Home/Chat /Discussion /Links /Search /Resources /Order Form /SHRod /Audio /Contact us/ Espanol
Timely Greetings, Vol. 2, Nos. 43, 44
THE ONLY PEACE OF MIND
Volume
2
Numbers
43, 44
Copyright,
1950 Reprint
All
rights reserved
V.T.
HOUTEFF
A
Dead Top, An Offshoot Or An Upshoot--Which?
The
Signs Of Christ's Second Coming, Or The Signs Of The Kingdom--Which?
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 43
1
TEXT
FOR PRAYER
Fidelity
to Principle
For our prayer thought this afternoon, I shall read from Testimonies, Vol. 5, page 43, the first paragraph:
"We have marked illustrations of the sustaining power of firm,
religious principle.... The gaping lions' den could not keep Daniel from his
daily prayers, nor could the fiery furnace induce Shadrach and his companions
to fall down before the idol which Nebuchadnezzar set up.
Young men who have firm principles, will eschew pleasure, defy pain,
and brave even the lions' den and the heated fiery furnace, rather than be
found untrue to God. Mark the
character of Joseph. Virtue was
severely tested, but its triumph was complete.
At every point the noble youth endured the test.
The same lofty, unbending principle appeared at every trial.
The Lord was with him, and his word was law." -- Testimonies, Vol.
5, pg. 43.
Let us now pray that we shall have the religion of David, of Daniel, of
Joseph. These men were but youth
when they entered upon their respective careers, yet they were as firm in
their convictions as the needle to the pole.
They did not digress from a single righteous duty or principle,
regardless of pressure or circumstances.
Their stability of character and zeal to make the world better,
persuaded the Lord to make them kings. Now
we ought to pray that we be not obstructionists, but that we be builders in
the highway of civilization; that rather than merely take up space, we be
fruitful vines in God's great vineyard.
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 43
2
A
DEAD TOP, AN OFFSHOOT,
OR
AN UPSHOOT--WHICH?
TEXT
OF ADDRESS BY V.T. HOUTEFF,
MINISTER
OF DAVIDIAN 7TH-DAY
ADVENTISTS
SABBATH, JANUARY 1, 1949
MT.
CARMEL CHAPEL
WACO,
TEXAS
All people down through the ages that have ever embraced a fresh message from God, were branded as "offshoots" and considered dangerous -- something from which one must beware lest he be shot at, as it were, stabbed, trapped, or something as bad, or hard to tell what.
As you know, we, too, are branded as such and are accused of leaving
the Denomination even as much as were the apostles accused of leaving Judaism
and taking up Christianity. Actually
the apostles had left nothing, for they not only took along with them every
truth Judaism had, but they went on with the fresh Truth of God also, whereas
Judaism fell back. The apostles,
moreover, would have remained in the synagogue if the Jews had not driven them
out. For this the apostles were
called "offshoots," or the like.
We likewise have not pulled away from the Denomination, but have been
cast out of our respective churches and forced to go by another name, Davidian
Seventh-day Adventists, -- and all this for no other reason than for
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 43
3
embracing
the additional Heaven-born Truth which gives power and force to the Advent
message (Early Writings, pg. 277), and which makes us better Seventh-day
Adventists than we have been or could otherwise be.
Now, if we be "offshoots" for walking in the light which
heaven sends from time to time to lead God's people in the way of Truth and
Righteousness, then I should like to know what our brethren think they
themselves are, for by the same token of logic the Mother Denomination, the
Seventh-day Adventist, is itself an offshoot from another denomination.
Moreover, this is also true of all the Protestant denominations, for
they are the offshoots of the Catholic; and the Apostolic is an offshoot of
the Jewish. Who, then, outside of
the Jews is not an offshoot? In
fact, if we go as far back as Abraham's time, we will find that even the Jews
were an offshoot of something before their time.
If offshoots are therefore to be shunned, hated, and abhorred, then why
are there any Christians at all? And
if this is an eye-opener to those who think themselves something other than an
offshoot, they should now without delay apply for admission to the Synagogue,
or else begin to behave like God's men.
Do you, Brother, Sister, see that if it had not been for the
"offshoots," for those who had backbone of their own to stand up for
present Truth, for "meat in due season" (Matt. 24:45), none of us
would ever have had a chance to become Christians -- Protestants, Adventists,
or Davidians. We all would have
been members of the God-forsaken Synagogue, if of anything.
In fact,
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 43
4
we
would have had no Bible religion at all, for the Jews themselves have departed
even from what little they had retained of it 2000 years ago.
Should we, then, not be thankful for the faithfulness of the offshoots
who have gone before us (if such they be) and of whom Christ is the first?
I, for one am proud to be called an offshoot with my Lord.
I, therefore, like to be an offshoot, but would dislike to be a dead
top.
Our hostile brethren, though, are mistakenly calling us
"offshoots." Rightly we
should be called "upshoots," for that is what additional Truth does
to the Church and to anyone who accepts it.
A tree that does not put forth an upshoot in the season it should, is
either dying or is already dead. Plainly,
then, without us "upshoots," the brethren would have no chance to
survive the Laodicean malady, and no chance to reach the Kingdom of glory.
They will, while dying, forever be dreaming of being rich and increased
with goods, though in fact the Lord Himself points out that they are
"wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked" (Rev.
3:17), and know it not. How
thankful they ought to be to us who have withstood their fiery darts for the
sake of Truth!
In the twentieth chapter of Matthew we find five such upshoots.
Would you like to know who these upshoots are?
To facilitate the study of them, I have prepared this chart, and now is
your opportunity closely to look at it and faithfully to consider it.
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 43
5
This chart is a reproduction of the parable found in the twentieth
chapter of Matthew, the parable in which the Lord points out that the
Householder, God, in the course of time hired laborers on five different
occasions.
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 43
6
Let us now read the parable itself:
Matt.
20:1-7 -- "For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an
householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his
vineyard. And when he had agreed
with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in
the marketplace, and said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and
whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way.
Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.
And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing
idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go
ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye
receive."
The first laborers, of course, were the Jews in Moses' day.
Now since the next, the ones that were hired at the third hour were the
Christians, it follows that the day (the twelve allegorical hours of the
parable in which the hiring is actually carried out) is symbolical of a period
of time. It is the time in which
the written Word of God, the Bible, appears and shines directly to mankind --
the period since Moses' day.
Inasmuch as the first laborers, the Jews, were the ones hired
"early" in the day, the day Moses began to write the Bible (the
light from God) and caused It to shine upon the world, brought the day, the
word "early" therefore implies that the period which preceded the
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 43
7
appearance
of the Bible is the parabolical night, when there was no Bible on earth.
There was no direct spiritual light, but only indirect -- moon fashion.
Finally, then, the period before Moses and the period after Moses (the
period without the Bible and the period with the Bible) complete the cycle of
twenty-four symbolical hours on which the Lord based His parable, and of which
this chart (page 6) is a reproduction.
We have now seen that the absence of Bible light before Moses' time
caused the time to be symbolized by night, and the presence of the Bible light
since Moses' time, caused that period to be called the day.
The first group of laborers being the Jews, and the second the
Christians, the next three calls consequently point to other three groups in
the Christian era who have been commissioned to go into the vineyard.
There they are to preach something as original as was the ceremonial
system of worship which Moses preached; and also as original as the
crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Christ which the apostles
preached, for the message of the one must be comparable to the message of the
other; that is, if the first two messages were original, the last three must
also be original. The only such
original message given after the preaching of the apostles is the 2300
prophetic days of Daniel 8:14. It
being first preached by the First-day Adventists soon after 1820 A.D. (The
Great Controversy, pg. 331), and being the third message in the line of the
parabolical calls for servants, shows that in the stream of the parabolical
time, the hour struck six in 1820 A.D.
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 43
8
The next call for servants to preach something just as new and as
original came in the year 1844. It
was the cleansing of the Sanctuary after the 2300 prophetic days were passed,
and was preached in connection with the seventh-day Sabbath.
That group of servants called themselves Seventh-day Adventists.
They proclaimed, "Fear God, and give glory to Him, for the hour of
His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the
sea, and the fountains of waters." Rev.
14:7.
The ninth parabolic hour, therefore, struck with the rise of the
Seventh-day Adventists. But the
fact that there is another call for servants, that of the eleventh hour, the
last, points out that after the message of 1844 there is to be another such
original message and also a new group of servants to proclaim it.
This message, the eleventh-hour message, moreover, is to be a laymen's
movement, for the laborers were found idle and in search of employment in the
market place.
The "market place" where the Master is said to have gone
after such employment-seekers, is, of course, the church, for the Lord chooses
His servants only from among His well-informed people.
Should we be reminded again and again that in the introduction of each
message the Householder was compelled to hire new servants from among the
laity? And did not the ministers
always stand aloof, doing all they could to prevent others from coming in
touch with the messages? What a
weighty thought! What a
responsibility
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 43
9
rests
upon the brethren who are now shepherding the flock!
The question "Why stand ye all the day idle?" is very
definitely saying that those who are hired are not of those who were already
at work, not of the ministry. And
the answer, "Because no man hath hired us," makes it emphatic that
the eleventh-hour workers are of the faithful laity, of those who are
anxiously waiting to serve the Lord, but who previously have not been given
the opportunity.
Of this last message Inspiration warned the Denomination by leaving on
record the lines which I shall now read:
"I saw," says Sister E.G. White, "angels hurrying to and
fro in heaven, descending to the earth, and again ascending to heaven,
preparing for the fulfillment of some important event.
Then I saw another mighty angel commissioned to descend to the earth,
to unite his voice with the third angel, and give power and force to his
message.... This message seemed to be an addition to the third message,
joining it as the midnight cry joined the second angel's message in
1844." -- Early Writings, pg. 277. And
what should that message be if not an urgent preparation for the judgment of
the living?
Again I read:
"Prophecy must be fulfilled.
The Lord says:
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 43
10
'Behold,
I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful
day of the Lord.' Somebody is to
come in the spirit and power of Elijah, and when he appears, men may say: 'You
are too earnest, you do not interpret the Scriptures in the proper way.
Let me tell you how to teach your message.'" -- Testimonies to
Ministers, pg. 475.
(If you wish to study the parable in all its details, you may do so by
reading The Shepherd's Rod, Vol. 2, pp. 222-239.)
Now you see that the so-called "offshoots" Christ Himself
calls God's servants. We can
therefore honestly and sincerely ask, Can the church and the world get along
without the unpopular "offshoots"?
The answer is simple: If they could have gotten along without the
early-hour servants, and without the servants of the third, sixth, and ninth
hours, then the church and the world could get along without the eleventh-hour
servants (the so-called offshoots), too.
But in such a sad condition, what would the world be like?
Moreover, since the announcement of the separation of the saints from
the sinners originates with the eleventh-hour servants, and since they are to
cry aloud and say, "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." (Isa. 52:1): and
also to say "Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good
tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah,
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 43
11
keep
thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through
thee; he is utterly cut off." (Nah. 1:15); it follows that without the
eleventh hour message and servants, the Church, Zion, would be left sleeping
forever, never to behold the feet of him who brings these good tidings, of him
who publishes peace, and never to put on her beautiful garments, never to be
fitted for the Kingdom.
I say that if left in such an unhappy and unholy state the very elect
would forever remain unclean and unsanctified -- deceived!
And since the eleventh-hour servants, the Davidians, are the ones unto
whom the message of this cleansing, "the Judgment of the Living," is
committed, then those who on account of it are our enemies, those who are
doing everything they can to keep the common people ignorant of the Truth and
from coming in contact with It, are the very ones who are endeavoring to
deceive "the very elect," if possible.
Thank God that it is impossible.
