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Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, Nos. 7, 8
THE ONLY PEACE OF MIND
Volume
1
Numbers
7, 8
Copyright,
1953 Reprint
All
rights reserved
V.T.
HOUTEFF
What
Makes One Eligible?
Laodicean
or Davidian — Which?
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 7
1
I shall read from The Mount of Blessing, pg. 155, beginning with the
second paragraph.
M.B. pp. 155, 156 -- "The very first step in approaching God is to
know and believe the love that He has to us; for it is through the drawing of
His love that we are led to come to Him.
"The perception of God's love works the renunciation of
selfishness. In calling God our
Father, we recognize all His children as our brethren.
We are all a part of the great web of humanity, all members of one
family. In our petitions we are
to include our neighbors as well as ourselves.
No one prays aright who seeks a blessing for himself alone.
"'Which art in heaven.' He
to whom Christ bids us look as our Father,' 'is in the heavens; He hath done
whatsoever He hath pleased.' In
His care we may safely rest, saying, What time I am afraid, I will trust in
Thee.'"
What does the reading instruct us to pray for? -- For an appreciation
of God's love and for better understanding of Him; for the right understanding
of what it means to pray the Lord's prayer; for wisdom to know why we address
God as our Father, why we are members of one family, brethren of one
household; for grace to remember to pray not for ourselves only but for our
neighbors, and even for our enemies.
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 7
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WHAT
MAKES ONE ELIGIBLE?
TEXT
OF ADDRESS BY V.T. HOUTEFF,
MINISTER
OF DAVIDIAN 7TH-DAY ADVENTISTS
SABBATH,
SEPTEMBER 21, 1946
MT.
CARMEL CHAPEL
WACO,
TEXAS
A number of brethren have written to me from time to time, wanting to know what makes them eligible to receive the Seal of God. Some want to know whether they will be sealed by doing this or by doing that. Others want to know whether they will be left without the seal by not doing this or not doing the other.
The questions are indeed very timely and commendable.
Such vital questions deserve answers as concrete as are the questions
themselves. And who can give a
more concrete answer than those who have gone before us, those whose duties
were similar to ours, those who were passing through a similar experience,
those who traveled the same road that we are traveling, those who were
preparing themselves for the Kingdom as are we.
In whom do we find such a parallel? -- In no others than those who left
Egypt and started for the promised land.
No, in none others. They
are our only type. Says
Inspiration: "Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and
they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are
come." (1 Cor. 10:11.) Their
duties, therefore, are our duties, and their failures should be our stepping
stones to success. Thus it is
that the deeds of those who entered into the promised land must be our
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Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 7
3
deeds,
and if we are to be sealed, then the deeds of those who failed to enter
therein, we must shun as completely and as quickly as we would shun a lion's
den.
We are now to find out why some of them went into the promised land,
and why others did not go in, for this is what Inspiration commands us to do.
This scripture implies that if the experiences of ancient Israel had
not been for ensamples, they would never have been written.
How important, then, that we diligently study them.
Yes, in order for us to know what we must do or must not do to receive
the seal and to enter into the Promised Land, we must examine the deed of both
those who entered it and of those who were left out of it.
Let us begin our examination by starting with Moses, with the human
agent, the visible leader of the movement.
Reared in the courts of Pharaoh, he received the highest education the
world then offered. And having
understood that he was the one to free his brethren from Egyptian bondage, he
felt quite capable for the job.
You remember the story of how he started out to deliver them although
he was not yet told to do so. He
killed an Egyptian, fell into a quarrel with one of the Hebrews, and then fled
for his life. So it was that in
Midian he obtained a job, became a shepherd, and married his employer's
daughter. During those forty
years of shepherd's life he forgot the Egyptian language, and with it the
Egyptian learning. In its place,
though, he learned to tend well to sheep.
He therefore dismissed from his mind the idea of ever delivering the
people of God from their Egyptian bondage.
Then it was that God saw him strong and well able, and commanded him to
go back to Egypt and to bring
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Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 7
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out
of it His groaning people. You
recall that Moses protested against the idea and argued that he had failed at
his first attempt, the time he was young and well-informed and that at that
late hour of his life he was not trying again, that he could no longer even
speak the language. After a
prolonged conversation God removed his objections by promising to give him his
brother, Aaron, to be his spokesman, and Moses finally consented to return to
Egypt.
There with his shepherd's rod he performed many signs and wonders
before both the Egyptians and the Hebrews.
