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Timely Greetings, Vol. 2, Nos. 9, 10
THE ONLY PEACE OF MIND
Volume
2
Numbers
9, 10
Copyright,
1948 Reprint
All
rights reserved
V.T.
HOUTEFF
Be
A New Threshing Instrument In The Hand Of God
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 9
1
TEXT
FOR PRAYER
"The
Soil--By The Wayside"
We shall read from Christ's Object Lessons, beginning on page 43, the
last paragraph:
"That with which the parable of the sower chiefly deals is the
effect produced on the growth of the seed by the soil into which it is cast.
By this parable Christ was virtually saying to His hearers, It is not
safe for you to stand as critics of My work, or to indulge disappointment
because it does not meet your ideas. The
question of greatest importance to you is, How do you treat My message?
Upon your reception or rejection of it your eternal destiny depends...
"The seed sown by the wayside represents the word of God as it
falls upon the heart of an inattentive hearer.... Absorbed in selfish aims and
sinful indulgences, the soul is 'hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.'
The spiritual faculties are paralyzed.
Men hear the word, but understand it not.
They do not discern that it applies to themselves.
They do not realize their need or their danger.
They do not perceive the love of Christ, and they pass by the message
of His grace as something that does not concern them."
We should pray that we not fall after the manner of those who are
always ready to find fault and to criticize, but that we give undivided
attention, laying aside all prejudice and preconceived ideas, be they private
or Denominational; that we open our hearts to truth, not because it is
popular, but because the Bible teaches it, realizing that anything short of
this is sure to lead us where it led the ancient Jews.
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 9
2
BE
A NEW THRESHING INSTRUMENT
IN
THE HAND OF GOD
TEXT
OF ADDRESS BY V.T. HOUTEFF,
MINISTER
OF DAVIDIAN 7TH-DAY ADVENTISTS
SABBATH,
OCTOBER 4, 1947
MT.
CARMEL CHAPEL
WACO,
TEXAS
Our subject this afternoon is found in Isaiah, chapters 40 and 41. We shall begin with the first verse of the fortieth chapter:
Isa.
40:1, 2 -- "Comfort ye, comfort ye My people, saith your God.
Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare
is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the
Lord's hand double for all her sins."
Inspiration, we see, is here urging someone to comfort God's people.
They are to be told, not that their warfare will be accomplished, but
that their warfare is accomplished; that their iniquity is pardoned; that
Jerusalem, the Church, has already received double for all her sins.
This warfare, of course, could not have been accomplished in Isaiah's
time, nor in John the Baptist's time, -- no, not even in the Middle Ages.
These comforting tidings can be said to the Church only after she has
been delivered from the yoke of the Gentiles, during which time the people
have paid double for their sins before and after the dispersion.
This chapter, therefore, as a whole applies to the time of the end, to
our time.
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 9
3
Isa.
40:3 -- "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the
way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God."
This is the verse in which John the Baptist found his text as the
messenger to prepare the way for Christ's first advent.
But since we have already seen that the chapter begins with a message
for the people of God who live in the time of the end, the time they have paid
for all their sins, and since the time of their redemption has at last
arrived, obviously the chapter has a primary as well as final application: It
applies both to Christ's first and to His second advent.
The last of these is figurative -- a voice crying in the wilderness,
not in the vineyard, not in the land of Judah (Isa. 5:7), but in the desert,
in the lands of the Gentiles.
Isa.
40:4 -- "Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall
be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places
plain."
The burden of the message to be proclaimed is to prepare the people to
meet the Lord: to level the high places, to raise the low, to remove all the
impediments, so that the highway of the Lord, the way for His coming, be
cleared. These terms, of course,
figuratively say: The exalted ones are to be humbled; the humbled ones and
those who have been cast out are to be exalted; wrongs are to be made right,
for in God's domain equality and justice must prevail.
"When the Spirit of God, with its marvelous awakening power,
touches the soul, it abases human pride.
Worldly pleasure and position and power are seen to be worthless.
'Imaginations,
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Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 9
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and
every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God,' are cast
down; every thought is brought into captivity 'to the obedience of Christ.'
Then humility and self-sacrificing love, so little valued among men,
are exalted as alone of worth. This
is the work of the gospel, of which John's message was a part." -- The
Desire of Ages, pg. 135.
Isa.
40:5 -- "And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall
see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."