We should, therefore, now proclaim these good tidings of peace even
with greater zeal than ever, for commands the Lord:
"Say unto the house of Israel," the church, "Thus saith
the Lord God;... 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 counties,
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 43
12
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.
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. 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. 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." Ezek. 36:22-28.
It will not do for us lightly to pass over these verses of Scripture as
we and the whole Denomination have been doing heretofore.
All of us should carefully note that the Lord is to sanctify Himself by
taking His elect from among the heathen, and out of all countries, and bring
them into their own land, into the land of their fathers.
"Then," when they return into their father's land, says the
scripture, will He sprinkle clean water upon them, and thus shall they be
cleansed from all their filthiness and from all their idols.
Then and there they are to be given a new heart, and a new spirit, and
be made to walk in God's statutes and to keep His judgments.
To this adds the Lord:
"Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord God, be it known
unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel.
Thus saith the Lord God; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from
all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the
wastes shall be builded. And the
desolate land shall
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 43
13
be
tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by.
"And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like
the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become
fenced, and are inhabited. Then
the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the Lord build the
ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the Lord have spoken it,
and I will do it.
"Thus saith the Lord God; I will yet for this be enquired of by
the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a
flock. As the holy flock, as the
flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so shall the waste cities be filled
with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the Lord." Ezek.
36:32-38.
No one dares say that these promises have taken place, and no one dares
say that they are post-millennial. Think
on them and study them over, Brother, Sister.
Do not lightly dismiss them, for they are your life.
They mean your salvation, your destiny, your eternity.
No one is fit to live and reign with Christ during the thousand years
who does not participate in this cleansing.
Finally, those who cast us out, and who speak evil against us, those
who are desperately fighting to keep the message from the people, I am sure
you now plainly see, are the very ones who are used by the rebel leader to
deceive "even the very elect if possible" (Matt. 24:24).
They are those who cast us out of the churches
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 43
14
which
we helped build; those who are threatening the laity, forbidding them to read
the literature, and commanding them to consign it to the stove in order to
keep them ignorant of God's message for the hour.
All their efforts, though, will come to naught as verily as did the
efforts of the leading Jews against Christ's first advent.
For this obvious reason the church cannot get along without us
"offshoots," or rather "upshoots," and yet be saved for
eternity. Let me now read God's
promise and encouragement for us all:
"Hear the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at His Word; Your
brethren that hated you, that cast you out for My name's sake, said, Let the
Lord be glorified: but He shall appear to your joy, and they shall be
ashamed." (Isa. 66:5)
Are The Davidians, Their Message, And Their
Now to this question, I say that they must be if God is responsible for
their coming into being. Please
turn with me to--
Hos.
1:10 -- "Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of
the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass,
that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not My people, there it
shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.
Then shall the children of Judah and the
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 43
15
children
of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they
shall come up out of the land for great shall be the day of Jezreel."
Here you see that the Jews were to be rejected from being God's people,
and you well know that this came to pass when the Lord said unto them:
"Behold your house is left unto you desolate." Matt. 23:38.
The prophecy nevertheless continues and projects to the gathering time,
the time God's penitent people appoint to themselves one head, a king.
These, of course, are not the unconverted Jews of today, but they are
the descendants from among those who have been assimilated by the nations and
by the Christian church, from those who have lost their identity and who are
now "as the sands of the sea" in number, but who now as Gentiles
(gentiles to their own and to the world's short-sighted knowledge) have
accepted Christ. (You who have
missed my past studies on the subject, may read Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No.
29 and Tract No. 8, Mt Sion at the 11th Hour, pp. 7-17.)
Who is the earthly head, king, whom the Scriptures say the people
"appoint" at the gathering time? -- Let us read,
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,
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 43
16
and
David their king; and shall fear the Lord and His goodness in the latter
days."
In this part of the prophecy, you see, we are told that after they have
sojourned among the Gentiles for "many days" without a king, and
without any sign of identification (having been entirely lost sight of as a
nation and as a people), they shall finally have antitypical David rule over
them. This would not be ancient
David as he was already dead when this prophecy was made.
Neither could this promised David be Christ Himself, for Christ is the
son of David (Matt. 22:42), not David himself; and if He shall, moreover, sit
on the throne of David (Lu. 1:32), then David must have a throne for Him to
sit on.
Furthermore, you will note that Hosea 1:11 promises that great shall be
the day of Jezreel. And who is
Jezreel? -- Well, in this chapter you find that he is Hosea's first-born son
in the allegory. In that part of
the allegory which belongs to the Judean dispensation, and which is found in
the first chapter of Hosea, the names of the two younger children are prefixed
with "Lo." But in the
part of the allegory which applies to the Christian dispensation, to the
gathering time, as seen in chapter 2, the letters "Lo" are dropped
out, just as the title "Jews" we find dropped out by the New
Testament church and the title "Christians" taken instead.
(You will find a detailed study of these chapters in Tract No. 4, The
Latest News for "Mother.") The second chapter of Hosea begins with
the command:
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 43
17
Hos.
2:1-5 -- "Say ye unto your brethren, Ammi; and to your sisters, Ruhamah.
Plead with your mother, plead: for she is not My wife, neither am I her
husband: let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight, and her
adulteries from between her breasts; lest I strip her naked, and set her as in
the day that she was born, and make her as a wilderness, and set her like a
dry land, and slay her with thirst. And
I will not have mercy upon her children; for they be the children of
whoredoms. For their mother hath
played the harlot: she that conceived them hath done shamefully: for she said,
I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my
flax, mine oil and my drink."
Obvious it is that God is commanding Jezreel, the first-born of the
three children, to speak to his brother Ammi and to his sister Ruhamah, who in
the allegory are symbolical of the laity, both male and female.
The mother whom they are commanded to reform is, of course, symbolical
of the ministry, of those who bring forth converts into the church family.
