FACING THE CRISIS WITH THE ELIJAH MESSAGE
by: Elder Lawrence Nelson

In the early years of the Advent Movement, Elder Loughborough, then one of our younger pioneers, became so depressed with the many difficulties he faced that he decided to leave the gospel ministry and take up his life work as a common carpenter. At home his wife complained because he was often absent due to his church labors. Then there was the ever present problem to keep food on the table, for in those days there was no fixed salary to count on. And to make matters worse the small scattered bands of believers were often unsettled in their belief. But the Lord was watching over His growing church, and its needs. God impressed Ellen White to immediately go to the town of Waukon, Iowa to find Elder Loughborough and bring him back into the Lord's ministry. Elder Loughborough gives a very vivid description of what took place when Ellen White arrived. I quote from Volume 1 of The Early Days by Arthur White p. 348. "Brother Hosea Mead and I were working on a store building in Waukon. A man looking up saw me, and inquired, 'Do you know a carpenter around here by the name of Hosea Mead?'
"I replied, 'Yes, sir, he is up here working with me.'
"Brother Mead said, 'That is Elon Everts' voice.' Then he came and looked down, and Brother Everts said, 'Come down. Brother and Sister White and Brother Hart are out here in the sleigh.'
"As I reached the sleigh, Sister White greeted me with the question, 'What doest thou here, Elijah?'
"Astonished at such a question, I replied, 'I am working with Brother Mead at carpenter work.'
"The second time she repeated, 'What doest thou here, Elijah?'
"Now I was so embarrassed at such a question, and the connecting of my case with Elijah, that I did not know what to say. It was evident that there was something back of all this which I should hear more about.
"The third time she repeated the question, 'What doest thou here, Elijah?'
"I was brought by these bare questions to very seriously consider the case of Elijah, away from the direct work of the Lord, hid in a cave. . . . The change, and a 'go-back' from the labor in which I was then engaged."
But now before we discuss the implications of the words, "What doest thou here, Elijah?" as found in 1 Kings l9: 9, will you join me in prayer?
Our loving Father which art in Heaven. As we explore the Elijah message in this sermon, we plead for Thy Holy Spirit to expand our spiritual vision so that we may clearly understand what God is expecting of each of us in this final crisis so soon to break upon us. We ask this in the name of Thy dear Son, Jesus. Amen.
Now let us open our Bibles to Malachi 4: 5. I read: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord." First of all let us determine what is the great and dreadful day of the Lord. In Bible Commentaries Volume 4, p.164 we read, "'The day of the Lord.' This expression occurs at least twenty times in the writings of the various Old Testament prophets. It is always used in reference to a time of divine judgment. Upon a city, or a nation, or eventually upon the inhabitants of the whole world. Conversely the 'Day of the Lord' is the time when historically the probation of a city or a nation closes and ultimately when the destiny of all men is forever fixed. During the day of salvation men and nations are free to exercise their God given power. To choose between right and wrong, but with the arrival of the 'day of the Lord' God's will becomes supreme, being no longer circumscribed by the exercise of the human will. What happens to a city, or to an entire nation, when the day of the Lord comes to it, is similar to that which happened to the whole world at the close of its probation."
In Matthew 24 for instance, Christ's description of the 'day of the Lord' upon the city of Jerusalem and the Jewish nation is manifestly similar in many respects to what will also be true of the entire world at the time of Christ's coming and of the end of the world. The 'day of the Lord' is never referred to in scripture as a time when men will have a second chance, another opportunity to except salvation. The 'day of the Lord' is always without exception a day of judgment, a day of destruction, a day of darkness.
Now with this basic knowledge before us we can easily see how God in His infinite love, mercy, and grace sent Elijah the Tishbite to His wayward people, who had been so entangled with Baal worship that all but seven thousand had bent their knees in devil worship. But through the message of Elijah, God was able to arouse His people to acknowledge Him as the only true God to be worshipped and obeyed, and to destroy all the prophets of Baal. Again years later when it became time for the first advent of Christ, God sent a second Elijah in the person of John the Baptist to again awaken his slumbering people from the teachings of tradition by false shepherds. It was the purpose of God that the message of John would prepare the people's hearts to accept the Messiah and thus escape the threatened destruction of Jerusalem.
How about today? God is now sending a third and last Elijah with a message - a message that is to be preached throughout the world to prepare a people for the Second Coming of Christ. When Jesus comes the second time he will of necessity destroy the world for its wickedness and for disregarding His everlasting gospel by the enforcement of a universal Sunday law in defiance of God's fourth commandment. But before this time He sends Elijah. And who is this? - The Advent people whom he raised up in 1844 for this very purpose. They are to warn the world of His coming judgment and to invite them to repent.
At Christ's first advent, and I quote, "It was believed also that before the Messiah's advent, Elijah would personally appear. This expectation John met in his denial; but his words had a deeper meaning. Jesus afterward said, referring to John, 'If you are willing to receive it, this is Elijah, which is to come.' Matthew 11:14." Desire of Ages p. 135.
John came in the spirit and the power of Elijah to do such a work as Elijah did. In the second application I quote: "In this age, just prior to the second coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven, God calls for men who will prepare a people to stand in the great day of the Lord. Just such a work as that which John did, is to be carried on in these last days. The Lord is giving messages to His people, through the instruments He has chosen, and He would have all heed the admonitions and warnings He sends. The message preceding the public ministry of Christ was, Repent, publicans and sinners; repent, Pharisees and Sadducees; 'for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Our message is not to be one of peace and safety. As a people who believe in Christ's soon appearing, we have a definite message to bear,--'Prepare to meet thy God.'
"Our message must be as direct as was that of John. He rebuked kings for their iniquity. Notwithstanding the peril his life was in, he never allowed truth to languish on his lips. Our work in this age must be as faithfully done…. In this time of well-nigh universal apostasy, God calls upon His messengers to proclaim His law in the spirit and power of Elias. As John the Baptist, in preparing a people for Christ's first advent, called their attention to the Ten Commandments, so we are to give, with no uncertain sound, the message: 'Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come.' With the earnestness that characterized Elijah the prophet and John the Baptist, we are to strive to prepare the way for Christ's second advent." Bible Commentaries, Volume 4, p. 1184.
Then in Testimonies for the Church, Volume 5, p.115 we read: "The messages from heaven are of a character to arouse opposition. The faithful witnesses for Christ and the truth will reprove sin. Their words will be like a hammer to break the flinty heart, like a fire to consume the dross. There is constant need of earnest, decided messages of warning. God will have men who are true to duty. At the right time He sends His faithful messengers to do a work similar to that of Elijah."
We have also been further instructed: "Today, in the spirit and power of Elias and of John the Baptist, messengers of God's appointment are calling the attention of a judgment-bound world to the solemn events soon to take place in connection with the closing hours of probation and the appearance of Christ Jesus as King of kings and Lord of lords. Soon every man is to be judged for the deeds done in the body. The hour of God's judgment has come, and upon the members of His church on earth rests the solemn responsibility of giving warning to those who are standing as it were on the very brink of eternal ruin. To every human being in the wide world who will give heed must be made plain the principles at stake in the great controversy being waged, principles upon which hang the destinies of all mankind. In these final hours of probation for the sons of men, when the fate of every soul is so soon to be decided forever, the Lord of heaven and earth expects His church to arouse to action as never before." Prophets and Kings, p. 716.