Here we are told that when this "revival and reformation"
takes place, the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see
it together. Let us therefore
realize that if we do these things we all would be the forerunners of these
glorious promises, and the servants of God for this time.
Isa.
40:6-8 -- "The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry?
All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of
the field: the grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the Spirit of the
Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the Word of our God shall
stand for ever."
The message of the hour is to point out that all men are mortal, no
more enduring than the grass; that even their virtues are no more lasting than
the flowers of the field; but that the Word of God is everlasting; that those
who desire to obtain eternal life, to become as eternal as the Word Itself,
should not put confidence in any man, but in the Word of God only: that they
should inquire for themselves, "Is it Truth?"
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 9
5
and
not, "From whom does it come?"
Isa.
40:9 -- "O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high
mountain: O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with
strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, behold your
God!"
Those who shall finally stand on Mount Sion, and who are now preparing
the way of the Lord by bringing these good tidings, are all counselled to get
on a high mountain, as it were, and to lift up their voices together without
any fear whatever, to proclaim to the cities of Judah (to the churches
everywhere) to prepare the way of the Lord and to say, "Behold your
God."
Isa.
40:10 -- "Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and His arm
shall rule for Him: behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before
Him."
The arm of the Lord that rules for Him must be figurative of those
through whom He works (Isa. 51:9), of those who are to stand with Him on Mt.
Sion (Rev. 14:1), -- the Church spotless and without guile.
"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." Hos. 3:4, 5.
The messengers of the hour are to declare, too, that the Lord's reward
(life forevermore) is with Him, but that His work is still before Him, yet to
be finished.
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 9
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Isa.
40:11 -- "He shall feed His flock like a shepherd: He shall gather the
lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those
that are with young."
This care over His people is to be felt when His arm rules for Him.
He shall then take charge of His work, and of His people, as a shepherd
takes charge of a flock. He shall
exercise personal care over all, old and young alike.
Isa.
40:12 -- "Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and
meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a
measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a
balance?"
Since there is none other than God Himself who can do all these things,
and since He Himself is to take charge of His Own flock, we know that His care
over them will be matchless. And
why should we not hasten that time?
Isa.
40:13, 14 -- "Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being His
counsellor hath taught Him? With
whom took He counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of
judgment, and taught Him knowledge, and shewed to Him the way of
understanding?"
We know that the Spirit Who leads into all Truth and all knowledge is
not Himself led or taught by any man. Hence,
why should we depend on any man that is divested of Inspiration to pass
judgment on inspired Truth? The
Word points out that not men only but even the nations are as nothing:
Isa.
40:15-17 -- "Behold, the nations are as a drop
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 9
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of
a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, He taketh
up the isles as a very little thing. And
Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a
burnt offering. All nations
before Him are as nothing; and they are counted to Him less than nothing, and
vanity."
When we realize that the nations on earth in comparison with God's
power are as nothing, that neither the timber nor the beasts of Lebanon are
sufficient for even burnt offering, just that soon we will see all men,
including ourselves, as insignificant, and as worthless as the dust.
Then we shall see our dependence upon Him as important and as complete
as is the dependence of an infant upon its parents.
Isa.
40:18 -- "To whom then will ye liken God?
Or what likeness will ye compare unto Him?"
This is now a question for each one to answer in his own mind.
Isa.
40:19, 20 -- "The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith
spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.
He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree
that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven
image, that shall not be moved."
In these verses is shown how foolish men are: They do not stop to
consider that though a piece of wood may be good for fuel, yet when man tries
to make of it a likeness of God, it is but foolishness and that to bow down to
it, is degrading and blasphemous.
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 9
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Isa.
40:21-26 -- "Have ye not known? have
ye not heard? hath it not been
told you from the beginning? have
ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?
It is He that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants
thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and
spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: that bringeth the princes to
nothing; He maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.
Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their
stock shall not take root in the earth: and He shall also blow upon them, and
they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.
To whom then will ye liken Me, or shall I be equal?
saith the Holy One. Lift
up your eyes on high, and behold Who hath created these things, that bringeth
out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of His
might, for that He is strong in power; not one faileth."
Since God is greater than human imagination can fathom, why do men
depend so little upon Him, -- and so much upon their own words?
True, we may not actually bow down to an image, but we may do other
things that are equally idolatrous. Indeed,
if such were not the case these exhortations would not have come to us through
this timely-revealed prophecy.
Isa.