The one to whom God speaks (Jezreel), therefore, is symbolical of a
prophet. Here you plainly see
that the "revival and reformation" does not come through the
ministry (the mother) but through the laity, the children, and that the
ministry (the mother) is in even greater need of reformation than the laity,
for the mother is being accused of disloyalty and is by the children advised
to reform. This is indeed a
laity-movement directed by the Spirit of Prophecy, by Jezreel's
heaven-inspired effort and message.
The fact that the day of Jezreel is to be great, together
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 43
18
with
the fact that he is a symbol of a prophet, prove that not only the Davidian
message itself is in prophecy, but that so also are its success and the need
of reformation therein recorded. Here
you see that the Enemy's wicked effort to squelch the message and to make
Jezreel's work of none effect will come to naught, for "great shall be
the day of Jezreel," says the almighty One, while He brings all His
people out of the land (Hos. 1:11).
The message to the Laodiceans, too, is directed to the ministry, for
says the Lord:
Rev.
3:14-16 -- "And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write;...
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."
Here, too, the angel (the ministry), who has charge of the church, is
again reproved and plainly requested to reform.
Ezekiel also is a witness of this "startling revelation," for
he declares that the cleansing begins "at the ancient men which were
before the house" (Ezek. 9:6). Let
us turn to Ezekiel's prophecy:
Ezekiel
9:1-10 -- "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 glory of the God of
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 43
19
Israel
was gone up from the cherub, whereupon He was, to the threshold of the house.
And He called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer's
inkhorn by his side; and the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the
city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the
men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst
thereof.
"And to the others He said in mine hearing, Go ye after him
through the city, and smite: let not your eye 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. And
it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I was left, that I fell
upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord God!
wilt Thou destroy all the residue of Israel in Thy pouring out of Thy
fury upon Jerusalem?
"Then said He unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and
Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of
perverseness: for they say, The Lord hath forsaken the earth, and the Lord
seeth not. And as for Me also,
Mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense
their way upon their head."
Not in the world, but in Judah and Israel, in the
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 43
20
church,
the iniquity is great, and there the slaughter takes place.
Moreover, the multitude that is brewing and fostering the abominations
are unconscious that they are acting as if the Lord had forsaken the earth, as
if He has left it for them to run it and to do with His people as they please.
Here you see what it means to hear the Rod, and what it means to close
your ears to it.
The purification of the Church (the judgment of the living) is, through
the prophet Daniel in chapter 7, verse 10, called the judgment, and in chapter
8, verse 14, is called the cleansing of the Sanctuary.
Christ, though, in one of His parables likens the cleansing to a
harvest in which the tares (sinners) are burned, and the wheat (the saints)
are put into the barn (into the purified Church-Kingdom).
Next He likens it to a net from which, after being drawn to shore, the
bad fish (sinners) are cast out, and the good fish (saints) are put into
vessels.
When those who do not receive the mark, and thus not the seal, are put
away, then the church will appear "fair as the moon, clear as the sun,
and terrible as an army with banners" (Prophets and Kings, pg. 725), and
"only those who have withstood temptation in the strength of the Mighty
One will be permitted to act a part in proclaiming it [The Third Angel's
Message] when it shall have swelled into the loud cry." -- Review and
Herald, Nov. 19, 1908.
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 43
21
Let us now see what takes place after the abomination-loving multitude
fall under the slaughter weapons of the angels; let us see what is done for
those who are left. To see this
we again go to Ezekiel's prophecy:
Ezek.
37:16-28 -- "Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write
upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take
another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and for all
the house of Israel his companions:
"And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall
become one in thine hand. And
when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not
shew us what thou meanest by these?
"Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the
stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his
fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make
them one stick, and they shall be one in Mine hand.
"And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before
their eyes.
"And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take
the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will
gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:
"And I will make them one nation in the land upon the
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 43
22
mountains
of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more
two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all.
"Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols,
nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I
will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and
will cleanse them: so shall they be My people, and I will be their God.
"And David My servant shall be king over them; and they all shall
have one shepherd: they shall also walk in My judgments, and observe My
statutes, and do them.
"And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob My
servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even
they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and My
servant David shall be their prince for ever.
"Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be
an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them,
and will set My sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.
"My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God,
and they shall be My people.
"And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel,
when My sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore."
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 43
23
Here you see that not only will God cleanse His church (Judah and
Israel) by taking away all those who pollute His house of prayer, but that
afterwards He will gather into His purified church all the dispersed who have
descended from both the Kingdom of Israel (the ten tribes) and of the Kingdom
of Judah (the two tribes) -- all who are now out among the nations, not in the
church of the Laodiceans. He will
make them one nation, over which, prior to the Millennium, shall rule
antitypical David, their king. No
more shall they be annoyed by the heathen; no more shall they be among the
sinners; no more shall they be fed by a multitude of shepherds, but only by
one -- by God's appointed shepherd. Great,
indeed, shall be the day of Jezreel! His
efforts and the efforts of his co-workers, the laity, shall succeed whether
the mother (the ministry) hears or forbears.
Plainly, you see, the Davidians, their message, and their success are
in prophecy.
Is
The Shepherd's Rod Literature
Also
In Prophecy?
To this question the prophet Micah answers:
Mic.
6:9 -- "The Lord's voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom
shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and Who hath appointed it."
You have now heard God Himself recommend that you hear the Rod -- yes,
The Shepherd's Rod, for since Micah's day The Shepherd's Rod is the only rod
that
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 43
24
has
spoken, the only rod that can be read and listened to.
The wise shall see its name, and hear its voice and also Him Who has
appointed it. They shall fill
their vessels with the extra "oil" (Matt.25:4), says the Lord.
Thus it is seen that not only is the Rod literature in prophecy, but
that you are advised to hear it. If
you neglect this opportunity, naturally you will be found with the sinners
fostering the abominations in the church.
But if you now give attention to the Voice of God through the Rod, you
will receive God's sealing approval.
What
Will The Saints Do After The Separation?
For light on this subject, we turn to Isaiah, the prophet--
Isa.
66:15, 16, 19, 20 -- "For, behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with
His chariots like a whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke
with flames of fire. For by fire
and by His sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord
shall be many....