I like the way Ellen White describes the work we are to do in her book Maranatha p.173. "'Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.' Malachi 4:5. To prepare a people to stand in the day of God, a great work of reform was to be accomplished [by the Advent Movement]. God saw that many of His professed people were not building for eternity, and in His mercy He was about to send a message of warning to arouse them from their stupor and lead them to make ready for the coming of the Lord.
"This warning is brought to view in Revelation 14. Here is a threefold message represented as proclaimed by heavenly beings and immediately followed by the coming of the Son of man to reap 'the harvest of the earth.' The angels are represented as flying in the midst of heaven, proclaiming to the world a message of warning, and having a direct bearing upon the people living in the last days of this earth's history." And now hear this - "No one hears the voice of these angels, (why? -) for they a symbol to represent the people of God who are working in harmony with the universe of heaven." What a sublime thought! The Three Angels' Messages are to be combined, giving their three-fold light to the world.
In the Revelation, John says: "I saw another angel, come from heaven, having great power. And the earth was lightened with his glory." This represents the giving of the last and three-fold message of warning to the world. Revelation 18 points to the time when, as the result of the rejecting of the three-fold warning of Revelation 14:6-12, the church will have fully reached the condition foretold by the second angel. And the people of God, still in Babylon, will be called upon to separate from her communion. This message is the last that will ever be given to the world. It will accomplish its work when those who believe not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness (as you read in 2 Thessalonians 2:12) shall be left to receive strong delusions and to believe a lie. Then the light of truth will shine upon all those whose hearts are open to receive it and all the children of the Lord who remain in Babylon will heed the call, "Come out of her my people." Revelation 18:4.
Now this brings us back to the personal experience of Elder Loughborough. Because of disappointment and adversity he left the work God had instructed him, to preach the Elijah message, and he took a job as a carpenter. But God sent Ellen White to shake up his senses with the words, "What doest thou here Elijah?"
Beloved, I believe God is calling you and me with these very same words, "What are you doing here Elijah?" We read, "In these words the Lord virtually said to Elijah, 'I sent you to Ahab with a message, and how is it that you have strayed away here? Was it because Jezebel threatened to take off your head for bearing the living testimony which resulted in the death of the priests of Baal? What sent you here?' Elijah heard the threats of Jezebel, but he did not wait to hear what God had to say. He fled for his life, and hid in a cave. But God did not leave him there. No, he called him out of the cave, and bade him stand with God upon the mount, and listen to his word." General Conference Daily Bulletins, March 20, 1891.
We will now leave the discussion of Elder Loughborough, of our early pioneer work, and skip over to more modern times. At the time of Elijah the Tishbite the pagan nations that surrounded Israel had for years bowed down to and worshiped their man-made god, Baal. Today, among other doctrinal errors, the churches that surround modern Israel, the Seventh-day Adventist church, have for many years taught that the gospel consists alone of what Christ did on the cross for man, and that there are no conditions for receiving justification, no conditions for receiving salvation. "Just believe, only believe," they cry.
Now they arrived at this false teaching because they separated the law from what they considered to be the gospel. They felt that this removed their need, in so far as conditions were concerned. But friend, men can create a false god and fall down and worship it, but they cannot change God's truth. Through the influence of these neighboring churches around us, a change has been gradually brought about among the membership of our beloved church. In past years, as more and more of our ministers went to Babylonish universities to get their degrees, they often came back to their churches preaching the same worldly salvation doctrines.
Due to the trickle down effect today, ministers and members, including some of our most prominent theologians, are promoting by teaching, writing and preaching these very false doctrines of Babylon in our churches and at our camp meetings. This is true even though these teachings are directly contrary to God's clearly revealed Word.
If we are to be God's last-day Elijah messengers we must know and understand what the everlasting gospel actually embraces. It's impossible to separate the law and the gospel without distorting them both. Many will agree that the law demands obedience, but they seemed surprised to hear the inspired answer to the question, "Does the gospel require obedience as a condition of salvation?"
Let us turn to the writings of Paul and Peter for the correct answer. I am quoting from the Scripture: "But they have not all obeyed the gospel." Romans 10:16. "Taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Thessalonians 1:8. "Judgment must begin at the house of God and what will be the end of those who obey not the gospel of God?" 1 Peter 4:17. How can Scripture state the true facts any plainer than did Paul and Peter.
The truth of obedience is a salvation issue. Paul says that vengeance will be taken on those that obey not the gospel. What does the gospel tell men to obey? John answers this question by telling us exactly who it is that will receive salvation. I'm reading Revelation 22:12: "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter in through the gates into the city." The obvious answer is obedience to God's law. I will now quote from the Spirit of Prophecy: "There are some who think that they will be just as acceptable to God by obeying some other law then the law of God, by meeting some other conditions than those which He has specified in the gospel. …They are under a fatal delusion." Review and Herald, August 27, 1901.
The following short sentences or phrases are not my words. I have taken them from the Spirit of Prophecy. "The gospel demands willing obedience and grateful service to its sacred claims." Testimonies for the Church, Volume 5, p.71, 87. "The gospel points to the moral code as a rule of life." Mind, Character and Personality p.563. "The gospel makes no compromise with evil. It cannot excuse sin." Desire of Ages p.811. Why? - "Sin is the transgression of the law." 1 John 3:4. "The gospel demands from every human being an unreserved consecration to God, of both body and soul, with all their energies and capabilities, throughout the entire period of our probation." Review and Herald, April 12, 1987. Therefore we must conclude that the gospel demands our all, all of ourselves, even as long as life shall last. As the man in the parable who found treasure in the field, it will take our all to buy the field. But oh friend, what a treasure we will obtain! Speaking of the Loud Cry of the third angel's message Ellen White writes: "The gospel… is to be preached…in clear lines, showing that obedience is the condition of gaining eternal life." Bible Commentaries, Volume 7 p.972. We are not only to be aware of these truths concerning the gospel, we are, and I quote, to "make plain the requirements of the law and the gospel." Christ Object Lessons p.40. We are to teach obedience to both the law and the gospel in clear lines to the sinners of the world as a condition of salvation.
Now some may wonder about justification. Ellen White warns, "The danger that has been presented to me again and again of entertaining, as a people, false ideas of justification by faith. I have been shown for years that Satan would work in a special manner to confuse the mind on this point." Faith and Works p. 18.
As early as 1893, one of our prominent ministers, A.T. Jones of the 1888 fame, began to preach concerning salvation, and I quote: "There are no conditions." He was repeating this over and over in his sermons. In a letter Ellen White reproved him saying, and I quote: "There are conditions to our receiving justification and sanctification and the righteousness of Christ." Selected Messages, Book 1, p.377.
Throughout her writings, Ellen White refers to these conditions for justification. On p.365 of the same book I just quoted from, I read, "There is no salvation without repentance. No impenitent sinner can believe with his heart unto righteousness." And friend that's some statement of fact. From this inspired passage we learn that we must have faith. But please note and mark it well, that we can not have saving faith until we have repented. In the Review and Herald, September 3, 1901 we read: "The gospel of Christ requires penitence for sin; and sin is the transgression of the law."
Oh, beloved, how encouraging it is to know that in order to repent we go to Jesus just as we are. He will give us the spiritual power and strength to repent. That is taken from Selected Messages, book 1, p.393 where it reveals that "whom He pardons He first makes penitent." How sad it is today, that by human plans and human inventions of the structure, to a great extent the Elijah message calling to repentance has been shut out. At times it seems as if the voice of John the Baptist calling in the wilderness, "Repent ye," has been all but been stilled.