And you remember what took place the night of the Passover, the night
before they left Egypt: Moses had proclaimed throughout the land that in every
dwelling where no blood was found on the doorpost, that very night the
firstborn in each such dwelling would die.
Those who disobeyed the Divine injunction, were, on the day following
busily moaning and burying their dead, while those who obeyed the command were
joyously and orderly marching out of the cities.
Yes, only those who were able to take orders were made free from
slavery. It is, therefore,
prerequisite that we learn to take orders if we are to receive the seal of God
in our foreheads.
Let us not forget, though, that the children of Israel left Egypt with
great zeal and high hopes. But
when they saw the Red Sea ahead of them, and Pharaoh's army behind them, they
were filled with consternation. They
saw themselves in a death trap although they were at the brink of another
marvelous deliverance. Then they
turned on Moses and accused him of bringing them to the sea, of making their
escape from their enemies absolutely impossible.
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Humanly viewing the situation, they were in a precarious predicament.
In that moment they forgot their miraculous deliverance from Pharaoh's
taskmasters and their eyes closed to the wondrous cloud by day and pillar of
fire by night that had led them all the way.
As they saw it, the evidence against Moses' ability to lead them safely
was overwhelming. Insofar as they
were concerned, the whole venture appeared doomed to failure.
Their hopes of going ahead or of even going back left them, and all
because they thought Moses, not God, was their deliverer! How
shortsighted, unstable, doubting, and forgetful human beings are!
Experience in the gospel work has taught me that God's people of today
have the same tempter to contend with, and similar temptations to overcome if
they are to receive the seal of God.
What a great difference would there have been had the Israelites only
believed that God, not Moses, was their Leader, that that which appeared to be
their death trap, was their door of hope.
Let their experience teach us to remember that God is either leading us
altogether or not at all, that His ways are not; our ways, and that what may
appear to be our greatest obstacle, may actually turn out to be our greatest
blessing.
Israel's real danger, we now see, was not in what Moses did, but in
their unbelief of God's having the reins in His hands, in not knowing that His
ways are beyond finding out -- contrary to ours.
They failed to see that God could again and again perform miracle after
miracle to deliver them from their enemy's hand, that He could dry the ocean
as easily as He could flood the earth.
Having their failures before us, we should make
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them
our stepping stones to success. Let
us therefore wholeheartedly believe that God is in charge of our salvation, of
our lives and of our death, too. That
He is able to take us to safety even if the earth should drop out of space,
that we cannot die if He wants us alive, and that we cannot live if He wants
us dead. Let us ever bear in mind
that we of ourselves know nothing about God's plans except as told through His
appointed servants, the prophets, and as we witness them day by day.
If we daily walk with God, if we commit all to Him, then the
responsibility is all His.
God, in His wisdom, brought Israel to the Red Sea for their own good,
and though they could not see it His way, He nevertheless for His Name's sake
divided the sea, took them safely across, and at the same time, by the same
miracle, He destroyed their enemies!
Had Moses been as doubtful of God's power and leadership as were the
people that were with him, what effect would his rod have had as he struck the
sea with it? -- None whatsoever. If
the Judgment of the Infinite were the same as the judgment of the finite, then
Pharaoh's army would have either killed or enslaved Israel anew.
Their mighty deliverances should, therefore, forever establish our
confidence in God, and should stand as everlasting memorials that the wisdom
of men is foolishness with God, and that faith in Him does actually remove
mountains and seas, too.
Notwithstanding these ensamples, though, men still expect God to work
in accordance with their judgment, and that is why sometimes He uses children
in
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His
work instead of wise and prudent men.
The Hebrew host well knew that they were led to the sea by following
the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night.
Yet none of these wonders seemed to have made any lasting impression on
them. There is a danger that we,
too, may forget the way the Lord has led us.
After Israel crossed the sea, and after the sea closed in on their
enemies, they all sang and gave God the glory, but though Pharaoh's army and
the sea were no longer objects of fear but of interest, their trials, doubts,
and fears were not yet at an end: Almost immediately after they saw the sea
behind and the desert ahead they began to recriminate Moses for having brought
them into the desert to starve there for want of water and food.
It never entered their minds that if God can dry the sea, He can
certainly flood the desert and make it blossom as a rose.
Notwithstanding their doubts and their moanings God again performed an
even greater miracle: He caused water to gush out of the rock and He brought
manna from Heaven!
