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Timely Greetings, Vol. 2, Nos. 41, 42
THE ONLY PEACE OF MIND
Volume
2
Numbers
41, 42
Copyright,
1949 Reprint
All
rights reserved
V.T.
HOUTEFF
Current
Events, The Palestine Situation, And How Close The Separation?
That
Which Is To Be During The Time Of The End
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 41
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I shall read from Christ's Object Lessons, beginning on page 130 with
the second paragraph:
"This experience gives every teacher of truth the very
qualifications that will make him a representative of Christ.
The spirit of Christ's teaching will give a force and directness to his
communications and to his prayers. His
witness to Christ will not be a narrow, lifeless testimony.
The minister will not preach over and over the same set discourses.
His mind will be open to the constant illumination of the Holy
Spirit....
"When we eat Christ's flesh and drink His blood, the element of
eternal life will be found in the ministry.
There will not be a fund of stale, oft-repeated ideas.
The tame, dull sermonizing will cease.
The old truths will be presented, but they will be seen in a new light.
There will be a new perception of truth, a clearness and a power that
all will discern. Those who have
the privilege of sitting under such a ministry will, if susceptible to the
Holy Spirit's influence, feel the energizing power of a new life.
The fire of God's love will be kindled within them.
Their perceptive faculties will be quickened to discern the beauty and
majesty of truth."
Here we are told that old truths will be presented in new life; also
that Bible symbolism will be revealed. This
is the very thing we have now seen with our own eyes. We
should pray that God's people be able to recognize that the old truth is now
set in a new light and that new life is being given to it.
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 41
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CURRENT
EVENTS, THE PALESTINE SITUATION,
AND
HOW CLOSE THE SEPARATION?
TEXT
OF ADDRESS BY V.T. HOUTEFF,
MINISTER
OF DAVIDIAN 7TH-DAY ADVENTISTS
SABBATH,
NOVEMBER 6, 1948
MT.
CARMEL CHAPEL
WACO,
TEXAS
I have been asked to give a study on current events, on the Palestine situation, and on the separation caused by the slaughter that is forecast in Ezekiel's vision.
I wish that I could tell you all you want to know, but I cannot say how
soon the separation, the purification of the church, (Testimonies, Vol. 5, pg.
80), will take place. God alone
knows the time. All I know is
that it cannot take place before we prepare the way, before our God-given work
in connection with Ezekiel 9 is done. Then it will come to pass that the Lord
will suddenly come to His temple (the church) and purify the sons of Levi, the
ministry (Mal. 3:1-3). But those
who receive not the mark will fall under the slaughter weapons of the angels
as did the unfaithful "first born" in the night of the Passover in
the land of Egypt.
I am, however, certain that God will not keep us ignorant of the things
we ought to know. If it becomes
necessary for us to know ahead of time the day and hour of the purification of
the church, the antitypical Passover, we will be told.
Yes, we shall know at least as much in advance as Moses knew about the
Passover in his day. He did not
know months ahead the day and hour of the events that were then to take place,
but he was instructed of his and of the people's duties and of what to expect
from day to day. Neither did he
know beforehand that they were to come up against the Red Sea, but as the
cloud led them there, and as the Egyptians followed close behind, he was then
told what to
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Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 41
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do.
Moreover, at the time they crossed the Sea he did not know that they
were to spend forty years in the desert nor that the grown-ups among them were
to perish while on their journey to the Promised Land.
Thus must it be today, because "the secret things belong unto the
Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our
children forever, that we may do all the words of this law." Deut. 29:29.
God knows how to lead and how to save.
I cannot, therefore, give you light beyond what inspiration makes
known. I can only speak of the
things that are revealed.
The most exciting current event that we know of is the presidential
election which stands only two days in the future.
As the nation sees it, this is now the biggest thing in the world, even
though many will not get what they want, for each one of the different parties
has named its own nominee on the presidential ballot, but only one president
is to be elected.
All seem to think that peace and prosperity depend upon the man they
put in the White House. Upon the
authority of the Word, though, I stand to tell you that regardless who is put
in office there will be no peace and desirable lasting prosperity, for God is
left out of the plans which have been devised although He alone can give what
we are after. And now how may we
know that God is not taken into partnership?
The clue that gives the answer is this:
If the church members themselves leave God out of consideration and go
to men for counsel instead of to God, then how can one expect the world to go
to Him? I have in my possession
hundreds of letters from our own Denomination which prove this very thing!
They give me this information by saying:
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"I never read your literature, and never will; our ministers have
investigated your teachings and they have found them to be false.
We have all the Truth; we need nothing more.
Take my name off your mailing list."
Practically all of these brethren that are trapped by the Laodicean
"having need of nothing" idea attempt to refute the message of
present Truth by quoting from Sister White's writings, in spite of the fact
that their quotations are irrelevant to the subject and misconstrued in their
own minds. All quote passages
which the leading brethren have cunningly passed on to them in their brochures
against us, and all of them sing the same Laodicean song which the leading
brethren have put into their mouths.
These things again and again prove that instead of using their own
God-given reason, the multitude are led by the minds of a few hostile
brethren. Passages, though, such
as the ones I am about to read to you, are kept away from them.
Let me now read these simple and to the point lines of inspired Writ
which need no comments:
"Introduce nothing that will cause dissension, without clear
evidence that in it God is giving a special message for this time.
"But beware of rejecting that which is truth.
The great danger with our people has been that of depending upon men,
and making flesh their arm. Those
who have not been in the habit of searching the Bible for themselves, or
weighing evidence, have confidence in the leading men, and accept the
decisions they make; and thus many will reject the very messages God sends to
His people, if these leading brethren do not accept them.
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"No one should claim that he has all the light there is for God's
people. The Lord will not
tolerate this." -- Testimonies To Ministers, pp. 106, 107.