"And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that
escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow,
to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard My fame,
neither have seen My glory; and they shall declare My glory among the
Gentiles.
"And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the
Lord out of all nations upon horses, and in
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 43
25
chariots,
and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to My holy mountain
Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a
clean vessel into the house of the Lord."
After the slaying of the sinners who say in their hearts that the Lord
delayeth His coming, and who eat and drink with the drunken (Matt. 24:48, 49),
then it is that the Lord sends those who escape from the slaying of the Lord
on a missionary tour; He sends them, you observe, to the Gentiles, to the
nations that as yet know not God and His message.
The escaped ones bring to the house of the Lord all their brethren, all
that will be saved. Thus is the
gospel work finished, and thus are God's people saved and called out of
antitypical Babylon (Rev. 18:4) into a clean place where there is no sin and
no danger of Babylon's plagues falling on them.
I am sure that you now plainly see why the Davidian Seventh-day
Adventists are not "offshoots" but rather "upshoots," and
what it means to hear the Rod and Him Who has appointed It, as well as what it
means to turn your back against It.
You can now intelligently make up your own minds as to what stand you
will take. You may either take
your stand with the opposers against Truth and reformation, or you may take
your stand for God's Truth with His messengers, and by reforming your own
lives you may lead others to do the same.
Whatever you decide you will know that it is your own choice.
God, though, Who really knows what is best for your own interest
advises
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 43
26
you
to follow Him to do what Truth instructs.
I hope this will be your whole-hearted choice and thus the joy of your
life, that you will never consent to be a "dead top," but that you
will anxiously decide to be a living "upshoot."
I also hope that none of you will let the enemies of God talk you out
of these revealed truths on these men-forsaken Scriptures, for you already
know that the opposers of the Truth have nothing official, nothing
authoritative, and nothing logical or meaningful to offer you on these
heretofore unrevealed truths. Yes,
I hope that you will not trade these "pearls of great price" for
rubbish and stubble.
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 43
27
THE
SIGNS OF CHRIST'S SECOND COMING
OR
THE SIGNS OF THE KINGDOM--WHICH?
TEXT
OF ADDRESS BY V.T. HOUTEFF,
MINISTER
OF DAVIDIAN 7TH-DAY
ADVENTISTS
SABBATH, JANUARY 22, 1949
MT.
CARMEL CHAPEL
WACO,
TEXAS
We as students and gospel teachers have for years dwelt heavily on the signs of Christ's second coming, but not at all on the signs of the Kingdom. As a result of this, Christendom has theoretically merged the signs of the Kingdom with the signs of the second Advent.
Something similar to this is what the Jews of old did when they were
expecting the Messiah's first appearing.
According to their private understanding they deeply studied the signs
of the restoration of the Kingdom, but not so much of the signs of the
Messiah's coming. Thus it was
that when they were told that the Messiah had come but not the time to restore
the Kingdom, the leaders of the Jews, taking for granted that their private
(uninspired) interpretation of the Scriptures was infallible, rejected the
message of that day. Then in an
attempt to safeguard their influence upon the common people and to subjugate
them to their way of thinking, they crucified the Lord, their Saviour and King
as they did also kill the prophets who went before Him.
Their insistence that the Kingdom be restored in their day, though,
profited them nothing.
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 44
29
The fact that Christendom itself is divided and confused, one believing
one thing and another something else, is in itself sufficient evidence that
besides being in total darkness of the signs of the Kingdom because of private
interpretation of the Scriptures, Christendom must be in darkness of many
other things as well. In such a
confused state of faith, Christendom is definitely no more led by the Spirit
of Truth than were the rebellious Jews. Past
experience teaches, however, that to try to convince the multitude of this
fact would be as formidable a task as to convince the Jews even to this day
that Christ is the Messiah that was to come.
The difficulty, of course, lies in the fact that hardly a theologian
allows for the possibility that his understanding of the Bible might be at
least in a measure erroneous, and that Inspiration might almost at any moment
manifest Itself anew, unroll the scroll and bring forth timely Truth,
"meat in due season," and thus expose their private concoctions of
so-called truth.
Now with all respect and sincerity, by the authority of the Scriptures
and by virtue of the facts before me, I say that it would be easier for a
chicken to find its roost in the blackest of the night than for uninspired
mind to unveil the prophecies and the parables.
The difference between the two is that the chicken realizes the
futility of trying to find her roost after sunset, but the self-willed man
does not realize that he cannot unveil Truth at his own will and without light
from above.
We as Christians have obviously failed to note that if the secret
things of God, matter not how simple, were
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 44
30
to
be unsealed at anytime by anyone, Inspiration would never in the first place
have concealed them in symbols and parables.
Christendom is still blind to the fact that to attempt to break into
the mysteries of God would be to attempt to defeat His purposes; yes, to try
to break into the Divine code, is to try the impossible.
For example, even when the time did come for the Book sealed with seven
seals to be unsealed (Rev. 4 and 5), no one in heaven or on earth was able to
do so, but only "the Lion of the tribe of Judah" could break the
seals and look into the things which afterwards were shown to John, the
Revelator. And though John wrote
them, he himself could not before time explain them.
Then how can we do such before time and without the Inspiration of the
same Spirit Who indicted them? The
Word of God plainly warns:
2
Pet. 1:19-21 -- "We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye
do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until
the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: knowing this first, that
no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation.
For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men
of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."
No one, say the Scriptures, can privately (without Inspiration) unfold
the prophecies, for, reasons the Apostle, as prophecy came not by private
effort -- not by the will of men, but by holy men and the Spirit -- neither
can it therefore be of private interpretation, but only by holy men led by the
Holy Spirit. Moreover, even
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 44
31
after
prophecy is thus interpreted, only to the righteous (the penitent) is given
the gift of understanding it (Dan. 12:10).
Since we as a people know some of the signs of Christ's second coming,
and none of the signs of the Kingdom, we had better now concentrate on the
signs of the latter.