Today as in Moses' day many are duplicating the sins of that people:
Some are all on fire on day, and all on ice the next.
Others praise God to the top of their voices while their ship is
smoothly sailing, but when the sea becomes rough and the waves start beating
against them, then they see only a man at the wheel and rather than expecting
God to calm the sea they begin to hunt for a jumping off place.
Still others are constantly trying to promote themselves by continual
fault-finding against the ones that bear the whole burden of the load.
So it is that there must be among us today -- antitypical doubters,
complainers
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Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 7
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office
seekers and faultfinders, admitting one great truth one day and forgetting it
the next day -- yet expecting to be sealed with the seal of God and to stand
with the Lamb on Mt. Zion!
The Lord fed His ancient people with Angel's food, the kind their work
and climate required. He
delivered it fresh daily, and it did not cost them one cent.
All they had to do was to bring it into their tents and to eat it.
But they disliked the manna, and wished they were back in Egypt eating
from its flesh pots, "the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick."
In their eyes, Moses was the greatest of sinners, and they blamed him
for every trial of their faith. Had
God given them something other than manna, they would have been just as
dissatisfied with it because an evil spirit was in them.
Let us gladly and with thanks eat and drink what the Lord gives us and
when He gives it to us.
You recall that by craving flesh food they made the situation
unbearable for Moses. So, to
their great surprise quail filled the camp, and the multitude carried them
into their tents. But at what a
cost! Thousands of them died even
while the flesh was yet between their teeth.
Then they understood that the manna was the better food.
It was a great lesson, but an expensive one.
What about us Vegetarians?
Their murmuring, however, did not end even then.
They found something else to murmur about.
They grew jealous of Moses and of Aaron.
"They are taking too much on themselves," the office seekers
complained. "We are just as
much favored of God as are Moses and Aaron.
God speaks with us as much as He speaks with them," they said.
And who were the chief complainers? -- The princes of the nations, the
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Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 7
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men
who were the most capable, the very ones who should have known better.
Those who could have been the greatest help to Moses became the biggest
hindrance to him. They wanted
Aaron's office; they wanted Moses' office.
They refused to be satisfied with anything less.
The Lord Himself got nowhere with them.
The only thing He could do was to cause the earth to swallow them.
Thus in one day thousands -- practically all the so-called wise -- fell
into the bowels of the earth. Are
we, too, seeking office by which to exalt self and are we, too, endeavoring to
usurp the seat of the Spirit of Truth?
Finally, the emancipated children of Israel came to the borders of the
promised land. And though they
had witnessed great miracles right along, yet they did not believe that God
could procure the land for them! They
had seen that He was able to deliver them from Pharaoh's brick yards, to take
them dryshod through the sea, to destroy their enemies, to give them food and
water in the desert where there was none to be had, yet they did not believe
that He was able to take the land for them and that He could finish what He
had started!
There are thousands today who are doing virtually the same when they
say, "Isaiah, chapter 2, Micah, chapter 4, Jeremiah, chapter 31 and
Ezekiel, chapters 36 and 37 will never be fulfilled."
It was those who were of age, those who should have known better, that
started the ball rolling down hill to destruction.
The youth, of course, must have echoed the murmurings of their elders,
but the Lord did not hold it against them.
And in order to salvage the youth, God had to bury all their murmuring
parents except the two faithful, trusting men who protested against the evil
report of the other ten spies. Mark
you, every adult that
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Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 7
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left
Egypt, except Caleb and Joshua, had to be buried before the youth could cross
the Jordan! Why? -- Because
though God did take them with ease out of Egypt, He could not get Egypt out of
them. Are you still wondering why
the prophet Elijah must "turn the heart of the fathers to the children,
and the heart of the children to their fathers"? (Mal. 4:6.)
Christians often think that the Israelites were very wicked and unruly
people, but after having their experiences to profit by, think how much worse
we would be if we do as they did! If
we do no better than they, how can we expect to be eligible for the seal and
for the Kingdom since they were not eligible?
In the very prime of life, Moses thought himself capable of delivering
the children of Israel. But
Providence said: "You are not fit for the work, come out and I will make
you fit." And out Moses
went.
He did not need Pharaoh's training in order to do God's work.
It was a hindrance to him! Why?
Because it made him self-sufficient, independent of God.
Such a person would be the right one to lead God's people away from Him
and into sin, but the wrong one to lead them to God and away from sin.