"We must study the truth for ourselves.
No man should be relied upon to think for us.
No matter who he is, or in what position he may be placed, we are not
to look upon any man as a criterion for us.
We are to counsel together, and to be subject one to another; but at
the same time we are to exercise the ability God has given us, in order to
learn what is truth. Each one of
us must look to God for divine enlightenment.
We must individually develop a character that will stand the test in
the day of God. We must not
become set in our ideas, and think that no one should interfere with our
opinions." -- Testimonies To Ministers, pp. 109, 110.
"God wants us to depend upon Him, and not upon man.
He desires us to have a new heart; He would give us revealings of light
from the throne of God." -- Testimonies To Ministers, pg. 111.
"...Whatever may be his position of authority, no one has a right
to shut away the light from the people. When
a message comes in the name of the Lord to His people, no one may excuse
himself from an investigation of its claims." -- Counsels On Sabbath
School Work, pg. 28.
Does not the Denomination's perverted trend in finding Heaven-revealed
Truth prove to you that God is left out of consideration, that in His place
are put those who are supposed to be His servants?
What else can it be if man is consulted when the Spirit of God should
be? Are we not told by the
Scriptures that the Spirit Himself is to lead us individually into all Truth?
that we are not to make flesh our arm by having someone else decide for
us what is Truth and what is error? Are
we not denying the Spirit and our
connection with Heaven when we take a substitute?
And still worse
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is
it to go for advice to one who is already against that which you expect him to
approve or disapprove. If God can
teach the cattle individually to seek water in the lower lands, not on the top
of the mountains and hills, and to search for a place of warmth where the wind
does not strike, then why can he not personally show us what is Truth and what
is error?
Were the founders of the church directed into Truth by the counsel of
the priests and rabbis, or by the Spirit of God in their hearts?
Are we not individually told: "Beloved, believe not every spirit,
but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are
gone out into the world. Hereby
know ye the Spirit of God: Every Spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is
come in the flesh is of God." 1 John 4:1, 2."
Quench not the Spirit. Despise
not prophesyings. Prove all
things; hold fast that which is good." 1 Thess. 5:19-21.
Moreover, Amos by the eye of Inspiration looked down through the
centuries, deep into the Christian era, and declared:
Amos
1:2 -- "The Lord will roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem;
and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall
wither."
This scripture, you see, reflects the tragedy which took place on the
top of Carmel in the days of Elijah. Here
we are given the hint that there is to be another show-down between the
prophet of God and the prophets of Baal.
The prophets of Baal in our day even boast that they are not inspired,
that what they teach and preach is what they themselves discovered by deep
study and research! They even
sneer at those who claim to be inspired of the Lord!
They seem to think that God has forsaken the earth; that He cares not
to send His Spirit as in former time; that men are now so wise that what the
Spirit can do for them, they themselves can do even
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better!
The truth is, though, that if there ever was a need for inspired interpreters
of the Scriptures, it is today while many winds of doctrines are blowing from
all directions, bringing in confusion, dissension, and disaster everywhere.
No one sees eye to eye!
Of this sad condition the Spirit of Prophecy warns:
"Those who allow prejudice to bar the mind against the reception
of truth can not receive the divine enlightenment.
Yet, when a view of Scripture is presented, many do not ask, Is it
true, -- in harmony with God's word? but,
By whom is it advocated? and
unless it comes through the very channel that pleases them, they do not accept
it. So thoroughly satisfied are
they with their own ideas, that they will not examine the Scripture evidence,
with a desire to learn, but refuse to be interested, merely because of their
prejudices.
"The Lord often works where we least expect Him; He surprises us
by revealing His power through instruments of His own choice, while He passes
by the men to whom we have looked as those through whom light should come.
God desires us to receive the truth upon its own merits, -- because it
is truth." -- Testimonies To Ministers, pp. 105, 106.
The world has never seen a more religious group, nor a more praying and
pious people than were the priests, scribes, and Pharisees in Christ's day.
Yet they were the very ones who protested against Christ's teachings,
who spread prejudice and confusion among the people and who kept them in
darkness! Yes, they deceived a
whole nation. Finally, if the
Jewish Sanhedrin was not to be trusted at Christ's first advent, then how do
we know that the Christian's Sanhedrin at Christ's second advent is to be
unquestionably correct? It was
the Sanhedrins of the middle ages and down to this day that have fought
against any Divinely led
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Reformation.
And let me read to you of that which took place in the pioneering days
of the Denomination:
"But the churches generally did not accept the warning.
Their ministers, who as 'watchmen unto the house of Israel,' should
have been the first to discern the tokens of Jesus' coming, had failed to
learn the truth, either from the testimony of the prophets or from the signs
of the times. As worldly hopes
and ambitions filled the heart, love for God and faith in His word had grown
cold; and when the advent doctrine was presented, it only aroused their
prejudice and unbelief. The fact
that the message was, to a great extent, preached by laymen, was urged as an
argument against it. As of old,
the plain testimony of God's word was met with the inquiry, 'Have any of the
rulers or of the Pharisees believed?' And
finding how difficult a task it was to refute the arguments drawn from the
prophetic periods, many discouraged the study of the prophecies, teaching that
the prophetic books were sealed, and were not to be understood.
Multitudes, trusting implicitly to their pastors refused to listen to
the warning; an others, though convinced of the truth, dared not confess it,
lest they should be 'put out of the synagogue.' The message which God had sent
for the testing and purification of the church, revealed all too surely how
great was the number who had set their affections on this world rather than
upon Christ. The ties which bound
them to earth were stronger than the attractions heavenward.
They chose to listen to the voice of worldly wisdom, and turned away
from the heart-searching message of truth." -- The Great Controversy, pg.
380.