The following two passages are from the Spirit of Prophecy: "The right hand of fellowship is given to the very men who bring in false theories and sentiments. …The light given, calling to repentance, has been shut out by the thick cloud of unbelief and opposition brought in by human plans and human inventions." Review and Herald, November 1,1906. "The Lord desires His servants today to preach the old gospel doctrine, sorrow for sin, repentance and confession. We want old-fashioned sermons." Evangelism p.179. You know friend, I feel like shouting, "Praise the Lord!" This is what we need! We need sermons such as Jesus taught in His very first sermon as recorded in Mark 1: 14-15. "Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: Repent ye, and believe the gospel." We seldom hear such old-fashioned sermons today such as Jesus and John the Baptist preached, urging us to repentance, faith, and surrender. Yet such sermons would be far more effective to bring salvation to the world than a multitude of sermons teaching the new views of the gospel such as love and unity. What we need now is the old gospel doctrine and the old-fashioned sermons.
Now we come to a very encouraging part of our sermon. The gospel demands man to obey the law of God, but man has no power in himself to obey and the law has no power to give it to him. However, it fills us with joy and thanksgiving to know that when we come to Christ, who is the gospel, after He gives us the spiritual power to repent, He then gives us the power to obey the law. Then we will declare with David, "Oh how I love thy law."
I quote: "The gospel of Christ is the Good News of grace, or favor, by which men may be released from the condemnation of sin, and enabled to render obedience to the law of God. The gospel points to the moral code as a rule of life. That law, by its demands for undeviating obedience, is continually pointing the sinner to the gospel for pardon and peace." Mind, Character and Personality p.563. Oh what a marvelous provision this is!
Ellen White instructs us that "Jesus came that we might obey as well as receive; but we must believe in him, and receive, in order to obey." Review and Herald, Sept 27, 1892. The plan of salvation is marvelous. By the loving provision of God, the gospel is not just a beautiful doctrine to be listened to and believed, we are also through faith, to experience it. Elsewhere in the Spirit of Prophecy we read that, "Christ was both the law and the gospel." Selected Messages, Book 2, p. 106. The law and the gospel can not properly be separated.
I will read three important messages that we should all remember. We read, "If we would have the spirit and the power of the third angel's message, we must present the law and the gospel together, for they go hand in hand." Review and Herald, Sept 3, 1889. Then we are told, "No man can rightly present the law of God without the gospel, or the gospel without the law. The law is the gospel embodied, and the gospel is the law unfolded. The law is the root; the gospel is the fragrant blossom and fruit which it bears." Christ Object Lessons p.128. "The law and the gospel are so blended that the truth can not be presented as it is in Jesus, without blending these subjects in perfect agreement. The law is the gospel of Christ veiled; the gospel of Jesus is nothing more or less than the law defined, showing its far-reaching principles." Review and Herald, May 27, 1890.
One of my favorite passages from the Spirit of Prophecy concerning this subject is found in the book Our High Calling p.141. It reads: "The law and the gospel go hand in hand. The one is the complement of the other. The law without faith in the gospel of Christ can not save the transgressor of the law. The gospel without the law is inefficient and powerless. The law and the gospel are a perfect whole. …The two blended--the gospel of Christ and the law of God--produce the love and faith unfeigned."
Did you catch the import of that paragraph? We know the law without the gospel cannot save, but what about a gospel that is inefficient and powerless to save? This is the divine description of the gospel when it is presented separated from the law. Such a passage as this should truly awaken us. Is the last-day Elijah gospel to be proclaimed after it has been rendered inefficient and powerless by the preaching that we can sin until Jesus comes? God forbid!
To illustrate another point. How often we hear people refer to those who they fear are preaching the law as legalists. There have been times, even in our past history, when ministers emphasized the law more than the gospel. This was unfortunate. Ellen White recognized this, and she said, "As a people, we have preached the law until we are dry as the hills of Gilboa that had neither dew nor rain." But then she adds: "We must preach Christ in the law." Review and Herald, March 11, 1890. However, as we have already pointed out, the tables have turned today as it were. Many are now separating the law out from their gospel, making their gospel as powerless to save as their former emphases on the law.
Now listen to me carefully. Because God said through His prophet that at one time in our history we have preached the law until we were as dry as the hills of Gilboa, this does not give us license to go to the other extreme. Which is more productive for God's church, dry hills so that the precious plants dry out and die in the ground, or should we bring about a flood of love preaching that would uproot and destroy and wash away the plants? Let us remember, and I am quoting, "The enemy has ever labored to disconnect the law from the gospel." Bible Commentaries, Volume 6, p.1073. God on the other hand is working to restore the law of God to its rightful position.
Satan doesn't care which extreme we adapt, just so we don't keep the water in the soil in proper balance so that the plants will flourish. In the following passage we read that, "All error is misleading, even though clothed with garments of heavenly beauty." Review and Herald, January 21, l904.
Throughout the Spirit of Prophecy we are admonished to furiously expose Satan's errors. I quote the following: "It is Satan's studied effort to divert minds from the hope of salvation through faith in Christ and obedience to the law of God. In every age the archenemy adapts his temptations to the prejudices or inclinations of those whom he is seeking to deceive. In apostolic times he led the Jews to exalt the ceremonial law and reject Christ; at the present time he induces many professed Christians, under pretense of honoring Christ, to cast contempt on the moral law and to teach that its precepts may be transgressed with impunity. It is the duty of every servant of God to withstand firmly and decidedly these perverters of the faith and by the word of truth fearlessly to expose their errors." Acts of the Apostles p.387. Therefore, I must speak boldly to declare these facts to you that you may prepare to be ready for the coming crisis.
The day of the Lord is drawing near. We have an ever-greater responsibility than did John the Baptist. As we read earlier, our message must be given in even plainer language than was his. We are to warn the world that the hour of God's judgment is come . At the end of this time of judgment probation will close for all mankind. We are standing on the brink of eternity. We must arouse to action as never before. Sinners must be aroused from their stupor to make ready for the coming of the Lord in judgment and glory.
What a responsibility! Soon we shall feel the wrath of the dragon through the Papal and Protestant persecution. And over what? - The law of God, the seventh day Sabbath, the mark of the beast and the supposed Sunday sabbath. There will be laws prohibiting us to either buy or sell because we refuse to honor a pagan day of worship. We will be threatened with persecution and death. Will we, God's modern Elijahs, run and hide in a cave as did Elijah of old, or will we speak the truth boldly, exposing errors and sins as did John the Baptist as he prepared the way for Christ's first advent?
Oh, friend, the third angel's message closes with this description of God's last church. It is found in Revelation 14:12. "Here is the patience of the saints. Here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus." If we are to be a part of the 144,000, and be filled with the Holy Spirit of the latter rain, we must answer God's call and be ready to give the Loud Cry in the power of Elijah and of John the Baptist. Will we be ready to answer the call of God when He asks, "What are you doing here Elijah?" Are we fearlessly preaching the true gospel today or are we hiding in a cave, or neglecting to give the message, or allowing some other common employment or other interests to consume our time? Worse yet, are we joining with the priests of Baal in their celebration worship? God forbid! May each of us be found daily preparing to give the Loud Cry, ready to be sealed, ready with the Holy Spirit and thus be prepared to give the Elijah message - God's last call to this doomed world.
Let us pray. Dear Savior. Today's message has awakened us to realize that in Thy divine plan each of us is to give the Elijah message. May we be so Spirit-filled when the test comes that we may be used in whatever way the Spirit directs in giving the Loud Cry. This we ask in the name of Jesus, Amen.