How true the statement in Testimonies, Vol. 5, pg. 80: "...In the
last solemn work few great men will be engaged.
They are self-sufficient, independent of God, and he cannot use them.
The Lord has faithful servants, who in the shaking, testing time will
be disclosed to view."
God can help only those who know that they are unequal to their task,
those who know that they need His help. So,
then, those who think that they can do wonders
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are
the very ones who can do nothing but harm.
Plainly, those whom God is to use in His final work, in the time of the
end, are not to be anything like the Egyptian crown prince, not anything like
the learned Moses. Those who can
learn to keep and feed sheep well and to readily take orders, are the ones who
can be taught how to keep and feed God's people.
Moses' wife was the only Ethiopian in the entire company.
For this reason some thought they were superior to her.
They thought that Moses had committed the unpardonable sin by marrying
out of his nation, as though race had anything to do with making people
superior or inferior. Moses' own
sister, Miriam, was caught in that sin. There
she was, trying to break up his family, yet Moses prayed for her recovery when
she was stricken with leprosy.
Who went into the promised land? -- All but the murmurers.
Do you suppose that you can entertain the same spirit of murmuring and
complaining, and in spite of it receive the seal? -- How absurd the very
thought! How unfair it would be
for a just God to destroy the disobedient of that day, but to save the
disobedient of this day.
What made one group eligible to cross the Jordan? -- It was their trust
in God, knowing that He was their Chief Leader.
They recognized Moses and Joshua as the ones through whom God was
communicating with them. They did
not look upon them as being anyone other than who they actually were.
They were satisfied with their lot.
They took orders as the orders were given.
So it was that they were the only ones who entered into the land.
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Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 7
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Having these ensamples before us, this picture to go by, I can
confidently tell whether I am headed for the Kingdom or whether I am headed
for the bowels of the earth (Rev. 12:16).
And I am sure that you, too, can tell which way you are headed.
The Lord does not require more or less of us than He required of our
types. There is therefore no
mystery as to what we must do, and what we must not do to receive the seal of
God.
We need not go into a land of wonderment, need not entertain the idea
that we must have a mysterious feeling, exciting emotion, need not wallow in
the dust or jump to the ceiling. No,
we need not make fools of ourselves. All
we need to do is be ourselves. Be
calm, decent, respectable, heaven-like beings, endeavoring to do God's will on
earth as it is done in heaven. We
need not make a display of ourselves, but we need to mind our God-given
business and to keep our noses out of other people's business.
Only when we have done all we can to comply with the requirements of
the message for today, not of yesterday, shall we be sealed and stand with the
Lamb on Mt. Zion.
Should we not be glad that while we are being invited to the Kingdom,
we are also being told how to get there?
Seeing all these, we must never let our confidence in God wane.
We ought to be stable, firm in everything, lacking nothing.
God's eleventh-hour servants, says Inspiration, are to be "a great
people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any
more after it." Joel 2:2. They
know what they believe, and believe what they know.
Most important of all, they know that they are led by God, not by man.
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Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 7
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They are not like the Pharisees who were building monuments in memory
of the dead prophets (Matt. 23:29-31) and at the same time were slaying the
living ones! With this light
shining on our pathway, Hebrews, chapters 3, 4, 10 and 11 become
self-interpreting.
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Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 7
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The
Sacred Page
A
glory gilds the sacred page,
Majestic
like the sun;
It
gives a light to every age,
It
gives, but borrows none.
The
Spirit breathes upon the word,
And
brings the truth to sight;
Precepts
and promises afford
A
sanctifying light.
The
hand that gave it, still supplies
The
gracious light and heat;
His
truths upon the nations rise,
They
rise, but never set.
Let
everlasting thanks be thine,
For
such a bright display;
It
makes a world of darkness shine
With
beams of heavenly day.
--Wm.
Cowper
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 7
15
I shall read from The Mount of Blessing, beginning with the first
paragraph on page 157.
M.B., pg. 157--"To hallow the name of the Lord requires that the
words in which we speak of the Supreme Being be uttered with reverence.
'Holy and reverend is His name.' We are never in any manner to treat
lightly the titles or appellations of the Deity.
"But to hallow the name of the Lord means much more than this....
Of the church of Christ it is written, 'This is the name wherewith she shall
be called, The Lord our Righteousness.' This
name is put upon every follower of Christ.
It is the heritage of the child of God.
The family are called after the Father.