If such has been the experience of the past, and if we all had to make
up our own minds for or against the Advent truth in opposition to the
decisions of the priests and ministers in our former churches, and if this was
the only method of finding Truth then, why should it not be so now?
Have we now become less capable than we
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Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 41
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were
before becoming Adventists? Are
our prayers now failing to bring results?
Has the Spirit left us? or
have we turned away from Him? There
is but one honest answer that can be given:
The church is drifting with the world and she, too, is expecting the
world's great men, not the Spirit of God, to tell her what is Truth and what
is error, whom to put in office and whom not to.
"Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord."
Lam. 3:40.
The idea that we, as Seventh-day Adventists, have all the Truth we
need, that we are "rich and increased with goods," in need of
nothing more, is the idea with which the Sanhedrin in Christ's day
indoctrinated the minds of the people, and to this day the Jewish nation has
not recovered from the effects. Do
not our Seventh-day Adventist brethren therefore stand in the same
degenerating position of rejecting any light that God may send, if it does not
agree with their ideas? And even
if Christ Himself should bring it down, and if it disagree with theirs, would
they not like the Jews of old be dangerously tempted to crucify Him if they
could? O the great need for
revival and reformation! And if such be the condition of the people in our own
church, then what can be expected elsewhere?
Return unto Me, for why should you perish?
is Heaven's cry.
These are some of the current events which show that humanity is
drifting farther and farther away from God and drawing closer and closer to
individual self. If we take God
into partnership, we will have peace, security, and prosperity.
But as it is now, we as a nation and as a people are headed for trouble
and uncertainly at home, and for war abroad, while the church sleeps on.
Now as to what I think about the Palestine situation itself: I think
the Jews need to have a place to go
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to,
but I do not think God is leading them. If
God drove the Jews from His land because of their wickedness, because He no
longer could tolerate them, then it is certain that He is not leading them
back to it now while they are of the same mind and just as hostile against His
only Son as they were two thousand years ago.
The Jews, therefore, are taking the land on their own responsibility,
and when the "times" of the Gentiles (Luke 21:24) end, the new State
of Israel, as they call themselves, will then vacate the land much faster than
they can now take, it, unless they take God into the land with them.
God is nevertheless to have a people there, but they will be the kind
He tells of in the Scriptures, some of which I shall now read:
Jer.
30:18-22 -- "Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will bring again the
captivity of Jacob's tents, and have mercy on his dwelling places; and the
city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall remain after the
manner thereof. And out of them
shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I will
multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they
shall not be small. Their
children also shall be as aforetime, and their congregation shall be
established before me, and I will punish all that oppress them.
And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall
proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he
shall approach unto Me: for who is this that engaged his heart to approach
unto Me? saith the Lord.
And ye shall be My people, and I will be your God."
Jer.
31:6-10, 34 -- "For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the
mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the Lord our
God. For thus saith the Lord;
Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations:
publish ye, praise
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Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 41
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ye,
and say, O Lord, save Thy people, the remnant of Israel. Behold, I will bring
them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and
with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth
with child together: a great company shall return thither.
They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them:
I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein
they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is My
firstborn. Hear the Word of the
Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that
scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his
flock.... And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man
his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know Me, from the least
of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their
iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."
Hos.
3:4, 5 -- "For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a
king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and
without an ephod, and without teraphim:
"Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord
their God, and David their king; and shall fear the Lord and His goodness in
the latter days."
God will have a people in the land all right, but they all shall know
the Lord. Those, therefore, who
are now trying to establish themselves in Palestine are not that people.
To learn who the people are that will inherit the land, read Tract No.
8, Mount Zion At The Eleventh Hour.
But, you say, is there no prophecy concerning what the Jews are doing
today in Palestine? Of course
there must be a prophecy. Let me
read it to you:
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Zeph.
2:1-3 -- "Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not
desired; before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff,
before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the
Lord's anger come upon you. Seek
ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought His judgment; seek
righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the
Lord's anger."
These verses of Scripture, you note, are to meet fulfillment just
before the "day pass as the chaff," before the fierce anger of the
Lord breaks upon the nation not desired.
And while this undesired nation is gathering together, then it is that
all the meek of the earth, those who have borne the Lord's message
"before the great and dreadful day of the Lord" (the church), are
counselled to still seek meekness. There
are, therefore, two peoples brought to view in these verses -- the nation not
desired and the meek of the earth.
Now in view of the fact that there is but one such undesired nation,
the Jewish, and none other, that is hated by all nations, this scripture
cannot possibly apply to another people.
Also the fact that now while we are broadcasting the message of the
great and dreadful day of the Lord, the day before the day of the Lord's
anger, the undesired Jews world over are gathering together in Palestine -- I
say in view of all these things now contemporaneously taking place, the truth
of the Scriptures boldly stand out, showing that the anger of the Lord is to
fall upon the Jews unless they reform, and not they, but "the meek of the
earth" are to inherit the land. And
so according to Scripture, Jew and Arab alike are to go out of the Promised
Land, and the meek of the earth to march into it.
How are they to get there, and who is to open the way? -- The answer to
these questions we shall find in--
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Zech.
14:4, 5 -- "And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of
Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall
cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there
shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the
north, and half of it toward the south. And
ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains
shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the
earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall
come, and all the saints with thee."
The Lord Himself, you see, is to open the way for the returning of His
people.
Isa.
11:11, 12, 16 -- "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord
shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people,
which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from
Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of
the sea. And He shall set up an
ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather
together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.... And
there shall be an highway for the remnant of His people, which shall be left,
from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the
land of Egypt."
Isa.
27:12, 13 -- "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall
beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt, and ye shall
be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be
blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria,
and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy
mount at Jerusalem."
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The Lord opens the way, and the Lord gathers His people.
Now about the war as it stands today.
Tract No. 14, War News Forecast, which came out several years ago,
tells the truth concerning World War No. 2 and its outcome.