40:27-31 -- "Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is
hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God?
Hast thou not known? hast
thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of
the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary?
there is no searching of His understanding.
He giveth power to the faint; and to them
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 9
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that
have no might He increaseth strength. Even
the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: but
they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up
with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk,
and not faint."
Is it not surprising that the Church, having come down through the ages
this far, must now be taught the very first fundamentals of her faith?
Isa.
41:1, 2 -- "Keep silence before Me, O islands; and let the people renew
their strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near
together to judgment; Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called
him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings?
He gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his
bow."
To renew their strength is to put away sin, and to come near to God, is
to learn of Him. Having done this
they are then to invite others to come to judgment.
The nations will keep silence until that time, and then will they 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." Micah 4:2.
Our work is therefore to prepare the way of the Lord for the
gathering of the people.
Isa.
41:3-5 -- "He pursued them, and passed safely; even by the way that He
had not gone with His
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Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 9
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feet.
Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the
beginning? I the Lord, the first,
and with the last; I am He. The
isles saw it, and feared; the ends of the earth were afraid, drew near, and
came."
These verses plainly show that the manifestation of God's power is to
be felt everywhere.
Isa.
41:6 -- "They helped every one his neighbour; and every one said to his
brother, Be of good courage."
God's people are indeed to help their neighbor.
The foolish nevertheless shall do foolishly, and shall continue in
their idolatry.
Isa.
41:7-10 -- "So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that
smootheth with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for
the sodering: and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved.
But thou, Israel, art My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of
Abraham My friend. Thou whom I
have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men
thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art My servant; I have chosen thee, and not
cast thee away. Fear thou not;
for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee;
yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My
righteousness."
God's promises to His servants are sure.
Let us take hold of them now. We
shall never find an opportunity as good as we have today.
Tomorrow will be too late; we had better respond while God is pleading.
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 9
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Isa.
41:11, 12 -- "Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be
ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with
thee shall perish. Thou shalt
seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they
that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought."
Now is our opportunity to do all we can for those who oppose us, for
here we are plainly told that if they continue in their hostility they shall
perish.
Isa.
41:13 -- "For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto
thee, Fear not; I will help thee."
If we as a people are not fearful, then why all these pleadings and
encouragements? Why the urgings
that we cast out our fears?
Isa.
41:14, 15 -- "Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will
help thee, saith the Lord, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth:
thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills
as chaff."
To thresh the mountains (kingdoms) is to take the wheat (saints) out of
them. The servants of God,
therefore, are here promised a new instrument, different from any ever used
before; that is, the gathering of the saints in the harvest time is to be
accomplished in a way un-dreamed of, -- contrary to every human planning.
This instrument will have teeth; it will suddenly separate the wheat
from the straw and blow out the chaff. Christ,
"Whose fan is in His hand,
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 9
12
...will
throughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the garner; but He will
burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." Matt. 3:12.
For this cause we are called, and for this great and grand work we are
to prepare the way.
Isa.
41:16, 17 -- "Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away,
and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the Lord, and
shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel. When the poor and needy seek water, and
there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them,
I the God of Israel will not forsake them."
Yes, the chaff shall be blown out and the whirlwind shall carry it away
to be burned with consuming fire. But
God's people shall rejoice in the Lord, and their poor will He comfort.
Isa.
41:18 -- "I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst
of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land
springs of water."
The latter rain, we here see, is to be plentiful.
It will make rivers, springs, and pools where not expected.
All this is a forecast of a great harvest, even from the desert places
-- from the heathen lands. "After
this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all
nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and
before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands."
Rev. 7:9.
Isa.
41:19 -- "I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and
the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree,
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 9
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and
the pine, and the box tree together."
God will beautify the lands of the Gentiles with people having
Christian characters and graces as beautiful as the myrtle, the oil, the fir,
the pine, and the box trees together. There
is nothing in the world today to give men hope and peace of mind but these
promises of God.
Isa.
41:20-24 -- "That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand
together, that the hand of the Lord hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel
hath created it. Produce your
cause, saith the Lord; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of
Jacob. Let them bring them forth,
and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be,
that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us
things for to come. Shew the
things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do
good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together.
Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is
he that chooseth you."
Here is a challenge to all our adversaries.
Let them tell you what shall happen hereafter if they can, or let them
tell the past if they will, God challenges them.
Thus they may now know that they are as nothing, and those who choose
to follow them, even they shall be an abomination to Him.