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FACING THE CRISISWITH ASSURANCE UNLIMITED
by: Elder Lawrence Nelson

A few months ago my telephone rang and I lifted the receiver to hear an angry voice declare these challenging words, "Pastor Nelson, are you saved?"
I hesitated a moment for I was not accustomed to answering such an abrupt question. So I responded, "I hope so, for I trust in Jesus."
But the angry voice insisted, "I want a 'yes' or a 'no' right now."
In the conversation that followed I discovered that this man was one of our own Seventh-day Adventist ministers who had totally accepted the New Theology; believing that Jesus had done everything for his salvation on the cross, even kept the commandments for him. He was saved, come what may, with full assurance and there was no doubt about it.
Some of his church members, who receive my tapes, were questioning his preaching. So he had listened to my tapes and did not believe what I preached from the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy. He would not accept that there were any other conditions for salvation except to believe. He then stated that my preaching was robbing the people of assurance. He became so angry that I could not continue the conversation.
This experience led me to do some serious thinking. A true Seventh-day Adventist does not believe in "once saved, always saved," because the Bible plainly teaches that a person can fall from grace. But how does one experience heavenly assurance of peace? I believe that very early in this millennium suddenly we will be confronted with a final test of our life – a Sunday law.
We have been instructed that it will come as an overwhelming surprise; and unless we have absolute assurance, many a Seventh-day Adventist will buckle under and give up the Sabbath and obey the Sunday law. So in this study let us discover the answer to the question, "Isn't there some inner witness, some substantial evidence to rely upon?"
Let us delve into what is written to answer this important question. And as we do, let us reverently ask for the aid of the Holy Spirit. Let us pray. Loving Father, Inspiration has predicted we shall soon face a Sunday law test, with such persecution that millions of Seventh-day Adventists will give up their faith and join the opposition for the lack of assurance. So we earnestly plead that the Holy Spirit will help us discover the divine provision that has been promised that will enable us to face this crisis with unlimited assurance. And we ask this in the blessed name of Jesus, Amen.
As a foundation for our study let us turn our thoughts to the disciple, Peter, and what happened to him immediately following the Last Supper. He and the disciples followed Jesus to the Mount of Olives. Here Jesus was about to be taken captive leaving the disciples separated from their Master who was to be tried and condemned to death.
Jesus, knowing what was soon to happen, was much concerned that His disciples would not lose their faith in Him as the Messiah. He was especially concerned about Peter. We read in Matthew 26:31-35, "Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee. Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended. Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples."
Poor Peter, he did not know his own heart for he was filled with self-assurance; and before the sun arose the next morning he had denied his Lord. Brokenhearted he rushed back from the trial of Jesus to the very spot where Jesus had pleaded for His disciples in prayer. He confessed his great sin, repented, and God gave him a second chance to prove faithful. Never again did Peter deny his Lord. Through the divine aid of the Holy Spirit he discovered how to fearlessly stand for Christ in any crisis designed by Satan to force one to deny Christ. In fact, Peter became fearless so that when he and the other disciples were taken captive and commanded to be disloyal to their Lord he cried out, "We ought to obey God rather than man."
Now, this Peter has given us divine counsel how we too can be faithful to God when we are faced with a Sunday law and have unlimited assurance so that we shall not fall. Let me read this to you. It is found in 2 Peter 1:2-11, "Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: [And now come these precious words, listen] Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. [Here's our key to assurance]
"And besides this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."
What a promise that we find here! Ellen White gives us an astounding insight concerning these verses of scripture. I was amazed to discover that unlimited assurance is found in this passage. "Here are your life- insurance papers. This is not an insurance policy the value of which someone else will receive after your death; it is a policy that assures you a life measuring with the life of God - even eternal life." Heavenly Places p. 29. Oh, what assurance, what hope!
Did you catch the significance of those words? "A life measuring with the life of God." Oh what a Savior that can give us such assurance! And then I discovered that Inspiration referred to this scripture of Peter in other places. She assures us beyond a doubt, that if we are faithful to God in keeping the holy Sabbath, when the Sunday law comes, we shall be victorious. I am reading from Manuscript Releases, Volume 5, p. 88,89, "Here is the life insurance policy for every soul that shall strive in the right way and upon the right principles. They shall never fall but shall have their eternal life insurance papers in the sign given in Exodus 31:12-18, in the observance of the Lord's Sabbath. This means obedience to all His commandments, for the keeping of the Sabbath which God has sanctified and blessed at Creation, 'is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations' 'for ever' 'that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.'"
Let us read from Exodus 31:14-16 regarding what we have just read. "Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant."
So, when the Sunday law comes (are you getting the picture?) we will not only be demanded to keep Sunday holy, but eventually be forced to work on the Sabbath. There is no escaping this final test; for if we do not keep Sunday holy we will be put to death by Satan's power of authority. And if we don't keep the Sabbath, God's penalty will be eternal death. Either way, we are facing death; but praise the Lord, we are given assurance that if we remain obedient to the commandments of God, even if we must die for our faith, God will give us a life measuring with His – even eternal life. O what a God!
But Inspiration explains that there are conditions even though this Seventh-day Adventist preacher claimed that all there is to salvation is "only believe." Ellen White explains these conditions by repeating 2 Peter 1:10 where we read, "'Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure.' We need not have a supposed hope, but an assurance. [And then she names these specific conditions…] To make our calling and election sure is to follow the Bible plan, closely examine ourselves, to make strict inquiry whether we are indeed converted, whether our minds are drawn out after God and heavenly things, our wills renewed, our whole souls changed. To make our calling and election sure requires far greater diligence than many are giving to this important matter. For if ye do these things, -- live on the plan of addition, growing in grace and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ -- ye shall mount up, step by step, the ladder Jacob saw, and 'ye shall never fall: for so an entrance shall be ministered onto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and our Savior Jesus Christ.'" Manuscript Releases, Volume 19, p. 351,352.
Peter found this assurance by taking hold of God's promises, which made it possible for him to partake of the Divine nature. And so it may be with us. "Every promise that is in God's Book holds out to us the encouragement that we may be partakers of the divine nature. This is the possibility -- to rely upon God, to believe His Word, to work His works; and this we can do when we lay hold of the divinity of Christ." Heavenly Places p. 32.
In past years in my youth work for the General Conference there was a song that I often had the young people sing, "Every promise in the Book is mine, every chapter, every verse, every line; all are promises of love divine, every promise in the book is mine." These promises, when placed within our hearts, give us the needed experience of abiding in Christ.
In John 15:7 we read, "If ye abide in me, (and how is this done?) and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." What a promise – all made possible, "by His humanity. Christ touched humanity. By His divinity He lays hold upon the throne of God. As the Son of Man He gave us an example of obedience. As the Son of God He gives us power to obey." Note: It does not say Christ kept the commandments for us so that all we need to do is believe as this Adventist preacher was teaching his flock; but Christ gives us power to obey. Why?
"It was Christ, who from the bush on Mount Horeb, spoke to Moses saying, 'I AM that I AM.' Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me unto you'. Exodus 3:14 This was the pledge of Israel's deliverance; so when He came in the likeness of men He declared that 'I AM', the child of Bethlehem, the meek and lowly Savior as God manifested in the flesh. 1 Timothy 3:16 And to us He says, 'I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life.' John 10:11. I AM the assurance of every promise. I AM, be not afraid. God with us is the surety of our deliverance from sin, the assurance of a power to obey the laws of heaven." Desire of Ages p. 24.