The Tract gets its light from Nahum's prophecy.
The war there predicted, the prophet declares, is fought in the day of
the automobile, in the day men "run to and fro," while the
"chariots...rage in the streets,...justle one against another in the
broad ways...while [running] like the lightnings," -- in our time.
That war, the tract's appendix -- Time and Chance Solve Mysteries --
proves, is World War No. 2. The
prophet saw one that dasheth in pieces (Hitler) daring his enemies to prepare
against him. Then the prophet saw
the worthies of him who dasheth in pieces (Hitler's worthies) stumble in their
walk (fall by mistake in their march for victory).
And so it came to pass that after Hitler opened his guns against the
nations around him, and started breaking everything to pieces, the allies went
to prepare for war.
Hitler caused his worthies to stumble by waging war against Russia
while in war with Great Britain, and by going after Greece and Egypt rather
than crossing the English channel when England, unknown to him, was almost to
give up. Thus his worthies
stumbled and never rose again. Finally,
Hitler disappeared and hostilities ceased.
But according to Nahum's prophecy, and also according to current events
as broadcast by news reports everywhere, the war is still on; it has not
actually ceased, but is only making a turn for the worse, yes, and it is only
a matter of time before it will become even hotter than it was previous to
Hitler's disappearance.
Moreover, there has been no official declaration as yet that the war is
over. No complete settlement with
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the
powers which fought in the war has as yet been reached.
Anyone can see that the world is fast getting ready to resume the war
with a mightier and final blow if possible.
Anyone can see, too, that the war was not won for the good of Great
Britain, but for Russia, and that following the cessation of hostilities
conditions have caused the world to consolidate into two great and hostile
blocks, -- the Western and the Eastern blocks, -- not to mention the wars and
rumors of wars all around us. This
happened because Great Britain allied with atheistic Russia, a government that
is against God and His church. Thus
Great Britain put greater trust in God's enemy than in God Himself, and that
is why the war is yet to be fought.
And now while the cold war between the east and west is on, the
churches, too, by the Amsterdam confederacy, are enlarging the size of each
block. Both radio broadcasts and
newspapers declare that all the churches except the Roman and the Russian
orthodox churches did send representatives to the Amsterdam assembly.
The Russian orthodox church, you know, is the Greek orthodox church.
And why do you suppose the church that is in Greece joined the
confederacy, but the church that is in Russia did not?
Only because of fearing the "block" they are in.
The churches, too, are taking sides with their respective block --
Eastern or Western. (What will
the Roman church do? She, too,
will of necessity eventually join the Western block.)
Does it not look to you as though the world is getting ready for a
church and state government? I
have repeatedly pointed out that the world is unwittingly making a mighty
effort to saddle the scarlet-colored beast of Revelation 17 and to mount there
on BABYLON THE GREAT. We are
headed for the church and state government which BABYLON THE GREAT symbolizes
while riding the scarlet-colored beast, and when the war gets "hot"
again, Babylon may then replace the United
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Nations
thereafter. So it is seen that
the world in its attempt to overcome the obstacles with which it is
confronted, is as it were jumping out of the fire and falling into the frying
pan, only because it is not taking God into partnership.
The world sees communism as a hydra-headed monster behind a bush, and
the nations are already, so to speak, smiting their knees one against the
other while they look at it. Their
safety, however, does not depend on fear and armament, nor on the man we elect
for president, but on God, on Him Who holds the earth in space, and Who still
rules the affairs of mankind. From
the dawn of history till today the great nations that have fallen, fell when
they were best armed and most independent of God.
This should be a great lesson to all, but who realizes it!
God, therefore, for the sake of His own will puts in the hearts of the
communists, or communist-like powers (the ten horns of the scarlet-colored
beast who hate the woman, hate religion, as does communism) to "give
their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled."
Rev. 17:17.
Now, the statement to "give their kingdom" implies that they
have a kingdom to give. In verse
12, however, we are told that they "have received no kingdom as yet; but
receive power as kings one hour with the beast." When both statements are
put together then the statements say that communism could have a kingdom,
could rule the world, but "God hath put in their hearts to fulfill His
will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of
God shall be fulfilled." They,
therefore, only receive power as kings one hour with the beast, after which
they destroy the woman, the church and state system, and take the kingdom to
themselves (Rev. 17:17). (For a
detailed exposition of the seventeenth chapter of Revelation, read Tract no.
12,
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Yesterday,
Today, Tomorrow, pp. 30-33).
Just how this is to come about, I do not know; but I do know that the
greatest of all wars is to be fought about the holy land; "Behold,"
says the Lord, "the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be
divided in the midst of thee. For
I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be
taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city
shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut
off from the city." Zechariah 14:1, 2.
This prophetic statement, "God hath put in their hearts...to
agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast," proves true what I tried
to say awhile ago: That when any nation became great and on its own, without
God, built a gigantic war machine for defense and aggression, then it was that
that nation came to naught. The
tranquility and prosperity of any nation and people, therefore, depends on
their stand with God, not on their military strength.
Let me now remind you what Inspiration has to say of the association of
nations and peoples according to current events.
For light on the subject we turn to the eighth chapter of Isaiah's
prophecy. Time will not permit me
to re-study with you the whole chapter, and I do not think it is necessary,
for we studied it not long ago. You
remember that the chapter unveils a confederacy which ancient Israel, the
ten-tribe kingdom (the church), made with ancient Syria, a sovereign power of
the world, to war against Judah, a sister kingdom (church).
Inspiration makes a type of that church and state confederacy, and by
it definitely points out the trend which the nominal churches and the
sovereign powers of the world are to take now in the antitype.
It makes known, moreover, that they will not prosper in it.
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I shall now read to you what God Himself thinks of it:
Isa.
8:8-10 -- "And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go
over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings
shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.
Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces;
and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken
in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces.
Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and
it shall not stand: for God is with us."
According to St. Matthew, chapter 1, verse 23, the name Immanuel
belongs to Christ, and by interpretation it means "God with us."
Plainly, then, the exclamation "O Immanuel," shows that
Inspiration is speaking to Christ. And
since He could not be thus addressed before He was born of a woman and
received the name Immanuel, it is obvious that this association of peoples is
to be found in the Christian era, in the era in which Immanuel lives.
Now the statement "Take counsel together, and it shall come to
naught; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us,"
plainly says what I tried to tell you -- that the nations, including the
churches, have left Immanuel, "God with us," out of their plans,
that what they are trying to do they are doing on their own initiative and
resources for the words "God is with us" coming from one who is not
with the assemblies of the people, clearly implies that Immanuel is not with
them, and that therefore their work shall come to naught.
From these scriptures it is seen that the current events brought about
by the two opposing blocks, the east and the west, are not going to work out
according to human planning, that the plans made by the confederation
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of
nations and people are to come to naught except they consult God and take Him
into partnership.
Let us now hear what the Lord would have us do, the stand He would have
His people take:
Isa.
8:11, 12 -- "For the Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand, and
instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying, Say ye
not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy;
neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid."
The fear which the people fear is not to be our fear; neither are their
plans to be our plans. Our duty
is to--
Isa.
8:13 -- "Sanctify the Lord of hosts Himself; and let Him be your fear,
and let Him be your dread."
To sanctify the Lord is to be all for Him, to have no one else in His
stead, to put your entire trust in Him, not making flesh your arm, for He
alone is able to see you through. And
though you should be the only one in all the world to take such a stand, He
will not fail you. If such be
your case, you will then become Heaven's greatest hero.
Isa.
8:14 -- "And He shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling
and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a
snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem."
This truth, you note, will now, just as has any Divinely-revealed truth
at any time in the past, become a rock of offense and a snare to many -- yes,
as Christ Himself became such to the Jews -- because rather than taking their
stand firmly for Divine truth, they are becoming as hostile against it as were
the Jews in Christ's day. Since
the prophecy continues through the
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ninth
chapter, we shall read--
Isa.
9:20, 21 -- "And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he
shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat
every man the flesh of his own arm: Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh:
and they together shall be against Judah.
For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched
out still."
Such will be the results of rejecting God and His counsel.
All who take their stand with the multitude against God's people will
find themselves in the same predicament as the Midianites found themselves in
Gideon's time -- as the light breaks out they will kill one another, but the
faithful will be delivered. This,
however, is not all:
Isa.
8:15 -- "And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and
be snared, and be taken."
According to this scripture many of them will find "the
rapture" not to their liking and not according to their teaching of it.
The Lord's command is:
Isa.
8:16 -- "Bind up the testimony, seal the law among My disciples."
A "disciple" is one who follows Christ on and on in
Divinely-revealed Truth which he accepts not because others do, or do not, but
because the Father which is in Heaven has through His Spirit personally
convinced him of it (Matt. 16:17) -- because independent of what others do or
say he is personally persuaded by the Spirit.
And the "testimony" is His living Word passed on by His
chosen and Spirit-filled messengers -- "the Spirit of Prophecy" at
work (Rev. 19:10). Hence to bind
up the testimony among His disciples is to confirm "the Spirit of
Prophecy" among them and them only.
And to seal the law
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among
them is to have the law authorized and fortified by Truth, to have them see
the necessity of keeping it, and to have them calmly say--
Isa.
8:17 -- "And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth His face from the
house of Jacob, and I will look for Him."
Isa.
8:18 -- "Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for
signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in
Mount Zion."
Soon it will be seen that those who take a firm stand on the side of
Truth will be for signs and wonders.
Isa.
8:19 -- "And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have
familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a
people seek unto their God? for
the living to the dead?"
Here the world is shown to give greater attention to Spiritualism than
to a "thus saith the Lord."
Isa.
8:20 -- "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to
this Word, it is because there is no light in them."
God's people will know that those who take a stand other than the one
which Truth here sets forth, are so doing because the Spirit of Truth is not
dwelling in their hearts. And let
us remember that to make flesh your arm, to consult man when God should be
consulted, is every bit as bad as to consult the spirits of Darkness.
"Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to Me with all
your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: and rend
your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is
gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of
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great
kindness, and repenteth Him of the evil." Joel 2:12, 13.
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THAT
WHICH IS TO BE DURING THE TIME
OF
THE END
TEXT
OF ADDRESS BY V.T. HOUTEFF,
MINISTER
OF DAVIDIAN 7TH-DAY
ADVENTISTS
SABBATH, NOVEMBER 27, 1948
MT.
CARMEL CHAPEL
WACO,
TEXAS
In order to know what takes place during the time of the end, we must first know where the time of the end begins and ends. We must know both ends if we are to know what takes place between. Now, to find when "the time of the end" begins, let us turn to--
Dan.
11:40 -- "And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at
him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with
chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the
countries, and shall overflow and pass over."
In this verse of Scripture there are five clues to be carefully noted:
(1) that the war mentioned in this verse is the last conflict between the two
kings recorded in the prophecy of Daniel 11; (2) that it is a losing war for
the king of the south; (3) that it is fought at the time of the end, not
before, in, or after; (4) that the king of the north becomes great while the
king of the south declines; and (5) that the statement, "at the time of
the end shall the king of the south push at him," very obviously marks
the beginning of "the time of the end."
If, therefore, we find the year this prophesied war began, we shall
have established the beginning of the "time of the end."
Since the king of the south pushes at the king of
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the
north, it follows that the king of the south is the aggressor, feels himself
strong to attack. He nevertheless
loses out and the king of the north overruns him, becomes great -- takes many
countries, including the following:
Dan.
