, in vain trying to comfort.
Will you not heed Inspiration's Voice and turn away from listening to
idols?
Who could they be if not vain self-important Truth-hating
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Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 17
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ministers
that are idolized by the laity, false preachers trying to comfort by preaching
falsehood.
Revival and reformation therefore must do their work among both
ministers and laity. Indeed the
sheep are troubled because there is no real shepherd anywhere, they all have
gone their own way!
Zech.
10:3 -- "Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the
goats: for the Lord of hosts hath visited His flock the house of Judah, and
hath made them as His goodly horse in the battle."
This verse discloses that the Lord has visited His people with revealed
Truth preparatory to separating the goats from the sheep whereupon He is to
reward the sheep and punish the goats -- the work of the Judgment for the
Living. His visit makes His
servants as goodly horses in His vineyard.
Zech.
10:4 -- "Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail, out of
him the battle bow, out of him every oppressor together."
The Lord Himself chooses from Judah the "corner" stone
(founder), the "nail" (organizer), the "bow" (the Truth,
or instrument by which to gain the victory over the Enemy), and every
"oppressor" (ruler). With
these He builds the house of Judah.
Zech
10:5 -- "And they shall be as mighty men, which tread down their enemies
in the mire of the streets in the battle: and they shall fight, because the
Lord is with them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded."
The victory shall be so complete that even the
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demons
who lead our enemies in the conflict, will themselves be confounded.
Zech.
10:6 -- "And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the
house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy
upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the
Lord their God, and will hear them."
The statements, "I will strengthen," instead of save,
"the house of Judah," and "I will save" instead of
strengthen "the house of Joseph," imply that the house of Judah is
saved before the house of Joseph is, and to save the house of Joseph He
strengthens the house of Judah. The
second fruits need to be saved, whereas the first fruits need to be fitted for
service. Both are gathered into
one place, (the "barn," the Kingdom).
The Lord extends this favor to both of them because He has mercy upon
them and will treat them as though they had never caused Him to cast them out.
Zech.
10:7 -- "And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart
shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall see it, and be glad;
their heart shall rejoice in the Lord."
The fathers shall rejoice and the children shall see it.
He shall thus "turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and
the heart of the children to their fathers...." Mal. 4:6.
Zech.
10:8 -- "I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them:
and they shall increase as they have increased."
"They shall increase," that is, the second fruits
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are
to be added to the "firstfruits." (Rev. 7:4, 9).
Zech
10:9 -- "And I will sow [multiply] them among the people: and they shall
remember Me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and
turn again [to their homeland]."
Zech.
10:10 -- "I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and
gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and
Lebanon; and place shall not be found for them."
The elect shall be gathered from everywhere, and shall spread as far as
the land of Gilead and Lebanon. But
even then, the place shall be too small for them.
Zech.
10:11, 12 -- "And he shall pass through the sea with affliction, and
shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the river shall dry up:
and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall
depart away. And I will
strengthen them in the Lord; and they shall walk up and down in His name,
saith the Lord."
That is to say, the gathering of the people is to be unobstructed.
Every hindrance is to be removed.
The reign of sin is to be brought to an end.
The nations who have enslaved God's people are to be humbled, and their
scepters (thrones) are to be no more.
Be strong in the Lord, walk up and down happy and without fear, saith
the Lord.
The work that God has begun in the human heart by Divine light and
knowledge, must continually go forward. "...Every
individual must realize his own
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necessity.
The heart must be emptied of every defilement, and cleansed for the
indwelling of the Spirit. It was
by the confession and forsaking of sin, by earnest prayer and consecration of
themselves to God, that the early disciples prepared for the outpouring of the
Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. The
same work, only in greater degree, must be done now.
Then the human agent had only to ask for the blessing, and wait for the
Lord to perfect the work concerning him.
It is God who began the work, and He will finish His work, making man
complete in Jesus Christ. But
there must be no neglect of the grace represented by the former rain.
"Only those who are living up to the light they have, will receive
greater light. Unless we are
daily advancing in the exemplification of the active Christian virtues, we
shall not recognize the manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the latter rain.