You know, I kind of like that! It is simple and reassuring. When we read these words I am sure that you feel like praising God. When the great I AM abides in our heart with His precious promises John tells us in John 17:3, "This is life eternal." It is through the Word of God that we become acquainted with Him and partake of His life. His promises become our daily bread giving us the strength to obey Him and prepare for the coming crisis.
In Desire of Ages p. 123 it says, "How is this accomplished, Christ has shown us. By what means did He overcome in the conflict with Satan? By the word of God. Only by the word could He resist temptation. 'It is written' He said. And unto us are given 'exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.' 2 Peter 1:4. Every promise in God's word is ours. 'By every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God' are we to live." [So in the near future when we are faced by some angry judge demanding to know why we keep the Sabbath remember, let us follow the example of Christ and say, "It is written…" "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." "The seventh day is the Sabbath."]
"When assailed by temptation, look not to circumstances or to the weakness of self, but to the power of the word. All its strength is yours. 'Thy word,' says the psalmist, 'have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.' 'By the word of Thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.' Psalm 119:11, Psalm 17:4." Desire of Ages p. 123.
Jeremiah Denton, is a living example for us today of the power that the Word can sustain in a crisis. He was a US captive soldier in Vietnam. For seven years he was placed in total isolation; tortured, often threatened with death. How did he survive? He tells us he repeated over and over, day after day, the scriptures he had memorized and this is what kept him alive until he was finally delivered.
Beloved, it is through the daily study of God's Word that our characters are changed to be Christ-like. Oh that we would take God's Word as God personally speaking to us! Ellen White makes such a plea. She states in the Desire of Ages p. 390, 391, "In His promises and warnings, Jesus means me. [Then she illustrates, for she says,] God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that I [notice she put that there] believing in Him, might not perish, but have everlasting life. The experiences related in God's word are to be my experiences. Prayer and promise, precept and warning, are mine....All ... who [meaning those who receive Him] partake of His nature, and be conformed to His character."
When this is done we can be assured of eternal life for the promises of God within our heart have made possible an abiding Christ. So we can say with John in 1 John 5:12,13, "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."
Inspiration proclaims, "Every promise in the word of God is for us. In your prayers, present the pledged word of Jehovah, and by faith claim His promises. His word is the assurance that if we ask in faith, you will receive all spiritual blessings. Continue to ask, and you will receive exceedingly abundantly above all that you ask or think. Educate yourself to have unlimited confidence in God. Cast all your care upon Him. Wait patiently for Him, and He will bring it to pass." Signs of the Times, November 18, 1903.
Let us never be like the worldly woman who upon returning from a theater discovered that she had lost a very expensive diamond from her necklace. She immediately called the theater manager. "Madam," he said, "I'll go where you were sitting and see if I can find it. Hold the phone." In a few minutes he returned, excited. Picking up the phone he said, "Hello, I've got good news. I found your diamond." But there was no reply. She had not waited and had hung up the phone leaving no name, no address or phone number. Months later, he sold the diamond and kept the money. The lesson? - Wait patiently for the Lord to answer you requests. He will not fail!
So when Satan fills the mind with doubts, and such will come when the Sunday law is enacted, and you face and experience when you can neither buy nor sell, remember this, "The rainbow about the throne is an assurance that God is true; that in Him is no variableness, neither shadow or turning....He has pledged Himself to give heed to our cry when we come to Him confessing our unworthiness and sin. The honor of His throne is staked for the fulfillment of His word to us." Testimonies for the Church, Volume 8, p. 23. Praise the Lord!
This will be a time when feelings are to have no part in our assurance. We must rest solely on the promises of God. "Never give up your faith and hope in God. Cling to the promises. Do not trust in your feelings, but in the naked word of God. Believe the assurances of the Lord. Take your stand upon the plain, 'Thus saith the Lord,' and rest there, feeling or no feeling. Faith is not always followed by feelings of ecstasy, but 'hope thou in God.' Trust fully in Him." Upward Look p. 176.
Jesus has given us such an example. Consider this tragedy - the Savior when He was tried and condemned by His church and then delivered by His church to the Roman governor urging that He be crucified. During all this trial He remained faithful with assurance because He had kept His Father's commandments. Inspiration has likewise tried to prepare us for what is to come. We have been instructed, "We have more to fear from within than from Babylon." So let us remember the experience of Christ.
Even on the cross, He had no outward assurance that His sacrifice was accepted by His Father. It was not until after His resurrection from the tomb, and ascension to His Father's throne, that He heard the words that His atonement for man's sins had been accepted. So we too must trust in the promises of God as we fight the good fight of faith, trusting that when we are resurrected, or translated, and stand before God, we shall then hear those blessed words, "Well done."
Like the Savior as He faced the supreme test, He prayed, "O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt." Matthew 26:39. This is the true explanation of God's promise to fulfill every sanctified request. As we read in Mark 11:24, "What things soever ye desire when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them."
This is clarified in the book Education p. 258, Christ "makes it plain that our asking must be according to God's will; we must ask for the things that He has promised, and whatsoever we receive must be used in doing His will. The conditions met, the promise is unequivocal. For the pardon of sin, for the Holy Spirit, for a Christ-like temper, for wisdom and strength to do His work, for any gift He has promised, we may ask; then we are to believe that we receive, and return thanks to God that we have received. We need look for no outward evidence of the blessing. The gift is in the promise and we may go about our work assured that what God has promised He is able to perform, and that the gift, which we already possess, will be realized when we need it most."
In Signs of the Times, April 14, 1890 we are told, "But you must remember that only those who obey the commandments of God, through His grace, have a right to appropriate the promises written for the consolation of the children of God." In the book Our High Calling p. 147 are these words of assurance, "Precious are the privileges accorded him who abides in Christ....They that are abiding in Jesus have the assurance that God will hear them, because they love to do His will. They offer no formal, wordy prayer, but come to God in earnest, humble confidence as a child to a tender father, and pour out the story of their grief and fears and sins, and in the name of Jesus present their wants; [and then what?] they depart from His presence rejoicing in the assurance of the pardoning love and sustaining grace."
The Christian needs to know that he or she is abiding in Christ. Regarding this matter, one is justified in having anxiety. In the following quotation, Inspiration answers this Adventist preacher who taught that you could have total assurance, "Christ would have His joy fulfilled in us. He would have us abide in Him that we may bring forth much fruit. The only thing for which each should have anxiety is to know how it is with his soul. The question to put to ourselves is, 'Am I fighting the good fight of faith? Am I a living graft in the True Vine? Am I a branch of the parent stock, drawing sap and nourishment from Jesus?' How shall we know how to answer this question? Jesus has said, 'By their fruits ye shall know them.' And our fruits are dependant upon our abiding in Christ." Signs of the Times, April 18, 1892.
As we face the coming Sunday law sometime in the beginning of this new millennium, let us not fear but be filled with unlimited assurance. We have been promised by the Almighty that even when we have to stand alone before some unscrupulous judge for our faith, that Christ will tell us exactly what words to say. I am reading from Matthew 10:19,20: "But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you."
And when you are hungry because it is impossible to neither buy or sell since you will not comply with the Sunday law, remember this promise found in Isaiah 33:16, "Bread shall be given him; his water shall be sure." And when you have nowhere to go because the state has taken away your house the same text assures us that, "His place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks."
When we are deserted by our friends, our loved ones, and even church members who have apostatized and betrayed us to our enemies, we are not alone for Jesus has promised in Matthew 28:20, "I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world."