Isa.
41:25 -- "I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come: from
the rising of the sun shall he call upon My name: and he shall come upon
princes as upon morter, and as the potter treadeth clay."
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 9
14
This one that is in prophecy comes from somewhere north of the Promised
Land. He calls on the Lord early
-- as early as the rising of the sun. He
also comes upon princes as upon mortar, and as the potter that treads the
clay. "In the days of these
kings shall the God of heaven set up a Kingdom...it shall break in pieces and
consume all these kingdoms." Dan. 2:44.
Isa.
41:26 -- "Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know?
and before time, that we may say, He is righteous?
yea, there is none that sheweth, yea, there is none that declareth,
yea, there is none that heareth your words."
Is there anyone who ever declared these things to the people?
asks the Lord. Then He
answers His Own question: "Yea, there is none that sheweth, yea, there is
none that declareth, yea, there is none that heareth your words."
Isa.
41:27, 28 -- "The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them: and I
will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings.
For I beheld, and there was no man; even among them, and there was no
counsellor, that, when I asked of them, could answer a word."
When God visits His people with these good tidings, He finds no man
among His servants to do this work, and no counsellor among them to give an
answer to these things! We
nevertheless are to do all we can to awaken them.
We should exalt the Word, comfort His people, and prepare the way so
that He can make a new threshing instrument of us.
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 9
15
Ashamed
Of Jesus!
Jesus,
and shall it ever be,
A
mortal man ashamed of Thee?
Ashamed
of Thee, whom angels praise,
Whose
glories shine through endless days?
Ashamed
of Jesus! sooner far
Let
evening blush to own a star;
He
sheds the beams of light divine
O'er
this benighted soul of mine.
Ashamed
of Jesus! just as soon
Let
midnight be ashamed of noon;
'Twas
midnight with my soul till He,
Bright
Morning Star, bade darkness flee.
Ashamed
of Jesus! that dear Friend
On
whom my hopes of heaven depend!
No;
when I blush, be this my shame
That
I no more revere His name.
Ashamed
of Jesus! yes, I may
When
I've no guilt to wash away;
No
tear to wipe, no good to crave,
No
fears to quell, no soul to save.
Till
then,--nor is my boasting vain,--
Till
then I boast a Saviour slain;
And
O, may this my glory be,
That
Christ is not ashamed of me!
--Joseph
Grigg
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 9
16
UPSHOOTS,
NOT OFFSHOOTS
To
The Brethren Abroad
TEXT
OF ADDRESS BY V.T. HOUTEFF,
MINISTER
OF DAVIDIAN 7TH-DAY ADVENTISTS
MT.
CARMEL CHAPEL
WACO,
TEXAS
Inasmuch as we are often asked what the "D" in the Timely Greetings means in connection with the name "Seventh-day Adventists," we shall endeavor to explain. The "D" stands for Davidian. The publishers, rather than printing the name in full, often use the abbreviated form "D" when space is limited.
Fundamentally we are Seventh-day Adventists.
Ever since the leading brethren of the Seventh-day Adventist
denomination rejected the addition to the Third Angel's Message (Early
Writings, pg. 277) in the same fashion as the Jews turned down the gospel of
Christ, and as the popular churches turned down the messages that followed
thereafter, we have fundamentally remained Seventh-day Adventists.
We are separated from the mother church because the
"lukewarm" brethren by majority vote disfellowshiped us, and put a
guard at the church doors to make sure that we could not enter the churches on
the Sabbath day. Evidently they
did these things in order to force us to renounce the Lord's revealed Truth,
and also to frighten those who were embracing Present Truth and those who
might investigate for themselves and accept the message of the hour.
There could be no reason for dismissing us.
As we could not turn our backs upon the God-sent "meat in due
season" we were, of course
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Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 10
17
compelled
to add Davidian to the name Seventh-day Adventists, lest we be accused of
misrepresentation. We have never,
however, separated ourselves from the denomination.
As a people we still attend the denominational churches whenever we are
not barred from entering.
Our work is strictly within our denomination as was John's and Christ's
within their denomination. Our
fundamental beliefs are therefore the same as those of the denomination, with
the exception of the additional doctrinal truths which the additional message
brings us. Circumstances,
therefore, have placed us in a situation similar to that of the apostles:
Their fundamental beliefs, too, were the fundamental beliefs of the Jews, and
in addition to these, they had the Gospel of Christ.