The prophet Jeremiah, in the time of Israel's sore distress and
tribulation, prayed, 'We are called by Thy name; leave us not.'
"In every act of life you are to make manifest the name of God.
This petition calls upon you to possess His character. You can not
hallow His name, you can not represent Him to the world, unless in life and
character you represent the very life and character of God.
This you can do only through the acceptance of the grace and
righteousness of Christ."
Realizing that God has acknowledged us before men and angels as His
children, let us pray that we "may do no dishonor to 'the worthy name by
the which ye are called.'" Let us pray that we be His true
representatives.
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LAODICEAN
OR DAVIDIAN -- WHICH?
TEXT
OF ADDRESS BY V.T. HOUTEFF,
MINISTER
OF DAVIDIAN 7TH-DAY ADVENTISTS
SABBATH,
SEPTEMBER 28, 1946
MT.
CARMEL CENTER
WACO,
TEXAS
This afternoon I am to answer the question: How do I know that I am not still a Laodicean, that I am now a true Davidian? In order intelligently to discuss this question, we must first have a mental picture of what Laodiceans are like, and what Davidians must be like. I shall read
Rev
3:14-18 -- "And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write;
These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of
the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I
would thou wert cold or hot. So
then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out
of My Mouth. Because thou sayest,
I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not
that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I
counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich;
and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy
nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest
see."
What is wrong with the angel of Laodicea? -- He is lukewarm.
He is neither cold nor hot. The
Lord recommends that he be either cold or hot, -- uncomfortable, in search of
something better rather than
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Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 8
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stay
lukewarm, well contented with his spiritual attainments, supposedly rich and
increased with goods (with Truth). Not
knowing that he is spiritually poor, blind and naked, he is warned of it by
the All Knowing One and asked to repent.
If the Lord's own warning fails to change his mind, then the only thing
left for the Lord to do is to spue him out of His mouth.
By the words, "I am rich, and increased with goods," the
angel of Laodicea is saying that he has good understanding of the Bible and
has the "Testimonies for the Church," and that these make him rich.
And that in addition to these, he has other denominational
publications, his increase. He
thus deceives himself that he has the whole truth to carry him right on
through the Pearly Gates, that he needs nothing more.
The Lord's counsel, however, that he buy of Him gold that is tried in
the fire so that he may be rich, unveils the fact that the Laodiceans' riches
are not "pure gold," and that their so-called increase is not an
increase of Truth, but worthless, uninspired interpretations not tried in the
fire.
The angel of Laodicea is naked, too.
He has not the wedding garment on he has not the righteousness of
Christ. And his being naked, not
having on any clothes, denotes that he has no righteousness save his own --
the righteousness with which he was born -- his bare skin.
Moreover, he is spiritually blind.
And that for his ailment the Lord's eyesalve is the only remedy.
If he would but take the Lord's counsel and apply the salve to his
ailing eyes, he could then see.
What is represented by the salve?
First let us see what makes a man spiritually blind.
The One Who knows even the number of hairs on our heads, points out
that if the "light that is in thee be darkness,
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how
great is that darkness!" Matt. 6:23.
If negligence of making proper use of spiritual light makes the
offender blind, then something having power to arouse in him zeal to discover
his true condition, is his only remedy. Only
such an eyesalve can possibly open his eyes.
Let me concretely illustrate:
Individuals often write to the office saying: "I heard so much
against 'The Shepherd's Rod,' and what I heard made me unmercifully
prejudiced. But I happened to get
hold of one of your little tracts,...and for courtesy's sake, I thought I'd
see what it is about. But as I
read a few pages of it, and as my eyes began to open, I read the whole tract.
I am now anxious to read the rest of your books.
Will you please send me whatever reading matter you can?"
Another such Providential incident came to our attention from far-away
China: "I picked up half of your booklet (Tract No. 13) on the street,
and my wife a few days later picked up the other half beside the curb of the
same drive. I pieced them
together, and got your address. I
am deeply interested in all it contains, and am anxiously waiting to hear from
you. Could you tell me everything
that will help me find my joy?"
These truth-searching brethren obviously represent those who can be
pried out of their Laodiceanism. Their
experiences well illustrate that the "salve" represents
Inspiration's timely Truth.
Now let me tell you of another class of individuals from whom I often
hear. Listen to what they say:
"Please keep your 'Rod' to yourself, take my name from your mailing list.
I am not in the least interested in what you are doing.