11:41 -- "He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries
shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and
Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon."
Here it is seen that the king of the north grows very great during the
time of the end. He takes
"the glorious land" (Palestine), and besides taking many other
countries, he also takes Edom and Moab and Ammon (the Arab countries) which
nevertheless in time "escape out of his hand" -- free themselves.
Moreover, says the scripture:
Dan.
11:42 -- "He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and
the land of Egypt shall not escape."
This definitely shows that "in the time of the end" one great
power which has been ruling these countries, among which are included Egypt
and Palestine, loses them and becomes small, while another power takes them
and waxes even greater.
For centuries the Ottoman empire ruled these countries, and history
records that the first Turkish reverses on land occurred about 1699.
Ever since, Turkey has been declining and the Christian nations
gaining, but it is Great Britain in particular that has taken the countries
mentioned by name in this prophecy. She
is the one who has taken many other countries besides these and has waxed
great during the decline of the Ottoman empire.
Obviously, therefore, these historic facts, besides
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others
we have not mentioned, prove that rising from the jungles south of Palestine,
the Ottoman empire, next after the Ptolemies, holds the title "king of
the south"; and the nations north of Palestine, the Christian nations
rising from the Roman empire (and now Great Britain in particular) hold the
title "king of the north." And
since the decline of the Ottoman empire began in 1699, and the growth of the
British Empire began during the same time, then the beginning of the
eighteenth century is therefore the beginning of the "time of the
end."
Finally, since we now see that the wars of the Mohammedans with the
Christian nations are mentioned in prophecy with special emphasis that Egypt
and Palestine are, during the time of the end, ceded to the king of the north
as part of his trophies, these kings are positively identified.
And the fall of the one with the growth of the other after the Treaty
of Corlowitz in 1699 by which "Mustapha II agreed to renounce his claims
upon Transylvania and a large part of Hungary, to give up Marea to Venetians
to restore Polalia and the Ukraine to Poland, and to leave Azov to the
Russians" (Twentieth Century Cyclopaedia, Vol. 6, pg. 247) certainly
establishes the beginning of the time of the end.
Dan.
11:43, 44 -- "But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of
silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the
Ethiopians shall be at his steps. But
tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he
shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away
many."
These verses reveal that after taking Egypt and Palestine, the king of
the north enters into another war, not on account of the king of the south,
not with Turkey, but rather due to rumors from the east and from the north
that trouble him. These cause him
to go forth with
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great
fury to destroy many. But he
conquers nothing worth mentioning, and according to the verse that follows he
is afterward threatened with coming to his end.
This particular war, therefore, brings the first reverses to the king
of the north since the reverses of the king of the south in 1699.
Germany and Russia from the north, also Japan from the east, the rumors
which put Great Britain and her allies into World War II, are therefore the
"tidings" which brought the war and which, though supposedly the war
was won, weakened rather than strengthened the British Empire.
Dan.
11:45 -- "And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the
seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none
shall help him."
The only portion of Daniel 11 yet to be fulfilled is this verse, the
last of the chapter, and since these prophecies are made to be understood only
when they are being fulfilled or after fulfillment, verse 45 is not as clear
as we should like to have it. Consequently
concerning the place of his tabernacles and his end, also as to whether
another Christian power shall inherit the title "king of the north"
before verse 45 is fulfilled, only time itself will positively portray the
whole truth.
The thing that Inspiration makes altogether clear is the fact that the
king's next stand is his end, while all look and listen, but none come to his
help.
Since we have established the time of the beginning of "the time
of the end," let us now establish the end of "the time of the
end." For light on the
subject we turn to--
Rev.
19:19-21 -- "And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their
armies, gathered together to make
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war
against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought
miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of
the beast, and them that worshipped his image.
These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
And the remnant were slain with the sword of Him that sat upon the
horse, which sword proceeded out of His mouth: and all the fowls were filled
with their flesh."
"The beast," "the false prophet," and "the
remnant" are here mentioned. Who
are they?
First the beast and the false prophet and then the remnant, those that
are left, are cast into the lake of fire.
Since the "beast" and the "prophet" are special
world entities, the remnant (those that are left) represent the rest of the
unrepented world sympathetic with the beast and the prophet.
The destruction of the prophet, the beast, and the remnant, therefore,
is the end of the world -- the terminus of the time of the end.
Besides these verses of Scripture, the twentieth chapter of Revelation
reveals that with this last pre-millennial event in the drama of sin, the
millennial reign of Christ and the Church begins (Rev. 20:1-3), in the end of
which time shall arise all who had no "part in the first
resurrection." Rev. 20:5, 6.
Now we have seen that "the time of the end" spans from the
commencement of the decline of the Ottoman Empire, to the end of the world,
and that the end of the world is the end of all people but the Church --
"those who lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years."
Let us now see what takes place between these two sign posts.
We shall continue with Daniel's prophecy through the twelfth chapter.
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Dan.
12:1 -- "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which
standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble,
such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that
time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in
the book."
"And at that time" -- that is, at the time the king of the
north comes to his end (Dan. 11:45) -- shall Michael stand up and deliver His
people, the Church, all who are written in the Book.
What else takes place?--
Dan.
12:2 -- "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall
awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting
contempt."
Here is projected a resurrection of a mixed multitude, wicked and
righteous -- foolish and wise. This
resurrection, then, is not the pre-millennial "first resurrection,"
nor the post-millennial resurrection of the wicked (Rev. 20:5, 6), but a
special one. If the wise who turn
many to righteousness are of the resurrected in this special resurrection, and
if they shine as the stars forever and ever, then this special resurrection
takes place in probationary time.
Dan.
12:4 -- "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even
to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be
increased."
The understanding of the book and of the words of it, were to be sealed
to the time of the end. During
the time of the end, therefore, the book was to be opened.