Matt.
13:24-30 -- "Another parable put He forth unto them, saying, The kingdom
of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: but while
men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then
appeared the tares also. So the
servants of the Householder came and said unto Him, Sir, didst not Thou sow
good seed in Thy field? from
whence then hath it tares? He
said unto them, An enemy hath done this.
The servants said unto Him, Wilt Thou then that we go and gather them
up? But He said, Nay; lest while
ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
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."
This parable of the Kingdom, you note, contains three periods of time:
First, the period of sowing the seed -- the time of Christ's ministry; second,
the period of growing -- the time from the ascension of Christ to the harvest;
third, the time of harvest -- a short period of
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 44
32
time
"at the end of the world" (Matt. 13:49), the period in which the
earth is lightened with the glory of the angel (Rev. 18:1), and in which all
God's people are called out of Babylon (Rev. 18:4).
Then those who did not respond to this gathering call will cry out:
"The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved."
Jer. 8:20. The
"harvest," therefore, is "the end of the world." Matt.
13:49. It commences in the church
and ends in Babylon.
The work of the harvest, very obviously, is synonymous with the
Judgment that decides who are tares and who are wheat--who are to be burned
and destroyed as noxious weeds, and who are as precious wheat to be admitted
into "the barn," the Kingdom. Thus
it is that the Judgment is the cleansing of the sanctuary (Dan. 8:14),
"the house of God," the temple to which the Lord suddenly comes and
purifies His servants, the Levites. Here
is the way the latter scripture reads:
Mal.
3:1-3, 5 -- "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' soap: 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.... And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a
swift
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 44
33
witness
against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers,
and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the
fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not Me,
saith the Lord of hosts."
How many yields of fruit is the harvest to give? -- If the 144,000 are
the "first fruits" (Rev. 14:4), then there must be "second
fruits," for where there is no second there can be no first.
The word "firstfruits" absolutely necessitates second fruits.
Where do the first fruits come from, and where do the second fruits
come from? -- We are plainly told that the first fruits are Israelites -- all
from the twelve tribes of Israel (Rev. 7:4-8).
Israel certainly stands for the church membership at the time they are
sealed; the title "Israel" cannot be construed to mean the world.
The firstfruits, therefore, are harvested from the church itself at the
time the separation begins. The
word "sealed" means placed in a safe place -- sealed.
This is exactly what the apostle Peter says:
1
Pet. 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 gospel of God? And
if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner
appear?"
Now, then, if the Judgment begins first in the "house of
God," in the church, then it will end in the world, outside the church
circles. The parable of the
"net"
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 44
34
and
the Revelation of John very briefly and concisely bring this truth still
better to the surface.
Matt.
13:47-50 -- "Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was
cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: which, when it was full, they
drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the
bad away. So shall it be at the
end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among
the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing
and gnashing of teeth."
Clearly, the net represents the gospel church into which are caught
both hypocrite and saint. Accordingly,
in the time of the firstfruit harvest (the Judgment "in the house of
God") "at the end of the world" (Matt. 13:49), the angels sever
the wicked from among the just, not the just from among the wicked.
But in the second fruit harvest (the Judgment in the world) the
separation is the reverse: the just are taken out from among the wicked, not
the wicked from among the just, so says The Revelation: "And I heard
another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, My people, that ye be not
partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." Rev.
18:4. Plainly, the Judgment
"in the house of God" is the harvest in which the hypocrites as
"tares" are burned, but as bad "fish" they are cast out.
In the Judgment in Babylon (in the world), though, not the bad, but the
good are taken out and brought into the purified house of God where there is
no sin and no sinner, and where there is no danger of the plagues.
This same truth concerning the house of God again
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 44
35
comes
to us in these words:
Isa.
66:15, 16, 19, 20 -- "For, behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with
His chariots like a whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke
with flames of fire. For by fire
and by His sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord
shall be many....And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that
escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow,
to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard My fame,
neither have seen My glory; and they shall declare My glory among the
Gentiles. And they shall bring
all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord out of all nations upon
horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift
beasts, to My holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as the children of
Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord."
Again we here see that those who escape the slaying of the Lord
"in the house of God" (obviously the firstfruits, "the servants
of God"), are sent to the nations who know not God, and from there they
bring all their brethren (the second fruits) to the purified house of God
where there is neither sin nor sinner, and where the plagues of Babylon
therefore do not fall.
We have now positively seen that there are first and second fruits: one
from the church -- the 144,000 sons of Jacob; and one from all nations -- the
great multitude which no man can number (Rev. 7:9).
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 44
36
Who gathers the firstfruits if the firstfruits gather the second
fruits? -- Let us find our answer by reading--
Rev.
14:14-19 -- "And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud
One sat like unto the Son of man, having on His head a golden crown, and in
His hand a sharp sickle. And
another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him that sat
on the cloud, Thrust in Thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for Thee to
reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
And He that sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth; and the
earth was reaped. And another
angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp
sickle. And another angel came
out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to
Him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in Thy sharp sickle, and gather
the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
And the angel thrust in His sickle into the earth, and gathered the
vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of
God."
Here we are again told that there are two reapings, one by the Son of
Man, and another by an angel. The
reaping by the Son of Man precedes the reaping by the angel.
"Son of Man," therefore, gathers the firstfruits, and the
angel gathers the second fruits. (The
vines, not the fully ripe grapes, he casts in the wine press.) The Son of Man
Himself obviously reaps the firstfruits because His servants (figuratively the
angel of the church of the Laodiceans) are in no condition to do such a work,
for they themselves are "wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind,
and naked," and know it not (Rev. 3:14-18).
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 44
37
Looking down to this very time, the Spirit of Prophecy in Isaiah's day
said:
Isa.
63:5 -- "And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that
there was none to uphold: therefore Mine own arm brought salvation unto Me;
and My fury, it upheld Me."