It may be falling on hearts all around us, but we shall not discern or
receive it. -- "Testimonies to Ministers," p. 507.
Since this Truth is so vitally important do not let any enemy against
revealed Truth confuse you. If he
tries to convince you against this Truth, you take him to task -- make him
give a more Biblical interpretation of these scriptures.
If he cannot give you something better or as good, then tell him to
mind his own business and you will mind yours.
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I shall read from Mount of Blessing, page 171, beginning with the
second paragraph. This reading is
a continuation of our last Sabbath's reading, based on the Lord's prayer.
M.B., pg. 171 -- "It is not safe for us to linger to contemplate
the advantages to be reaped through yielding to Satan's suggestions.
Sin means dishonor and disaster to every soul that indulges in it; but
it is blinding and deceiving in its nature, and it will entice us with
flattering presentations. If we
venture on Satan's ground, we have no assurance of protection from his power.
So far as in us lies, we should close every avenue by which the tempter
may find access to us.
"The prayer, 'Bring us not into temptation,' is itself a promise.
If we commit ourselves to God, we have the assurance, 'He will not
suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation
also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.'"
We shall now kneel and pray that we may realize that sin is blinding
and deceiving in its nature; that it leads to dishonor and disaster; and that
to be on the safe side, we must not even so much as contemplate yielding to
Satan's suggestions, for once we venture onto his ground we cannot expect
God's protection. Let us also
thank the Lord for the comforting assurance that if we fully commit ourselves
to him, He will not allow us to be tempted above that we are able.
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THE
END OF HUMAN IDOLS
AND
THEIR WORSHIPERS
TEXT
OF ADDRESS BY V.T. HOUTEFF,
MINISTER
OF DAVIDIAN 7TH-DAY ADVENTISTS
SABBATH,
DECEMBER 7, 1947
MT.
CARMEL CHAPEL
WACO,
TEXAS
This afternoon we shall study Zechariah, chapter 13. Let us begin with the first verse.
Zech.
13:1 -- "In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of
David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness."
The phrase "in that day" points back to preceding events,
back to the twelfth chapter. There
we find that the event is the great mourning in Jerusalem (chapter 12, verses
12- 14). So "in that
day," in the day of that great mourning, this fountain is to be opened.
To find the time in which the mourning takes place, it is necessary
that we go further back into the twelfth chapter.
Better still, we should review the chapter from the first verse on,
because there are brought to view seven groups of separate and distinct
events, one following the other.
The outstanding events of each group are these: (1) Jerusalem is to be
made "a cup of trembling" and the nations of the earth are to be
"in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem."
(2) "In that day" the nations are to gather together against
them. (3) "In that day"
the Lord is to "smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with
madness," and He is also to open His "eyes upon the house of
Judah." The governors of
Judah are then to say in their hearts, "The inhabitants of Jerusalem
shall be my strength in the Lord of hosts their God."
(4) "In that day" Jerusalem is to be inhabited
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Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 18
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again.
(5) "In that day he that is feeble among them" is to be as
David; and the house of David is to be as God.
(6) "In that day" the Lord is to seek to destroy all the
nations that come against Jerusalem. He
will then pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
the spirit of grace and of supplications.
(7) "In that day" there is to be a great mourning in
Jerusalem.
Thus one event is contingent upon another, the last of which is the
great mourning in Jerusalem. In
the day of these events, therefore, the fountain for sin and for uncleanness
is opened. Let us now connect
Zechariah 13:1 with verse 2.
Zech.
13:1, 2 -- "In that day [in the day the great mourning takes place] there
shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of
Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. And
it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will cut
off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be
remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass
out of the land."
Two things stand out clearly in these verses: (1) that the house of
David must come into existence before the cleansing fountain is opened; (2)
that the cleansing begins with cutting off the names of the idols, and
throwing out of the land the false prophets and the unclean spirits.
In our previous study of the tenth chapter of Zechariah, we learned
that these idols are the kind that speak; that they are men.