Knowledge was also to increase. Moreover,
many were to run to and fro; that is, communication was to speed up greatly.
All this we have already seen takes place during "the time of the
end." Thus there is no room
for doubt as to the time in which we are living -- the time of the end.
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Dan.
12:8-10 -- "And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord,
what shall be the end of these things? And
he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the
time of the end. Many shall be
purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and
none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand."
Here Inspiration itself explains that no one, not even Daniel himself
could possibly understand the book before the time of the end.
And too, while the wicked were to continue doing wickedly, many were to
be purified, made white and tried; that is, the purification of the church,
the cleansing of the Sanctuary (Dan. 8:14), was to take place during the time
of the end. In the words of the
prophet Malachi the cleansing of the Sanctuary is preceded by this
announcement:
Mal.
3:1-3 -- "Behold, I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way
before Me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even
the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come,
saith the Lord of hosts. But who
may abide the day of his coming? and
who shall stand when he appeareth? for
he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' sope: and he shall sit as a
refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and
purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering
in righteousness."
Rather than say "Sanctuary," Inspiration in this instance
says "Temple." And
rather than say "cleansing," It uses the terms refining and
purifying. The Apostle Peter,
though, chooses to call the cleansing of the Sanctuary, "Judgment"
in the "house of God":
1
Peter 4:17, 18 -- "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the
house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that
obey not the
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Gospel
of God? And if the righteous
scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?"
In the parable, however, Jesus explains the cleansing of the Sanctuary
thus:
Matt.
13:30 -- "Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of
harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and
bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into My barn."
Here it is made clear that in this instance the wicked among the
righteous are likened to tares, and the time of the cleansing itself, the
Judgment, is likened to a "harvest," but that the cleansing itself
is likened to a separation of wheat and tares.
Again, in verses 47 and 48 Christ draws a parallel between the Church a
"net"; the people he likens to "fish," and the
purification to a separation, whereas in Matthew 25 He calls the purified
Church the Kingdom of God, and the people He likens unto "virgins,"
and the cleansing He illustrates by a door which lets in the wise but keeps
out the foolish. But His second
parable of Matthew 25, the separation, we are told, is to be like a master who
comes to reckon with his servants. Those
who have done nothing good for the advancement of His kingdom (who have not
traded with and increased His talents -- Matt. 25:27) are cast out, there to
gnash their teeth in "outer darkness." (Matt. 25:30.)
In His third parable the separation He likens to a shepherd who
separates the goats from the sheep (sinners from the saints); the goats are
condemned to die but the sheep are given the right to the Kingdom.
The prophet Ezekiel, however, explains the cleansing of the Sanctuary
from still another angle:
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Ezek.
9:1, 2, 4, 7 -- "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, which lieth toward the
north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; 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 brasen altar.... 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.... And to the others He said in mine hearing, Go ye
after him through the city, and smite: let not your eyes spare, neither have
ye pity: slay utterly old and young, both maids and little children, and
women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at My
sanctuary. Then they began at the
ancient men which were before the house.
And He said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the
slain: go ye forth. And they went
forth, and slew in the city."
Besides this vivid illustration, Inspiration, through the prophet
Daniel reveals that the Sanctuary is to be cleansed not only from sinners, but
from doctrinal error, too, for one angel inquired,--
Dan.
8:13, 14, 17 -- "...How long shall be the vision concerning the daily
sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the Sanctuary and
the host to be trodden under foot? And
He said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the
sanctuary be cleansed.... Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end
shall be the vision."
The daily, the desolation, also the Sanctuary and the host pertain both
to the doctrines and the people. Both
are to be cleansed. And the angel
explained that
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the
cleansing of the Sanctuary (cleansing it from both error and hypocrisy) takes
place after the 2300 days, during the time of the end.
Moreover, through the prophet Zechariah the Lord makes another
remarkable illustration which points out that the saints themselves also are
to be cleansed:
Zech.
3:1-5 -- "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.
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."
While we have already seen that the house of God is to be cleansed from
error and from Hypocrites, here in Zechariah's prophecy we see that the saints
themselves are cleansed from their sins -- their filthy garments are taken
away, and clean and beautiful garments are given in their place.
This phase of the cleansing is again illustrated by the wedding
garment. (Matt. 22:11).
And now let me remind you that after the tares are taken away,
"the wheat" is not left on the field where it grew (that is, the
saints are not left where they were), but it is put into "the barn."
Furthermore, after the "bad fish" (hypocrites) are cast out,
the "good fish" (the saints) are then put "into vessels,"
are not left in the "net" (not left in the place
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where
the cleansing occurred). Consequently
when the church is thus cleansed, the saints are removed from their former
place and put in a safe place -- away from all worldly influences and
environments. Having been
cleansed, they are necessarily thus kept clean.
And where is that place? The
Revelator has the answer:
Rev.
14:1, 4, 5 -- "And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the Mount Sion, and
with Him an hundred forty and four thousand, having His Father's name written
in their foreheads.... These are they which were not defiled with women; for
they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth.
These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the
Lamb. And in their mouth was
found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God."
The cleansed ones you see, are the 144,000, and they are taken to Mount
Sion.
Plainly, then, the cleansing is in two sections.
The 144,000 guileless saints who are sealed from among the tribes of
Israel (Rev. 7:4-7), the church, are but the first fruits.
They are taken to Mt. Sion. Finally
after the purification, or cleansing, of the church has taken place, then the
great multitude of Revelation 7:9 are gathered out of all nations.
They constitute the second fruits, for where there is no second there
can be no first.
Where is Mt. Zion? Let
Micah the prophet tell us:
Micah
3:12; 4:1, 2 -- "Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field,
and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high
places of the forest.... But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the
mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the
mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto
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it.