Here you note that when the time came there was not even one among His
servants "to uphold" the work of the harvest, and consequently the
Lord Himself did the work without them.
For the second reaping, however, He uses His guileless
"servants," the "firstfruits," the 144,000, as prefigured
by the angel with the sharp sickle (Rev. 14:17, 18).
And just as there are two fruits and two reapings from two different
places, the church and the world, there are, as shown before, also two ways of
harvesting: at first the bad are cast from among the good, and at last the
good are called out from among the bad.
These are some of the signs and events that precede the Kingdom of
glory, the second coming of Christ. Then,
too, there are other signs, the first of which is seen from the parable of
Matthew 25.
Matt.
25:1-12 -- "Then shall the Kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins,
which took their lamps, and
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 44
38
went
forth to meet the Bridegroom. And
five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: but
the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
While the Bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go
ye out to meet Him. Then all
those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps
are gone out. But the wise
answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye
rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
And while they went to buy, the Bridegroom came; and they that were
ready went in with Him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
But He answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not."
In this parable it is seen that the church is likened to ten virgins,
five of whom do not avail themselves of extra oil -- special Truth for this
time, that is, these five do not give heed to the truth of the Judgment of the
living, the separation or purification of the church.
When the cry is made, "Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to
meet Him," all ten virgins see that the light of their lamps is going
out; they see that the message of the Judgment of the dead is passing.
Quickly then, the five wise virgins refill their lamps with the extra
oil which they have stored in their vessels, and go on to meet the Bridegroom.
But the five foolish virgins, those who thought there was no need for
extra oil, no need for an extra message, the message of the Judgment
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 44
39
of
the living, find themselves in gross darkness.
Yes, they find themselves without the light which the message of the
Judgment of the living unfolds. Upon
discovering their foolish neglect, they rush to obtain oil, light on the
subject, but in the meantime the door has been shut (probationary time for the
virgins, the church, has closed). When
they call for admission they are politely told by the Lord Himself, "I
know you not."
The sign of the coming Kingdom which this parable brings forth, is
obviously the special message (the extra oil) which announces the Judgment of
the living, the message which awakens the open-hearted Truth seekers, and
which dooms its opposers, the hypocrites and lukewarm in the church -- those
who are satisfied and think themselves rich and increased with goods, in need
of nothing (in need of no timely Truth), those who never awake to the fact
that they are absolutely destitute. Mind
you, these are not my words, read what the Lord says to Laodicea:
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
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 44
40
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."
Another view of this tragic truth is given in--
Luke
14:16-24 -- "Then said He unto him, A certain man made a great supper,
and bade many: and sent His servant at supper time to say to them that were
bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.
And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto
him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray
thee have me excused. And another
said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee
have me excused. And another
said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.
So that servant came, and shewed his Lord these things. Then the Master
of the house being angry said to His servant, Go out quickly into the streets
and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the
halt, and the blind. And the
servant said, Lord, it is done as Thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.
And the Lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and
hedges, and compel them to come in, that My house may be filled.
For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall
taste of My supper."
In this parable are seen two periods of time.
The first period is while the gospel has "bade many" (Luke
14:16) to the marriage supper, the time from the Apostles to the time of His
last servant with the last message
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 44
41
God
sends to His people, the time all things are "ready."
The next period is the time in which His last servant served (Luke
14:17). This servant is sent, we
are told, at "supper time," at the end of the day, indicating that
he bears the last message. Moreover,
he is at first sent to those who have previously been "bidden"; that
is, to those who were already in the gospel truth, in the church.
At the outset he is to contact a class of people deeply engrossed with
the cares of this life, and is to tell them that "all things are now
ready," that if they wish they can now prepare and go to the wedding,
there to enjoy the Bridegroom's banquet.
This is the last call for the supper.
But what happens? -- They excuse themselves from having anything to do
with the banquet just then. Some
lay the blame on their professions, while others blame having to make a living
for the family. Whereupon the
Master of the house angrily sends His servant to the poor and to the
afflicted, to those who are hungry and not too busy to take heed, to those who
are not so encumbered with business and home that they cannot answer His call.
This very thing takes place in the "city" proper -- the
church. The poor, those who
realize that they are not "rich and increased with goods," come in,
but still there is room for more.
Then it is that the Lord of that servant commands that he should go
after those who are on the highways and hedges -- those outside the church
circles, even to the ends of the earth (the "hedges").
But before the servant goes to the highways and hedges on his last
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 44
42
mission,
the Master emphatically informs him that those who had been bidden and who
excused themselves from coming in, are to be entirely excluded from the
banquet; that none of them will be permitted even to taste of His supper; that
by turning a deaf ear to the call these have closed their own probationary
time, and that there is now nothing that can alter the situation.
After this the servant's compelling cry goes out to the nations and the
Master's house is filled, the wedding takes place, and the Bridegroom serves
all that are in the house, but none others.
This same event is again given from another point of view.
This time by the gospel prophet:
Isa.
52:1, 2 -- "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.
Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose
thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion."
This particular prophecy discloses that while the church, Jerusalem and
Zion, is asleep and naked with the unclean in her midst, and in captivity
among the Gentiles (away from her own land), an awakening cry, a message,
comes urging her to arise and put on her beautiful garments, for the wicked,
declares the cry, will no more come into her, for they are to be utterly cut
off.
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 44
43
The signs of the Kingdom, you see, are even more important for one to
observe than are the signs of Christ's coming.
If one should miss the signs of the Kingdom, then the knowledge of the
signs of Christ's coming would profit nothing, for all such will be frightened
at His appearing and say "to the mountains and rocks.
Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the
throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of His wrath is
come; and who shall be able to stand?" Rev. 6:16, 17.
Are the efforts to set up the pre-millennial Kingdom -- the purified
church -- accompanied by great signs and wonders, by noise and pomp?
To this question the Lord answers--
Matt.
13:31-33 -- "The Kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed,
which a man took, and sowed in his field: which indeed is the least of all
seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a
tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.