Your booklets go into the
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fire
just as soon as they come. I
never read them and I never will -- no, not a line.
I am satisfied [lukewarm] with my religion.
I belong to the true remnant church and I expect to go with it.
How dare you try to deceive me?"
Another says: "Please do not send me any more of your literature,
as I am satisfied with my own views."
This kind of talk is typically Laodicean.
It perfectly expresses their lukewarmness.
The Lord, though, is against their attitude.
Is there anything which could more completely and more quickly sever
one's communication line with God forever than an attitude of having all the
Truth and of having need of no more? If
the language in the letters from which I have just read to you does not say,
"I am rich, and in need of nothing more," then what could say it?
This group of Laodiceans will never, never have their eyes opened, will
never be anything but wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.
They can never be reached by Heaven, not even by the Lord Himself.
If they thus continue, then the only thing Christ can do is to spue
them out of His mouth, never again to mention their names at the Throne of
Grace. Anything new from the
Bible that is brought out by anyone but themselves, even though purported to
be through Inspiration, they hastily brand "deception," though they
are already in a gross self deception. They
read the Bible with the hope of finding proof by which to disagree with
everyone but themselves.
Let me illustrate: I may be on the way to the bank with a million
dollars, and I may seriously believe that I am a millionaire.
But suppose the banker tells
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me,
"Your money is counterfeit," and suppose I have no other.
Then how rich would I be? -- I would be as rich as is the angel of
Laodicea. Just such an
eye-opening experience is what the Laodiceans need.
Unless something like it happens to them, they will forever think that
they are rich and in need of nothing more.
Some say, though, not long hence, the heavenly Watcher Himself will
demonstrate to them face to face that their gold is not tried in the fire.
Then their eyes will be opened, but not soon enough to do them any
good.
What they now see at a distance, appears to them for sure to be the
"sea of glass." But
when they get to the end of the way, and take a close look, they will in
indescribable grief and with quivering voice cry out "Mirage, mirage!
Not the sea of glass!" Then
will they be anxious to know the Truth; and will pay anything to get It, but
it will be too late and they will, to change the figure, get to the door only
to hear the Voice from within say, "I know you not." Matt. 25:12.
By a person's facial characteristics we are able to identify his race;
and similarly we can judge one's profession by the type of clothes he wears:
If a person wears fine clothes and is not decked with everything he can put
on, we judge him to be a business man. If
he wears lower grade clothes and has on his body every trinket he can pin on,
then we judge him to be a cheap sport. If
he is clothed in overalls, we judge him to be a laborer.
If he is dressed otherwise, we judge him to be a white-collar worker.
But if he wears no clothes, then no one but God can tell what he is.
Such is a Laodicean.
Now, if the white garment represents Christ's righteousness, then if
one has on no garment at all,
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is
naked, then whose righteousness would he have? -- self- righteousness, only
the skin in which he was born. The
Laodicean's nakedness represents just that, but they know it not.
In all respect, I realize this is saying much, but it is not saying too
much, because it is the Lord Who says it.
He invites the Laodiceans to buy of Him gold, the kind that is tried in
the fire (inspired Truth), so that they might be truly rich.
He invites them to put on the wedding raiment, so that they be not cast
into "outer darkness," there to weep and to gnash their teeth.
If they do not accept his invitation now -- yes, now -- their nakedness
will be exposed and they thus put to shame.
If you do the opposite of what the Laodiceans do, then of course you
cannot still be a Laodicean. And
it is just as easy to know whether you are a Davidian or not.
To find out if you are a Davidian, you must first know what a Davidian
is. Well, briefly stated, a
Davidian is recognized by his garment, by the source from which he gets it,
and by what he gives in exchange for it.
The prophet Zechariah explains:
Zech.
3:1-4 -- "And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the
angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.
And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the
Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out
of the fire? Now Joshua was
clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.
And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying,
Take away the filthy garments from him. And
unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and
I will clothe thee with change of raiment."
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The first one to be given the garment is Joshua, the high priest, the
highest official in the church. If
he has not the garment, then no one else has it either.
From this we see that the genuine revival and reformation starts at the
head, not at the feet, and that before one is given the right to put the
garment on, his iniquity is taken away -- he repents of his sins, and the Lord
blots them out. Satan, though, is right there to resist and accuse him; but,
thanks be to God that the Lord is also there to rebuke the enemy.
Do you catch the lesson, Brother, Sister?
While you are getting the garment you will have to meet strong
opposition. But what of it?