In these days while we still have our Bibles we should be placing Psalm 91 in our memories for this will be our unlimited assurance as we face the coming crisis. I am reading from Psalm 91, "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
"Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
"A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt though behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
"They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation."
Let us pray. Loving Father, we thank Thee for these wonderful promises of Thy love – angel protection, food, shelter, and final deliverance with eternal life. May the precious Holy Spirit impress this knowledge within our heart so that when the crisis breaks upon us our faith will rest in unlimited assurance. And we ask this in the precious name of Jesus, Amen.
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FACING THE CRISISWITH THE LESSER AND GREATER LIGHT - Part 2by: Elder Lawrence Nelson
In Part 1, we spoke of two brief quotations from the Spirit of Prophecy that are often taken out of context, misunderstood, and therefore misused. The one we presented is found in the Review & Herald, June 20, 1903. It reads: "Little heed is given to the Bible and the Lord has given a lesser light to lead men and women to the greater light."
In Part 1 we read references where Ellen White clearly defines for us the meaning of these two terms. All prophets, she clarifies (including Bible prophets and Ellen White) are "lesser lights," leading us to Christ who alone is the "greater light." As the moon reflects light from the sun, so a prophet having no light in himself or herself, can only reflect light from the Sun of Righteousness. Who is Christ? - The light of life! (See Spirit of Prophecy, Volume 2, p. 83, 84.)
Before I introduce you to the second brief passage, let us pray. Oh, loving Father, we beseech Thee to open our understanding to Thy heavenly truth. Fill us with Thy Holy Spirit with an unquenchable thirst to be fed from Thy "lesser lights," and be prepared to meet the "greater light"—Jesus, our Sun of Righteousness. May we thus be ready to meet Thy soon coming without fear. This we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Now, let us identify the Inspired statement under consideration. I will quote it as it is found in Prophets and King, p. 626: "The words of the Bible, and the Bible alone, should be heard from the pulpit."
As we near the end in this final crisis, Satan seems more determined than ever before to keep the Spirit of Prophecy from being presented to God's remnant people! An examination of this sentence in its context clearly reveals that she is not here referring to the pulpits of Seventh-day Adventist churches, but to those times when Seventh-day Adventist ministers/workers stand before the professed Christians of the world. Read for yourself in Prophets and Kings p. 623-627, and it will become very apparent which pulpits are referred to.
Time will permit us to read but a few thoughts from p. 625, 626: "Between the laws of men and the precepts of Jehovah will come the last great conflict of the controversy between truth and error. Upon this battle we are now entering.… Many have come to deny doctrines which are the very pillars of the Christian faith. The great facts of creation as presented by the inspired writers, the fall of man, the atonement, the perpetuity of the law—these all are practically rejected by a large share of the professedly Christian world.…"
I continue reading: "Christians should be preparing for what is soon to break upon the world as an overwhelming surprise, and this preparation they should make by diligently studying the word of God and striving to conform their lives to its precepts.… God calls for a revival and a reformation. The words of the Bible and the Bible alone, should be heard from the pulpit. But the Bible has been robbed of its power, and the result is seen in a lowering of the tone of spiritual life. In many sermons of today there is not that divine manifestation which awakens the conscience and brings life to the soul.… Let the word of God speak to the heart. Let those who have heard only tradition and human theories and maxims, hear the voice of Him who can renew the soul into eternal life."
We might ask. "Was Ellen White speaking of Seventh-day Adventist churches when she said, 'Many have come to deny doctrines which are the very pillars of the Christian faith?'" She proceeds to name which pillars she is referring to: "The great facts of creation as presented by the inspired writers, the fall of man, the atonement, the perpetuity of the law —these all are practically rejected by a large share of the professedly Christian world."
She cannot be including the Seventh-day Adventist Church, because true Seventh-day Adventists do believe in "the great facts of creation as presented by the inspired writers, in the fall of man, the atonement, and the perpetuity of the law."
"God calls for a revival and a reformation." To accomplish this, when teaching these professed Christians, she says, "The words of the Bible and the Bible alone, should be heard from the pulpit." Please note that Ellen White does not say from our pulpits, but "from the pulpit."
How sad that some pastors of large churches have used this brief sentence to keep God's people from hearing the Spirit of Prophecy. After retiring, I was once a church elder of a very large church in Southern California. In this church of some 1,200 members the pastor instructed his board of elders that they were never to use the Spirit of Prophecy from his pulpit. He then quoted this statement we have just read.
Certainly, when speaking before an audience made up of professed Christians and unbelievers, it is not proper to use the writings of Ellen White. We have this counsel in Testimonies for the Church, Volume 5, p. 669, "I stated that some had taken an unwise course; when they had talked their faith to unbelievers, and the proof had been asked for, they had read from my writings, instead of going to the Bible for proof. It was shown me that this course was inconsistent, and would prejudice unbelievers against the truth. The Testimonies can have no weight with those who know nothing of their spirit. They should not be referred to in such cases."
So, as a pastor, when I give Bible studies to non-believers, and in my evangelistic meetings when I preach, I have always proved every statement from the Bible. This is in keeping with Selected Messages, Book 3, p. 29 which says, "In public labor do not make prominent, and quote that which Sister White has written, as authority to sustain your positions. To do this will not increase faith in the Testimonies. Bring your evidences, clear and plain, from the Word of God. A 'Thus saith the Lord' is the strongest testimony you can possibly present to the people."
We might also mention that when speaking before "professed Christians of the world" [or before any other group for that matter], ministers should never deliver sermons consisting of stories or anecdotes, or "the gospel according to Time Magazine" etc., just to entertain them. Ellen White declares, "Let those who have heard only traditions and human theories and maxims" hear "the words of the Bible and the Bible alone!" Christ's Object Lessons p. 40.
We conclude that for very good reasons it is improper to use the writings of Ellen White in public meetings, such as evangelistic campaigns or when giving someone a Bible study, or even when having a discussion with unbelievers or members of the worldly churches.
Now that we have noted when it is not proper to use the Spirit of Prophecy, let us find the answer to the question, "When is it proper?"
Turning to the pages of the Spirit of Prophecy, we will quickly observe that on many occasions the Lord instructed Ellen White to send testimonies to be read from our pulpits, not only in our churches, but in our camp meetings.
Let me list a few examples:
Speaking of the Illinois camp meeting, from Battle Creek Letters, p. 49 (also in Selected Messages, Book 1, p. 27), I quote, "When I went to Colorado I was so burdened for you that, in my weakness, I wrote (in September 1881) many pages to be read at your camp meeting. Weak and trembling, I arose at three o'clock in the morning to write to you. God was speaking through clay.…" But the document was entirely forgotten; the camp meeting passed, and it was not read until the General Conference.
In his biography of Ellen White, Arthur White comments that this testimony arrived from Ellen White during the middle of the Illinois camp meeting, and that there was no excuse for the leaders having neglected to read it as requested.
Thus we recognize that it is not only in our day that some Seventh-day Adventist leaders avoid, if possible, the reading of the testimonies of God's Spirit from the pulpits of our churches. Ellen White faced this same problem. Please note that she had felt such a great urgency that this testimony be read in that camp meeting that, though ill, she arose at 3:00 A.M. to write it. But, alas, it was not read. It is also recorded in Manuscript 8, pp. 250 and 296, that she sent two large manuscripts to be read at the Avondale, Australia, camp meeting. So this was not a singular practice of hers.