In order to cast reproach and to prejudice the people against the
Heaven-sent message, the opposition ironically calls us "off
shoots." Their very
expression against us, however, proves us right and them wrong.
Were it not for "off shoots," the Christian church would have
never come into being, -- no, not even the Protestant churches, nor the
Seventh-day Adventist either.
So thank God that we have had the fortitude to not make flesh our arm
(not to take the word of the priests and rabbis, as it were, but to look into
it ourselves, personally to know what Truth is) and to withstand reproach as
did those who have gone before us.
Here is where fittingly and timely the prophet Isaiah's statement
applies: "Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh
himself a prey: and the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him
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Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 10
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that
there was no judgment." Isa. 59:15.
The truth of the matter, however, is that the so-called offshoots are
but upshoots. And let us ever
remember that as a tree dies when it fails to make an upshoot each season, so
does a church when she fails to keep up with Heaven's advancing Truth.
Even the world knows that the upshoots have ever kept the church alive
and free, and that upshoots ever will.
We therefore feel greatly honored to be upshoots rather than dormant
buds.
Yes, it is a great honor to be persecuted, scoffed at, and abused for
Christ's sake and His Truth. So
Jesus declares: "Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they
shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out
your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.
Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is
great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the
prophets." Luke 6:22, 23.
"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." Isaiah 66:5.
"And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy
nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth,
and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord: for
they shall not be ashamed that wait for Me.
"Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive
delivered? But thus saith the
Lord, Even the captives of the mighty shall be
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Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 10
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taken
away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with
him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children." Isaiah
49:23-25.
It is plain to see that those who cast out truth-believing brethren
from their midst, are doing it by the command of the Evil One, for those who
are mindful of the Lord's command, do not cast out even the "tares."
They know that the church's cleansing work belongs to the angels only.
"I then saw the third angel.
Said my accompanying angel, 'Fearful is his work.
Awful is his mission. He
is the angel that is to select the wheat from the tares, and seal, or bind,
the wheat for the heavenly garner. These
things should engross the whole mind, the whole attention.'" -- Early
Writings, pg. 118.
"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." Matt. 13:47-50.
So be we right or be we wrong, we know that the works of the brethren
are not in harmony with the Lord.
The pioneers of the Christian faith gave their lives for the Truth's
sake, why should not we?
Now to judge whether we are Seventh-day Adventists or not, let me set
before you our fundamental
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beliefs
from the booklet, "Fundamental Beliefs and Directory."
Here you will notice that the entire list of fundamental beliefs is
quoted from the year book of the S.D.A. denomination.
And why? -- simply because their beliefs are our beliefs, too.
Then you will notice the additional doctrinal truths that follow.
Emerging in 1930 from within the Seventh-day Adventist denomination
("the church of the Laodiceans"), the Davidian Seventh-day Adventist
Association has ever been committed to the prophetic work (predicted in Isaiah
52:1) of preparing the Laodicean church, the last with the "tares among
the wheat," for the final proclamation of the gospel "in all the
world." Matt. 14:14.
This Association, in common with the Seventh-day Adventist
denomination, holds "certain fundamental beliefs, the principal features
of which, together with a portion of the Scriptural references upon which they
are based," are originally summarized as follows:
"1.
That the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by
inspiration of God, contain an all-sufficient revelation of His will to men,
and are the only unerring rule of faith and practice.
2 Tim. 3:15-17.
"2.
That the Godhead, or Trinity, consists of the Eternal Father, a
personal, spiritual Being, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient,
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infinite
in wisdom and love; the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Eternal Father,
through whom all things were created and through whom the salvation of the
redeemed hosts will be accomplished; the Holy Spirit, the third person of the
Godhead, the great regenerating power in the work of redemption.
Matt. 28:19.
"3.
That Jesus Christ is very god, being of the same nature and essence as
the Eternal Father. While
retaining His divine nature He took upon Himself the nature of the human
family, lived on the earth as a man, exemplified in His life as our Example
the principles of righteousness, attested His relationship to God by many
mighty miracles, died for our sins on the cross, was raised from the dead, and
ascended to the Father, where He ever lives to make intercession for us.
John 1:1, 14; Heb. 2:9-18; 8:1, 2; 4:14-16, 7:25.
"4.