Is it too much to stand firmly for Truth and righteousness when the
majority forsake? And how else
shall you become a hero for God? (Read
Matthew 5:10-12.)
The apostles and the prophets not only withstood opposition from their
own brethren, but they even gladly died for their white garment.
You, though, are not now asked to give up your life, but to save it.
The "tables" are now reversed. The Lord will not permit you
to be consumed by the flame. He is to rescue you as a "brand plucked out
of the fire."
From this we see that the Joshua of today is having his filthy garments
exchanged for white robes, for the righteousness of Christ.
Zech.
3:5 -- "And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set
a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments.
And the angel of the Lord stood by."
Not only is he clothed in a white garment, but he is also crowned with
a fair mitre. And what could such
a mitre denote other than the authority vested
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in
him as Heaven's appointed ruler? As
such he is clothed from his head to his feet," and the angel of the Lord
stood by." What a gift! and
what a bodyguard for one to have in a world such as ours!
In spite of it, though, human beings are very slow and hesitant to take
their stand on the Lord's side. Most
of them had rather lean on a man.
Zech.
3:8 -- "Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that
sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth
My servant the Branch."
Not only Joshua, but also those who sit before him (the congregation)
are admonished to hear this charge. And
what kind of men are they? -- Men wondered at.
This symbolism shows that at the fulfillment of this prophecy the angel
of the church of the Laodiceans is no longer in charge of the Lord's house,
and that God's people are to be made up wholly of men wondered at!
Obviously, then, as a result of this revival and reformation within the
Laodicean church, another church emerges of which Joshua is in charge, not the
angel of Laodicea. In it there
are to be neither "tares" (Matt. 13:30), "bad fish" (Matt.
13:47, 48), or "goats" (Matt. 25:32).
The Laodicean, the seventh, is the last that is commingled with
hypocrites, saints and sinners.
Who
is to bring this revival and reformation, this great change? -- The BRANCH.
And according to Isaiah 11:1 to 5, the Branch is the Lord, the Son of
David. We shall now read-
Zech.3:9
-- "For behold the stone that I have laid before
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Joshua;
upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving
thereof, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land
in one day."
Those who sit before Joshua are "men wondered at."
As such they are depicted by the "stone" (church, or Kingdom)
that is in Joshua's sight. It has
seven eye-perfect vision. When
this purification of the church takes place then the sin in the land is
quickly removed -- "in one day."
Here is seen genuine revival and reformation accompanied by the
purification of the church. The
Lord is to have a pure church and a clean people.
Zech.
3:10 -- "In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall ye call every man
his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree."
"In that day," in the day this purification takes place, the
gospel work is to be quickly finished by having every member of the Lord's
house call his neighbor to his own patch of land, to that which God has
pre-ordained that everyone should have. Every
member, therefore, is to be a missionary in one capacity or in another.
This indeed is the layman's movement that shall finish the gospel work.
The statement, "Call every man his neighbor under the vine and
under the fig tree," appears also in Micah 4.
It teaches the same thing that Zechariah teaches.
This subject, however, does not stop with Zechariah three, it continues
on.
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Zech.
6:11 -- "Then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon
the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest."
The angel is commanded to take silver and gold, and to make crowns --
not one, but more than one. These
are set upon Joshua's head.
Zech.
6:14 -- "And the crowns shall be to Helem, and to Tobijah, and to
Jedaiah, and to Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the temple of the
Lord."
Verse 14 reveals that Joshua is to pass the crowns on to his helpers
whom the Lord Himself names. This
is to be a memorial, an everlasting reminder in the temple of the Lord.
What can all this mean? -- Just this: Joshua is Heaven's appointed
judge, ruler. He himself is
crowned as such. And in response
to the Lord's Own command, Joshua crowns (authorizes) his helpers whom the
Lord Himself names. In other
words, as members of "the house of David," Joshua authorizes them to
engage in the work. So, Joshua is
responsible to the Lord, but his helpers are responsible to Joshua.
Here is seen an organization having a Leader and an under leader -- the
Lord and Joshua. Thus it is that
whatever is to be bound on earth, is also to be bound in Heaven (Matt. 16:19.)
As concretely as Heaven can make it, this symbolism depicts that God's
people in this final work are not to labor at cross purposes.
All are to speak the same thing. So
it is that His "Watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together
shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring
again Zion." Isa. 52:8. Then
His people shall be
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called
"The Holy people, The redeemed of the Lord," "Sought out, A
city not forsaken" (Isa. 62:12).