In addition to sending testimonies to the camp meetings, the Lord instructed her to send testimonies to the churches to be read to the congregations. Two such testimonies, which she sent to the Battle Creek, Michigan, church are preserved for us today in Testimonies for the Church, Volume 5, p. 45-84. Even though the Lord instructed her to send these testimonies, once again she had some problem. Her request was ignored for several weeks. I quote from Testimonies for the Church, Volume 5, p. 62, "Dear Brethren and Sisters in Battle Creek: I understand that the testimony which I sent to Bro. _______, with the request that it be read to the church, was withheld from you for several weeks after it was received by him. Before sending that testimony my mind was so impressed by the Spirit of God that I had no rest day or night until I wrote to you."
Once again she felt such a great urgency to get this testimony to the church that she had no rest day or night. But alas! Despite her feelings of urgency, her first testimony was withheld for weeks. Among other things it contained the following counsel found in Testimonies for the Church, Volume 5, p. 61. She points out here that there was a problem in the church. I quote, "Many of our younger ministers, and some of more mature experience, are neglecting the word of God, and also despising the testimonies of His Spirit. [And I add, we can surely see this today.] They do not know what the testimonies contain, and do not wish to know. They do not wish to discover and correct their defects of character."
The next testimony she sent to Battle Creek to be read to the church, contained a variety of counsels. Her main burden was to call them to repentance. She told them they were spiritually dead, needed to crucify self, repent and be converted. Speaking directly to them, she continued, "'Your sins have separated you from God.' You must lay aside every besetting sin." Then she warned: "If you continue on in your present spiritual state, nothing but evil can be prophesied against you."
These testimonies from Ellen White answer our question, "Is it proper to use the Spirit of Prophecy in our pulpits?" - If the Lord requested that the testimonies of the Spirit of Prophecy rebuking sin, etc., be read from the pulpits in our churches in her day—surely it is equally proper in our day! Why would it not be proper to read counsel from the Lord in our churches and at our camp meetings now, when it is undoubtedly even more urgently needed than it was in the 1880s?
We conclude that it is proper to use the writings of the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy together in our church, namely:
(1) in the Sabbath School
(2) in the divine service
(3) in prayer groups
I quote: "Additional truth is not brought out; but God has through the Testimonies simplified the great truths already given, and in his own chosen way brought them before the people, to awaken and impress the mind with them, that all may be left without excuse." Testimonies for the Church, Volume 5, p. 665. So let us not be fearful to stand behind the pulpit and read from the Spirit of Prophecy. Who knows better how to give counsel than does the Lord?
Now we turn from these illustrations in modern Israel to a similar illustration from ancient Israel. For the purposes of this illustration, however, we will not consider Jeremiah as an ancient prophet, but as a modern, living prophet—which indeed he was at the time of this graphic illustration which is recorded in Jeremiah 36:1-8, 18-23: "And it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that this word came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Take thee a roll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day. It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I purpose to do unto them; and they may return every man from his evil way; that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.
"Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah: and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord, which he had spoken unto him, upon a roll of a book. And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, I am shut up: I cannot go into the house of the Lord: therefore go thou, and read in the roll, which thou hast written from my mouth, the words of the Lord in the ears of the people in the Lord's house upon the fasting day: and also thou shalt read them in the ears of all Judah that come out of their cities. It may be they will present their supplication before the Lord, and will return every one from his evil way: for great is the anger and the fury that the Lord hath pronounced against this people. And Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading in the book the words of the Lord in the Lord's house."
I quote again, beginning with verse 18, "Then Baruch answered them, He pronounced all these words unto me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book. Then said the princes unto Baruch, Go, hide thee, thou and Jeremiah; and let no man know where ye be. And they went in to the king into the court, but they laid up the roll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and told all the words in the ears of the king.
"So the king sent Jehudi to fetch the roll: and he took it out of Elishama the scribe's chamber. And Jehudi read it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the princes which stood beside the king. Now the king sat in the winter house in the ninth month: and there was a fire on the hearth burning before him. And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth."
These verses have illustrated two points: That the Lord commissions a prophet to write a message, with the request that it be read in the church in the ears of the people (in this case, the church was the temple). It also reveals the attitude of this leader as he rejected the testimony God had sent to awaken himself and his people to repentance that they might receive forgiveness and salvation. In anger, the king burned Jeremiah's testimony in the fire!
There is a very startling statement concerning our church pastors, which the Lord has sent to us today—to His modern Israel. It is found in Testimonies to Ministers p. 409, 410. Let us not overlook that there are times when apostasy is so great that such startling pronouncements as this are needed. I quote, "Unsanctified ministers are arraying themselves against God. They are praising Christ and the god of this world in the same breath.… Let the sin of deceit and false witness be entertained by a church that has had great light, great evidence, and that church will discard the message the Lord has sent, and receive the most unreasonable assertions and false suppositions and false theories. Satan laughs at their folly, for he knows what truth is.
"Many will stand in our pulpits with the torch of false prophecy in their hands, kindled from the hellish torch of Satan. If doubts and unbelief are cherished, [then note what will happen:] the faithful ministers will be removed from the people who think they know so much."
In Testimonies for the Church, Volume 5, p. 77, we will read a passage that continues this same subject, "Who knows whether God will not give you up to the deceptions you love? Who knows but that the preachers who are faithful, firm, and true may be the last who shall offer the gospel of peace to our unthankful churches? It may be that the destroyers are already training under the hand of Satan and only wait the departure of a few more standard-bearers to take their places, and with the voice of the false prophet cry, Peace, peace, when the Lord hath not spoken peace. I seldom weep, but now I find my eyes blinded with tears; they are falling upon my paper as I write. It may be that ere long all prophesying among us will be at an end, and the voice which has stirred the people may no longer disturb their carnal slumbers." What a picture! Are not these predictions being fulfilled today?
If Ellen White were shown in vision some of the new Seventh-day Adventist churches that are being "planted" by the North American Division now how could she keep from weeping? How could she keep the tears from blinding her eyes? Many of these new churches are typical Celebration churches. Church leaders may deny this fact, but nonetheless they have all the right earmarks of such apostasy. The noise they make with their "music" and shouting and dancing would surely make Jesus Himself weep!
There is no doubt about it; through the servant of the Lord, God had predicted that this very type of satanic influence would be brought into our midst "just before the close of probation." Consider the following sad prediction from Selected Messages, Book 2, p. 36, "Every uncouth thing will be demonstrated. There will be shouting, with drums, music, and dancing. The senses of rational beings will become so confused that they cannot be trusted to make right decisions. And this is called the moving of the Holy Spirit! [Did you get that?]
"The Holy Spirit never reveals itself in such methods, in such a bedlam of noise. This is an invention of Satan to cover up his ingenious methods for making of none effect the pure, sincere, elevating, ennobling, sanctifying truth for this time. Better never have the worship of God blended with music than to use musical instruments to do the work which last January was represented to me would be brought into our camp meetings. The truth for this time needs nothing of this kind in its work of converting souls. A bedlam of noise shocks the senses and perverts that which if conducted aright might be a blessing. The powers of satanic agencies blend with the din and noise, to have a carnival, and this is termed the Holy Spirit's working."
Speaking of our present Celebration churches, not only is their "bedlam of noise" that they call "music" an abomination, but also their senseless dramatic skits and other drama that are a part of their so-called "worship" services. All such drama is plainly condemned in the word of the Lord! God has counseled: "Let nothing of a theatrical nature be introduced." Review & Herald, February 14, 1907.
If we had read these startling warnings personally, and also to the people from the pulpits of our churches and at our camp meetings, we may have been spared from engaging in this terrible apostasy! By our neglect do we not, as did the king of Israel, virtually burn the writings sent from God in the fire?