And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the
mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach
us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for the law shall go forth of
Zion, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem."
This is Inspiration's own explanation of the place which the purified
church is to occupy. Here we are
told that though the ancient kingdom, the Jewish, whose place stood on Mount
Zion, was to be demolished from the foundation up, we are nevertheless at the
same time promised that the Kingdom will be restored in the last days and that
it will be exalted above all other kingdoms, above all "mountains"
and "hills."
Again says the Lord:
Ezek.
36:23-25 -- "And I will sanctify My great name, which was profaned among
the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen
shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified
in you before their eyes. For I
will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and
will bring you into your own land. Then
will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your
filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you."
We are here told that the final cleansing of the saints, the cleansing
that removes all the marks of sin, is performed after God takes His people
from among the heathen and from all countries, and brings them into their own
land.
Ezek.
36:26 -- "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put
within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will
give you an heart of flesh."
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When the saints get to the Promised Land, then the sin-indulgent heart,
the stony heart, is taken away and a heart of righteous desires, a fleshy
heart, is given. No longer will
God's people fight temptations from within in order to do righteousness.
To them, in the period of the fleshly heart, it will be natural to do
righteousness whereas now during the period of the stony heart it is natural
to do unrighteousness.
Ezek.
36:27 -- "And I will put My spirit within you, and cause you to walk in
My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them."
The Spirit of God, moreover, will be freely given to the saints, and
thus will they become perfect eternal beings, perfectly capable of walking in
God's statutes and His judgments.
Ezek.
36:28 -- "And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and
ye shall be My people, and I will be your God."
They are to dwell, not in some other land, says the Lord, but in their
own land, in the land He had anciently given to their fathers.
They are to dwell in Palestine.
Now you plainly see that the unconverted Jews who are endeavoring to
take the land of Palestine are not the people of whom these passages of
Scripture speak. Now you see that
Arab, Jew, or Gentile, all will eventually have to move away and give room to
God's clean and purified people.
Joel
3:1, 2 -- "For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall
bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all
nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will
plead with them there for My people and for My heritage Israel, whom they have
scattered among the
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nations,
and parted My land."
Here you have it stated as plain as it can be that when God brings back
the captivity of His people, then He will gather all nations in the valley of
Jehoshaphat and plead for His people -- for His second fruits -- after He
takes the first fruits to Mount Zion.
Isa.
2:3 -- "And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to
the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach
us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for out of Zion shall go forth
the law, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem."
Joel
3:20, 21 -- "But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from
generation to generation. For I
will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the Lord dwelleth in
Zion."
Thus will the saints be enabled to live eternally.
Isa.
33:24 -- "And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that
dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity."
And what else will be said after the people are gathered and cleansed?
Just this:
Rev.
22:11 -- "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is
filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be
righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still."
The completion of the cleansing brings probationary time to a close --
the sinner is forever to stay a sinner, and the righteous forever righteous.
Then those who find themselves out of the holy land will wail and gnash
their teeth. They will in anguish
say:
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Jer.
8:20 -- "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not
saved."
The land, moreover, shall be divided among the tribes but not as
divided anciently. Time will not
permit me to read the whole account of the division, but, here I have it
reproduced in a map which shows that the land has never yet been thus divided.
Each tribe is to get a full-length strip from the east to the west.
The portion of Dan is the first on the north and the portion of Gad is
the last on the south. In
chapters 47 and 48 of Ezekiel you will find the full description of this
division of the land.
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Furthermore, the land itself shall be cleansed; for says the Lord:
Ezek.
38:14, 16; 39:4, 7, 9-14 -- "Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto
Gog, Thus saith the Lord God; In that day when My people of Israel dwelleth
safely, shalt thou not know it?...And thou shalt come up against My people of
Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I
will bring thee against My land, that the heathen may know Me, when I shall be
sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.... Thou shalt fall upon the
mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with
thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the
beasts of the field to be devoured.... So will I make My holy name known in
the midst of My people Israel; and I will not let them pollute My holy name
any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in
Israel.... And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and
shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the
bows and the arrows, and the handstaves,and the spears, and they shall burn
them with fire seven years: so that they shall take no wood out of the field,
neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with
fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed
them, saith the Lord God. And it
shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of
graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it
shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all
his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamon-gog.
And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that
they may cleanse the land. Yea,
all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown
the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord God.
And they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through
the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon
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the
face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they
search."
Still further, you will now note that all these wonders God does for
His people, not because they have been good, or because they are now good, but
for God's own great name. Listen
to what the Lord Himself says:
Ezek.
36:22-24 -- "Therefore say unto the house of Israel, thus saith the Lord
God; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for Mine holy name's
sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went.
And I will sanctify My great name, which was profaned among the
heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall
know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you
before their eyes. For I will
take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will
bring you into your own land."
According to this, God restores the land to His chosen people, not
because they as a people are good, but because he wants to vindicate His own
name among the heathen.
As the time approaches for the cleansing to take place a call for
spiritual awakening will be made:
Isa.
52:1 -- "Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful
garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come
into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean."
Inspiration here declares that after this call for revival and
reformation, from then on the sinners will not be permitted to have any part
among the people that have been cleansed.
The prophet Nahum, too, is a witness of this call
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for
Reformation. He writes:
Nah.
1:15 -- "Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good
tidings, that publisheth peace! O
Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more
pass through thee; he is utterly cut off."
Here you see that the announcement of this long-expected event is to be
made by someone's publications. Moreover,
he publishes peace and thus announces the restoration of the Kingdom.
This is the only peace that the world can have.
There is to be no other. Those
who keep God's solemn "feasts" and perform their vows shall have
this peace. None others shall.
In our study today we have summarized some of the things which will
take place during the time of the end, but the most important thing, so far as
you are concerned, is the decision you are now left to make.
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