Zech.
6:12 -- "And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts,
saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and He shall grow up out of
His place, and He shall build the temple of the Lord."
Joshua is well instructed that the burden and the ingenuity for
building this spiritual temple, belongs to Him Whose name is "the
BRANCH." He is to grow out of His place.
To Him be the glory. He
alone is to be exalted. He is to
build the temple of the Lord.
Zech.
6:13, 15 -- "Even He shall build the temple of the Lord; and He shall
bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon His throne; and He shall be a
priest upon His throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them
both.... And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the
Lord, and ye shall know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you.
And this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of
the Lord your God."
Thus shall the prophecies of Isaiah, chapters two and four, also the
fourth chapter of Micah be fulfilled.
Finally, how do we know for certain that this message was planned and
recorded especially for the church of today? -- We know it from the fact that
the revelation of these scriptures is now, never before, unveiled and
proclaimed. Now its proclamation
makes known that the Lord "is taking the reins in His Own hands"
(Testimonies to Ministers, pg. 300); that the time of the purification of the
church (the Judgment of the Living in the house of God -- 1 Pet. 4:17) is at
hand (Testimonies, Vol. 5, pg. 80); that the purified ones, the 144,000 (the
wheat) -- Rev. 14:1 are to be put in the barn (Matt. 13:30), no longer to be
commingled with the tares; that an innumerable multitude from
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all
nations (Rev. 7:9), are to be brought to the house of the Lord (Isa. 66:19,
20).
You, yourself, can now answer the question as to whether you are a
Davidian or still a Laodicean. If
you are satisfied with yourself, with your spiritual attainments, with your
man-made gospel program; if you think that the Lord is speaking to you by
whatever happens to "click" in your mind; if you think you have all
the Truth, and that you have need of nothing more; if you think that everyone
who does not have your stamp of approval on his belief, is a false prophet;
and if you are in constant fear that someone is everlastingly trying to
deceive you because he teaches something new; if you never give it a thought
that you may be slamming your door against a Truth-bearer who may be bringing
to you the Lord's "eyesalve," and the "wedding garment" --
if you do all these or any part of them, then you must be as good a Laodicean
as you can possibly be, not a Davidian.
But if you are aware that your garments are filthy, and your iniquity
not blotted out; if you realize that you are to walk in God's ways as He
directs through the Joshua of today, if you are all for God and not at all for
self or for the world, then, of course, you either are, or are beginning to
be, a Davidian. If you have not
attained to all of these, you should see that you do; and if you already have,
then keep advancing in the light, and for certain you shall finally stand on
Mt. Zion with the Lamb.
Now take the counsel of the Lord, and no longer be like a piece of bark
drifting in the sea with every wind of doctrine.
"...The people of God are represented in the message
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to
the Laodiceans as in a position of carnal security.
They are at ease, believing themselves to be in an exalted condition of
spiritual attainments....
"What greater deception can come upon human minds than a
confidence that they are right, when they are all wrong!
The message of the True Witness finds the people of God in a sad
deception, yet honest in that deception.
They know not that their condition is deplorable in the sight of God.
While those addressed are flattering themselves that they are in an
exalted spiritual condition, the message of the True Witness breaks their
security by the startling denunciation of their true condition of spiritual
blindness, poverty, and wretchedness. The
testimony, so cutting and severe, cannot be a mistake, for it is the True
Witness who speaks, and his testimony must be correct." -- Testimonies
for the Church, Vol. 3, pp. 252, 253.
We
have no right to judge a man
Until
he's fairly tried;
Should
we not like his company,
We
know the world is wide.
Some
may have faults -- and who has not?
The
old as well as young;
Perhaps
we may, for aught we know,
Have
fifty to their one.
--Joseph
Kronthal
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When
we walk with the Lord
in
the light of His Word,
What
a glory He sheds on our way!
While
we do His good will,
He
abides with us still,
And
with all who will trust and obey.
Not
a burden we bear,
not
a sorrow we share,
But
our toil He doth richly repay;
Not
a grief nor a loss,
not
a frown nor a cross,
But
is blest if we trust and obey.
But
we never can prove
the
delights of His love,
Until
all on the altar we lay,
For
the favor He shows,
and
the joy He bestows,
Are
for them who will trust and obey.
--J.H.
Sammis
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