That every person in order to obtain salvation must experience the new
birth; that this comprises an entire transformation of life and character by
the recreative power of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
John 3:16; Matt. 18:3; Acts 2:37-39.
"5.
That baptism is an ordinance of the Christian church and should follow
repentance and forgiveness of sins. By
its observance faith is shown in the death, burial, and resurrection of
Christ. That the proper form of
baptism is by immersion. Rom.
6:1-6; Acts 16:30-33.
"6.
That the will of God as it relates to moral conduct is comprehended in
His law of ten
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commandments;
that these are great moral, unchangeable precepts, binding upon all men, in
every age. Ex. 20:1-17.
"7. That the fourth commandment of this unchangeable law requires the observance of the seventh day Sabbath. This holy institution is at the same time a memorial of creation and a sign of sanctification, a sign of the believer's rest from his own works of sin, and his entrance into the rest of soul which Jesus promises to those who come to Him. Gen. 2:1-3; Ex. 20:8-11; 31:12-17; Heb. 4:1-10.
"8.
That the law of ten commandments points out sin, the penalty of which
is death. The law cannot save the
transgressor from his sin, nor impart power to keep him from sinning.
In infinite love and mercy, God provides a way whereby this may be
done. He furnishes a substitute,
even Christ the Righteous One, to die in man's stead, making 'Him to be sin
for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in
Him.' 2 Cor. 5:21. That one is
justified, not by obedience to the law, but by the grace that is in Christ
Jesus. By accepting Christ, man
is reconciled to God, justified by His blood for the sins of the past, and
saved from the power of sin by his indwelling life.
Thus the gospel becomes 'the power of God unto salvation to every one
that believeth.' Rom. 1:16. This
experience is wrought by the divine agency of the Holy Spirit, who convinces
of sin and leads to the Sin-Bearer, inducting the believer into the new
covenant relationship, where the law of God is written on his heart, ad
through the enabling power of the indwelling Christ, his life is brought into
conformity to the divine precepts. The
honor and merit of
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this
wonderful transformation belong wholly to Christ.
1 John 2:1, 2; 3:4; Rom. 3:20; 5:8-10; 7:7; Eph. 2:8-10; 3:17; Gal.
2:20; Heb. 8:8-12.
"9.
That God 'only hath immortality.' 1 Tim. 6:16.
Mortal man possesses a nature inherently sinful and dying.
Eternal life is the gift of God through faith in Christ. Rom. 6:23.
'He that hath the Son hath life.' 1 John 5:12.
Immortality is bestowed upon the righteous at the second coming of
Christ, when the righteous dead are raised from the grave and the living
righteous are translated to meet the Lord.
Then it is that those accounted faithful 'put on immortality.' 1 Cor.
15:51-55.
"10.
That the condition of man in death is one of unconsciousness.
That all men, good and evil alike, remain in the grave from death to
the resurrection. Eccl. 9:5, 6; Ps. 146:3, 4; John 5:28, 29.
"11.
That there shall be a resurrection both of the just and of the unjust.
The resurrection of the just will take place at the second coming of
Christ; the resurrection of the unjust will take place a thousand years later,
at the close of the millennium. John
5:28, 29; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; Rev. 20:5-10.
"12.
That the finally impenitent, including Satan, the author of sin, will,
by the fires of the last day, be reduced to a state of non-existence, becoming
as though they had not been, thus purging God's universe of sin and sinners.
Rom. 6:23; Mal. 4:1-3; Rev. 20:9, 10; Obadiah 16.
"13.
That no prophetic period [meaning
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prophetic
time-setting of the exact date of Christ's coming] is given in the Bible to
reach to the second advent, but that the longest one, the 2300 days of Dan.
8:14, terminated in 1844, and brought us to an event called the cleansing of
the sanctuary.
"14.
That the true sanctuary, of which the tabernacle on earth was a type,
is the temple of God in Heaven, of which Paul speaks in Hebrews 8 and onward,
and of which the Lord Jesus, as our great high priest, is minister; and that
the priestly work of our Lord is the antitype of the work of the Jewish priest
of the former dispensation; that this heavenly sanctuary is the one to be
cleansed at the end of the 2300 days of Dan. 8:14; its cleansing being, as in
the type, a work of judgment, beginning with the entrance of Christ as the
high priest upon the judgment phase of His ministry in the heavenly sanctuary
forshadowed in the earthly service of cleansing the sanctuary on the day of
atonement. This work of judgment
in the heavenly sanctuary began in 1844.