There is no doubt, therefore, that these are ministering brethren who
the laity are idolizing. As a
result, the laity are blindly following them, and whatever decisions their
"idols" make concerning what is truth and what is error, what is sin
and what is righteousness, those are the decisions which the laity does carry
out. These "idols,"
therefore are creating a situation similar to that which the priests, scribes,
and
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Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 18
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Pharisees
created in the days of Christ's first advent.
Consequently, the idol-worshipers are not troubling themselves to
personally investigate fresh messages, and they are thereby ignorantly
following men rather than Christ and His advancing Truth.
These, along with the prophets and the unclean spirits, shall pass out
of the land.
Zech.
13:3-5 -- "And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy,
then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt
not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the Lord; and his father and
his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be
ashamed every one of his vision, when he hath prophesied; neither shall they
wear a rough garment to deceive: But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an
husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth."
The name of the idols (the flattering titles of men) shall forever be
forgotten: Men shall never again be known by such titles.
Thereafter neither a false prophet nor an unclean spirit shall be
tolerated in the land. In fact,
not even a father or a mother will then tolerate their own son to pose as
such, but they shall deliver him to the executioners.
It shall come to pass that the men who even now are exalting
themselves, and, worst of all, are preaching without having been
"sent," shall be ashamed as they see their foolish teachings,
predictions, and private interpretations of the Scriptures.
No longer will they wear deceitful garments. Rather, they will say,
"I am no prophet, not even a pastor, I am only a herdsman, a common
farmer."
The prophet Ezekiel also was given glimpses of this situation:
"Thus saith the Lord God; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow
their own spirit, and have seen nothing!
O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts.
Ye
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have
not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel
to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord.
They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The Lord saith: and
the Lord hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would
confirm the word. Have ye
not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye
say, The Lord saith it; albeit I have not spoken?
Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye have spoken vanity, and
seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord God.
And Mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that
divine lies: they shall not be in the assembly of My people, neither shall
they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they
enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord God.
"Because, even because they have seduced My people, saying, Peace;
and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it
with untempered morter: say unto them which daub it with untempered morter,
that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great
hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it. Lo, when the wall is
fallen, shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have
daubed it? Therefore thus saith
the Lord God; I will even rend it with a stormy wind in My fury; and there
shall be an overflowing shower in Mine anger, and great hailstones in My fury
to consume it. So will I break down the wall that ye have daubed with
untempered morter, and bring it down to the ground, so that the foundation
thereof shall be discovered, and it shall fall, and ye shall be consumed in
the midst thereof: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
Thus will I accomplish My wrath upon the wall, and upon them that have
daubed it with untempered morter, and will say unto you, The wall is no more,
neither they that daubed it." Ezek. 13:3-15.
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Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 18
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What a fearful responsibility rests upon those who carelessly handle
the Word of God, who pose as soul guardians over the people!
Both they and their abominations will fall in the ditch.
Indeed, if any reform is needed in Christendom, this one is.
Having now learned better, let us no longer make idols of men; let us
no longer give place within us to unclean spirits.
Let us rather give the Spirit of God a chance to lead us into His
ever-advancing Truth with personal understanding.
Let us be followers of Christ, never again of Paul, of Apollos, or of
Cephas.
Zech.
13:6, 7 -- "And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in Thine
hands? Then He shall answer,
Those with which I was wounded in the house of My friends.
Awake, O sword, against My shepherd, and against the man that is My
fellow, saith the Lord of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be
scattered: and I will turn Mine hand upon the little ones."
I have no special comments to make on verses 6 and 7, other than what
is commonly understood among Christians.
It is plain to see, though, that after the Lord's shepherd is smitten,
then it is that the Lord will separate His people.
Zech.
13:8 -- "And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord,
two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left
therein."
In this separation, according to verse 8, the people are divided in
three parts: Evidently they are the saints, the hypocrites, and the heathen.
The two latter parts are to be cut off (separated from the saints), and
they are to die. Concerning the future of the former third, let us read--
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Zech.
13:9 -- "And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will
refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they
shall call on My name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is My people: and
they shall say, The Lord is my God."