Another parable spake He unto them; The Kingdom of heaven is like unto
leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole
was leavened."
Zech.
4:6 -- "Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, saith the Lord of
hosts."
Not a blast or a boom, and not a bust either, but the plain, quiet
Truth, Brothers, Sisters, is what saves you and brings the Kingdom into being.
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 44
44
What is this pre-millennial Kingdom like?
And what other signs precede its establishment?
The answer to this question comes through Ezekiel--
Ezek.
36:23-28 -- "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.
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. 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. 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."
Here are additional signs, signs which are displayed within and without
the man himself: the scars and defects which sin has written upon the bodies
of God's people are washed away; also the sin-hardened heart is carved out of
them and a new, tender heart that delights in keeping God's statutes and
judgments, is set in.
When does this take place? -- After God takes His saints "from
among the heathen," "out of all countries,"
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 44
45
and
brings them into their "own land," say the Scriptures.
Thus shall they dwell in the land that God anciently gave to their
fathers, and thus shall they be His people and He their God.
Here you see that no one can meet God face to face and live with Him
eternally without first having this body-cleansing and heart-changing
experience.
Very evidently none who remain ignorant of these signs of the coming
Kingdom will have this experience and consequently shall never enter into it,
never be fitted to live and reign with Christ.
Since these signs are so vital to salvation, they should no longer be
overlooked, but should receive first consideration if we expect Christ's
second coming to be for our good, not to our damnation.
Indeed, for this obvious reason it is at this late hour this important
message is brought to our attention.
This great Truth is again foretold in the words of Zechariah--
Zech.
12:5-14; 13:1-5 -- "And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart,
The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the Lord of hosts their
God. In that day will I make the
governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of
fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the
right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own
place, even in Jerusalem. The
Lord also shall save the tents of
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 44
46
Judah
first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants
of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah.
"In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house
of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all
the nations that come against Jerusalem.
And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon
Me Whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for
his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness
for his firstborn.
"In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the
mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.
And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house
of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan
apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Levi apart, and their
wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart; all the
families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart....
"In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of
David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.
And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I
will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 44
47
more
be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to
pass out of the land. And it
shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his
mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou
speakest lies in the name of the Lord: and his father and his mother that
begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be
ashamed every one of his vision, when he hath prophesied; neither shall they
wear a rough garment to deceive: but he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an
husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth."
The revival and reformation herein presented -- mourning and heart
searching caused by appreciativeness of God's great mercy and goodness --
shall be in the day the governors of Judah say, "The inhabitants of
Jerusalem shall be my strength," in the day the Lord makes even the most
feeble among them as David, and the house of David as God, as the angel of the
Lord.
When this thorough reformation takes place then the cleansing fountain
shall be opened to the whole house of David.
In that day the wicked shall be cut off and kept out of the house of
David, and the false teachers, "prophets," shall feel ashamed of
having ever taught their private interpretations of the Scriptures.
Then shall men fully realize that though they could be taught by men to
keep cattle, yet no man could teach them to prophesy; that this office is
restricted to the Spirit of Prophecy, that no prophecy of the Scriptures is of
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 44
48
private
interpretation.
Is this cleansing, heaven-fitting pre-millennium Kingdom, set up in
probationary time? -- To find our answer we shall turn to the prophecy of
Micah--
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
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."
Here we are told that in the latter days, in our time, the ancient
Kingdom that was destroyed will be reestablished and exalted above all other
Kingdoms. Then people shall
"flow into it" because "the law shall go forth of Zion, and the
Word of the Lord from Jerusalem." The
gospel work, therefore, is to be finished while its headquarters stand in the
Holy Land. Thus the Kingdom is
set up in probationary time, in time of salvation and judicial purification,
for after it is set up other people from many nations flow into it.
This is what the Bible says, and certain it is that
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 44
49
this
is what is to be, for not even the Devil can defeat God's plans or cheat His
people. Oh, yes, the Devil will
try to explain away what these Scriptures say, but he can never make them say
something other than what they do say. Besides,
anyone taking the Devil's word in preference to God's, deserves the Devil's
reward, and I am sure he will not be cheated out of it.
Since these signs of the times, in addition to others, are of far
greater importance than the "Lisbon earthquake," "the dark
day," and "the falling stars," we had better awake to the
demand which they impose upon us, and which are bound to fit us for the second
coming of Christ and for a home in His Kingdom if heeded.
But if these signs cannot awaken us, then it is positive that they will
cause us to slide down into the bottomless pit while dreaming of being rich
and increased with goods, in need of nothing, supposedly on the way to the
glory land. What a disappointment
and what weeping and gnashing of teeth that would be!
Who is to drive the Gentiles out of the land? -- The answer is in
Zech.
1:14-17, 20, 21 -- "So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry
thou, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for
Zion with a great jealousy. And I
am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a
little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction.
Therefore thus saith the Lord; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies:
My house shall be built in it, saith the Lord of
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 44
50
hosts,
and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.
Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; My cities through
prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the Lord shall yet comfort Zion,
and shall yet choose Jerusalem.... And the Lord shewed me four carpenters.
Then said I, What come these to do?
And He spake, saying, These are the horns which have scattered Judah,
so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to fray them, to cast
out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of
Judah to scatter it."
Obviously one part of the Gentile nations shall come against the part
that is in the Holy Land, and chase them out to make room for God's people.
Then will the Lord's feet stand on Mount Olives and the Mount shall
cleave in the midst thereof and make therein a very great valley.
Thus shall the Lord open the way for His people to flee there to the
"valley" where the Lord's feet stand, and all the saints with them
(Zech. 14:4, 5).
This truth, you see, supersedes all truths, for without it your other
truths will not profit you, will not take you into the Kingdom.
It is the last mile of all the miles of our faith through life that
takes us Home. We have gone this
long; let us, therefore, keep on going right on to glory land, which is no
longer beyond the horizon. The
mile ahead is indeed the last mile that will take us Home.
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 44
51