Its completion will close human probation.
"15.
That God, in the time of the judgment and in accordance with His
uniform dealing with the human family in warning them of coming events vitally
affecting their destiny (Amos 3:6, 7), sends forth a proclamation of the
approach of the second advent of Christ; that this work is symbolized by the
three angels of Revelation 14; and that their three-fold message brings to
view a work of reform to prepare a people to meet Him at His coming.
"16.
That the time of the cleansing of the sanctuary, synchronizing with the
period of the
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proclamation
of the message of Revelation 14, is a time of investigative judgment, first
with reference to the dead, and secondly, with reference to the living.
This investigative judgment determines who of the myriads sleeping in
the dust of the earth are worthy of a part in the first resurrection, and who
of its living multitudes are worthy of translation.
1 Peter 4:17, 18; Dan. 7:9, 10; Rev. 14:6, 7; Luke 20:35.
"17.
That the followers of Christ should be a godly people, not adopting the
unholy maxims nor conforming to the unrighteous ways of the world, not loving
its sinful pleasures nor countenancing its follies.
That the believer should recognize his body as the temple of the Holy
Spirit, and that therefore he should clothe that body in neat, modest,
dignified apparel. Further, that
in eating and drinking and in his entire course of conduct he should shape his
life as becomes a follower of the meek and lowly Master.
Thus the believer will be led to abstain from all intoxicating drinks,
tobacco, and other narcotics, and the avoidance of every body and soul
defiling habit and practice. 1
Cor. 3:16, 17; 9:25; 10:31; 1 Tim. 2:9, 10; 1 John 2:6.
"18.
That the divine principle of tithes and offerings for the support of
the gospel is an acknowledgment of God's ownership in our lives, and that we
are stewards who must render account to Him of all that He has committed to
our possession. Lev. 27:30; Mal.
3:8-12; Matt. 23:23; 1 Cor. 9:9-14; 2 Cor. 9:6-15.
"19.
That God has placed in His church the gifts of the Holy Spirit, as
enumerated in 1
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Corinthians
12 and Ephesians 4. That these
gifts operate in harmony with the divine principles of the Bible, and are
given for the perfecting of the saints, the work of the ministry, the edifying
of the body of Christ. Rev.
12:17; 19:10; 1 Cor. 1:5-7.
"20.
That the second coming of Christ is the great hope of the church, the
grand climax of the gospel and plan of salvation.
His coming will be literal, personal, and visible.
Many important events will be associated with His return, such as the
resurrection of the dead, the destruction of the wicked, the purification of
the earth, the reward of the righteous, the establishment of His everlasting
kingdom. The almost complete
fulfillment of various lines of prophecy, particularly those found in the
books of Daniel and the Revelation, with existing conditions in the physical,
social, industrial, political, and religious worlds, indicates that Christ's
coming 'is near, even at the doors.' Matt. 24:33.
The exact time of that event has not been foretold.
Believers are exhorted to be ready, for 'in such an hour as ye think
not the Son of man' (Matt. 24:44) will be revealed.
Luke 21:25-27; 17:26-30; John 14:1-3; Acts 1:9-11; Rev. 1:7; Heb. 9:28;
James 5:1-8; Joel 3:9-16; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; Dan. 7:27; Matt. 24:36, 4.
"21.
That the millennial reign of Christ covers the period between the first
and the second resurrections, during which time the saints of all ages will
live with their blessed Redeemer in Heaven.
At the end of the millennium, the Holy City with all the saints will
descend to the earth. The wicked,
raised in the second resurrection, will go up on the breadth of the earth with
Satan at their head to
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compass
the camp of the saints, when fire will come down from God out of Heaven and
devour them. In the conflagration
which destroys Satan and his host, the earth itself will be regenerated and
cleansed from the effects of the curse. Thus
the universe of God will be purified from the foul blot of sin.
Rev. 20; Zech. 14:1-4; 2 Peter 3:7-10.
"22.
That God will make all things new.
The earth, restored to its pristine beauty, will become forever the
abode of the saints of the Lord. The
promise to Abraham, that through Christ he and his seed should possess the
earth throughout the endless ages of eternity, will be fulfilled.