In this connection, the gospel prophet was instructed to write:
"Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce
anger, to lay the land desolate: and He shall destroy the sinners thereof out
of it. For the stars of heaven
and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be
darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their
iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay
low the haughtiness of the terrible. I
will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge
of Ophir.
"Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove
out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of His
fierce anger. And it shall be as
the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man taketh up: they shall every man
turn to his own people, and flee every one into his own land.
Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is
joined unto them shall fall by the sword." Isa. 13:9-15.
To this warning the prophet Zephaniah adds: "And it shall come to
pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the
men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The Lord will not
do good, neither will He do evil. Therefore
their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation: they shall
also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but
not drink the wine thereof. The
great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth
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greatly,
even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty man shall cry there
bitterly.
"That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day
of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds
and thick darkness. A day of the
trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers.
And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind
men, because they have sinned against the Lord: and their blood shall be
poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.
Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in
the day of the Lord's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire
of his jealousy: for He shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that
dwell in the land." Zeph. 1:12-18.
These scriptures are self-explanatory, and they make our subject as
clear as crystal: As soon as the house of David is set up, as soon as the
first fruits reach Mt. Zion and there stand with the Lamb, the cleansing
fountain will be opened. Then it
is that the great harvest will begin during which every grain of
"wheat" shall be put into the "barn," but every noxious
seed burned (Matt. 13:30). Then
it is that every good "fish" shall be put into vessels, whereas
every bad one shall be cast out (Matt. 13:48).
Then it is that everyone having on the "wedding garment"
shall be served the wedding supper, but everyone having not the garment on
shall be cast into outer darkness (Matt. 22:11- 13).
In the terms of the parables all this can be summed as follows: Those
who successfully aim to be spared as "wheat," as good
"fish," and to put on the wedding garment, are those who have found
the field of great treasure and the pearl of great price and have done all to
purchase them.
"So shall it be at the end of the world, the angels shall come
forth, and sever the wicked
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from
among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be
wailing and gnashing of teeth." Matt. 13:49, 50.
Solemn times we have come to, Brother and Sister.
Now is the time to put on the white garment.
Now is the time to buy the field with the great treasure, and the pearl
of great price. "Shall you?
Shall I?" is the great question that we must quickly settle
without other people's influence or interference.
We should now be able to see how the gospel work is to be finished, and
that the idea which we have had about it is merely a human fabrication.
It is now clearly seen how sinners are made saints, how God's great
fountain is capable of cleansing all of us, of making us as white as snow if
we let Him. So it matters not
what we were yesterday, the important thing is what we are to be from today
on.
We should not be among that class of people who quarrel over trivial
matters, but who do not care to discuss weighty subjects such as this.
If we do not come to the knowledge of the Truth, if we do not let it do
its intended work in us, how can we ever be fitted to live in the presence of
a holy God? You see, believing or
not believing in truths such as this, really means something.
But to argue, as some do, over a point such as "the three days and
the three nights" (Matt. 12:40) with nothing to do about it even if the
argument be won, is worse than Pharisaism.
The Devil would have us busy ourselves with unimportant matters and
with things that we do not understand.
Well, let me tell you something: In 1931, after The Shepherd's Rod,
Vol. 1, came off the press, we published a two-page article in which we said
that what God has led us into is either all truth or no truth.
Since that time we have published another book and over twenty tracts
besides the series of the Timely Greetings,
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all
containing doctrinal matter. These
publications have been scattered far and wide throughout the Denomination, but
to this day the Denomination has not once officially attempted to refute any
subject in its entirety. They
ever try to take away what we have on these scriptures, but never give us
something better. All we have
heard or seen is garbling, or some such procedure as followed by first-day
keepers while debating with Sabbath keepers.
I know that it is not a Bulgarian from the Rhodope Mountains who has
made scholarly Americans scratch their heads.
It is not possible that such a one could have shaken the Denomination
from center to circumference. If
you do not know Who it actually is, then you had better find out without
delay.
*
* *
These
little Weeklies, which cost you nothing, are of priceless worth to you.
Read and keep them in your library, for the time will surely come when
you will be thankful that you have preserved your copies.
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