'The kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the
whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High,
whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and
obey Him.' Dan. 7:27. Christ, the
Lord, will reign supreme and every creature which is in heaven and on the
earth and under the earth, and such as are in the sea will ascribe 'blessing,
and honor, and glory, and power,' unto 'Him that sitteth upon the throne and
unto the Lamb forever and ever.' Gen. 13:14-17; Rom. 4:13; Heb. 11:6-16; Matt.
5:5; Isaiah 35; Rev. 21:1-7; 5:13; Dan. 7:27." -- Year Book of the
Seventh-day Adventist Denomination, 1947 Edition, pp. 4-6.
IN ADDITION to these fundamental tenets of faith held in common with the Seventh-day Adventists, the Davidian Association holds:
1.
That the prophetic gift in the Seventh-day Adventist church (through
the medium of which the church was brought forth in 1844 and nurtured and
preserved for seven decades) ceased
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its
manifestation in 1915 and was not remanifested until 1930; and that this
cessation and this remanifestation are paralleled by the cessation of the
prophetic gift in the Old Testament and the remanifestation of it in the New.
2.
That the present manifestation was timed to the 430-year prophecy of
Ezekiel 4, and that it is the "addition" anticipated in Early
Writings, pg. 277.
3.
That it was manifested anew in the closing work for the church to
effect the sealing of the 144,000 servants of God (Testimonies, Vol. 3, pg.
266), and to give power and force (Early Writings, pg. 277) to the Third
Angel's Message (Rev. 14:6-11) so that the 144,000 might be empowered to
accomplish the closing work for the world, and to gather all their brethren
out of all nations (Isa. 66:19, 20; Rev. 18:4).
4.
That the destruction of the tares from among the first fruits of the
living (Matt. 13:30, 48, 49; Ezek. 9:6, 7) results in the purification of the
church.
5.
That immediately thereafter, the angels let loose the four winds (Rev.
7:1-3), whereupon ensues the time of trouble and Michael's standing up to
deliver from it, all whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life (Dan.
12:1).
6.
That the angels' letting loose the four winds to blow over the four
corners of the earth (Rev. 7:1), does not anticipate a world war but rather a
world-wide decree enforced throughout Babylon by the image-beast, and that
then no one may buy or sell save he who worships
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"the
image." Rev. 13:15-17.
7.
That subsequently, the time of Jacob's trouble (Jer. 30:7) for the
144,000, the sons of Jacob, logically develops on their way home (Gen. 32:1,
24) to the land of their fathers (Ezek. 36:28; 37:21, 25).
8.
That the foregoing epochal event shall cause the 144,000 to have their
names changed as did their father, Jacob (Gen. 32:28), and as a body receive a
new name which the mouth of the Lord shall name (Isa. 62:2).
9.
That these events shall ultimate in the setting up of the Kingdom (Dan.
2:44; Isa. 2:1-4; Mic. 4: Ezek. 37), wherein the 144,000, those who follow the
Lamb "whithersoever He goeth" (Rev. 14:4), shall stand with Him on
Mt. Zion (Rev. 14:1), and there "receive the forces of the
Gentiles." Isa. 60:5, 11.
10.
That with this sequence of events will ensue the Loud Cry of the angel
that lightens the earth with his glory (Rev. 18:1), as that other Voice cries,
"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.
11.
That in response to this call, many nations will 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."
Mic. 4:2.
12.
That the Voice will cease to cry when all the saints shall have been
gathered out of
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all
nations. Then shall "the
days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a
famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord:
and they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east,
they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find
it." Amos 8:11, 12.
13.
That then will follow the dissolution of the world-wide organization of
the image of the beast (Rev. 19:1-3), the close of the investigative judgment
of the living (Rev. 15:5-8), the end of probationary time (Rev. 22:11), and
the pouring out of the seven last plagues upon the wicked.
(Rev. 16).
14.
That under the seventh plague, the hosts arrayed for the battle of
Armageddon will fight with, and will be decimated by, the armies of Heaven
(Testimonies, Vol. 6, pg. 406), and that Christ shall appear in all His glory,
destroy the remaining wicked, resurrect the righteous dead (1 Thess. 4:15-16),
and usher in the millennium (Rev. 20:5).
15.
That for a little season (Rev. 20:3), a hundred years (Isa. 65:20),
after the millennium, the wicked shall live again and then finally be
destroyed by fire (Rev. 20:9), whereupon all things shall be renewed, and
God's original plan shall proceed to perfect fulfillment in an uninterrupted
eternity of heavenly joy (Rev. 21:4).
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