While we have had Celebration churches in our midst for several decades by "planting" such churches, it seems that the leaders are now making a more determined effort than ever to promote this type of worship. In an official church paper, the North Pacific Union Gleaner, August 1999, we find the following advertisement for the Oasis Christian C enter in Vancouver, Washington. I quote: "A refreshing place for people who have given up on the church, but not on God. Great Kid's Programs; Dramatic Skits; No-Jive Band, etc. Not your typical church. Check it out." The Oasis Christian Center that is being advertised is one of the "planted" Seventh-day Adventist Celebration churches.
From Selected Messages, we just read that such exercises as these are an invention of Satan, and that "the powers of satanic agencies blend with the din and noise to have a carnival." It's hard to realize that we are condoning and conducting "Adventist carnivals" in church! Could this be the work of the "destroyers" who have been trained "under the hand of Satan?" In this connection let us turn to Testimonies to Ministers, p. 109, 110, and read again that frightening prophecy, "Many will stand in our pulpits with the torch of false prophecy in their hands, kindled from the hellish torch of Satan!"
Let me read just one more passage from the testimony that was sent to be read to the Battle Creek Church which surely applies to us today—to the leaders of God's remnant church. It says, "There are men among us in responsible positions who hold that the opinions of a few conceited philosophers, so called, are more to be trusted than the truth of the Bible, or the testimonies of the Holy Spirit." Testimonies for the Church, Volume 5, p. 79.
Now I'm going to ask you a very thought-provoking question, and to some it may be disturbing. "Which would you choose to hear from your church pulpit—the voices of the 'Many [who] will stand in our pulpits,' teaching doctrines of devils and conducting services whose spirit is 'kindled from the hellish torch of Satan?' Or would you prefer to hear the voices of faithful ministers standing behind the pulpit teaching biblical truths and, when appropriate, quoting from the Testimonies that are inspired by the Holy Spirit of God?" Think it over.
The Lord pronounces a woe upon all false shepherds! "Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord. Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord." Jeremiah 23:1, 2.
Then again in Jeremiah 34:18, 19, "Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? And to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet? And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet."
Thus God will bring woe unto the false pastors! At such a time as this, what is the duty of God's faithful ministers? Isaiah shouts, "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins." Isaiah 58:1.
In Testimonies for the Church, Volume 1, p. 321, the servant of the Lord admonishes, "In this fearful time, just before Christ is to come the second time, God's faithful preachers will have to bear a still more pointed testimony than was borne by John the Baptist. A responsible, important work is before them; and those who speak smooth things, God will not acknowledge as his shepherds. A fearful woe is upon them."
Thus, to the congregations and the laymen of modern Israel, I quote this from Testimonies to Ministers, p. 10, "Let no soul complain of the servants of God who have come to them with a heaven-sent message. Do not any longer pick flaws in them, saying, 'They are too positive; they talk too strongly.' They may talk strongly; but is it not needed? God will make the ears of the hearers tingle if they will not heed His voice or His message. He will denounce those who resist the word of God."
As we face the final crisis, we read in Selected Messages, Book 3, p. 83, 84, "Men may get up scheme after scheme, and the enemy will seek to seduce souls from the truth, but all who believe that the Lord has spoken through Sister White and has given her a message, will be safe from the many delusions that will come in these last days."
How sad that Ellen White had to write the following letter, written to those who would diminish her work which was authored by the Holy Spirit! "I have tried to do my duty to you and to the Lord Jesus, whom I serve and whose cause I love. The testimonies I have borne you have in truth been presented to me by the Lord. I am sorry that you have rejected the light given.…Are you betraying your Lord, because, in His great mercy, He has shown you just where you are standing spiritually? He knows every purpose of the heart. Nothing is hid from Him. It is not me that you are betraying. It is not me that you are so embittered against. It is the Lord, who has given me a message to bear to you." Manuscript Releases, Volume 5, p. 139.
In the same year, 1903, she wrote those who would give up their faith in the Testimonies, "One thing is certain: Those Seventh-day Adventists who take their stand under Satan's banner will first give up their faith in the warnings and reproofs contained in the Testimonies of God's Spirit. Selected Messages, Book 3, p. 84. Rather than neglecting the Bible and the Testimonies, let us eagerly ask: "Is there any word from the Lord?" Jeremiah 37:17.
The following words from the Lord are found in Ezekiel 33:11 and Jeremiah 22:29, "Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel? O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord."
Let us pray: Our loving Father, forgive Thy people who have invited the power of Satan to enter our church through Celebration, with so-called Christian rock music and drama, with the use of drums and even dancing. Open the eyes of our leaders who are determined to force their devilish inventions upon Thy dear people!
Please help the faithful as they strive for a spirit of holy reverence, so all may feel Thy divine presence as we worship. Give us, O God, a ministry that will preach end-time messages from Thy word, the Bible, and the Spirit of Prophecy. Awaken our pastors to give us sermons that will help us to prepare and be ready for the coming crisis! This we ask in the name of Jesus, Amen.
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FACING THE CRISISWITH THE LESSER AND GREATER LIGHT - Part 1
by Elder Lawrence Nelson

Every day brings us closer to the final crisis. Inspiration describes it as, "a time of trouble such as never was that is soon to burst upon us in an overwhelming surprise." God knew the intensity of this end-time conflict. He knew that you and I would never be able to stand before Satan's mighty power of force without special assistance from the Holy Spirit. Satan will very shortly cause "all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads. And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." Revelation 13:16.
How thankful we should be that God has given the Spirit of Prophecy to His church which together with the Bible, will enable His people, through the power of Christ, to prepare for and to pass through this end-time crisis and to do so with divine assurance of victory. For only through His words can we be assured that Christ will stand by each one who faithfully fulfills the divine conditions that are clearly revealed to us through these inspired writings.
Now, before we continue to explore heaven's guidelines let us first seek the aid of divinity. Loving Father, it is time for us to awaken from Satan's fearful stupor, which is enveloping Thy people. Please, please, dear Father, open our spiritual sense so we may comprehend the divine instruction that you have sent to us that we may face this coming crisis fearlessly as soldiers of the cross. And we ask this in the holy name of Jesus, Amen.
We will begin this study by reading from God's book, the Bible. I'm reading 2 Peter 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."
Ellen White writes concerning the Holy Spirit, "The Spirit was not given - nor can it ever be bestowed - to supercede the Bible; for the Scriptures exclusively state that the word of God is the standard by which all teaching and experience must be tested….Isaiah declares, 'To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.' Isaiah 8:20." Great Controversy, "Introduction" p. 7.
The writings of the Spirit of Prophecy have passed every test of the holy scriptures. They have been proven true to the Word of God. Indeed, Ellen White magnifies the light given by the ancient prophets making their words clearer and more understandable to their special application to our time. The Lord has stated through His last-day messenger, "The Holy Ghost is the author of the Scriptures and of the Spirit of Prophecy." Selected Messages, Book 3, p. 30. In Letter 106, 1907 we read, "The Bible must be your counselor. Study it, and the Testimonies God has given; for they never contradict His word."
Now, since the Holy Spirit is the Author of both the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy, I'm sure that you will agree with me that the primary purpose of both is to lead men and women to our Savior, who is the light and the salvation of the world.
There are two brief quotations found in the Spirit of Prophecy that we frequently hear quoted among us, but they are often taken out of context. These statements are then misinterpreted and misrepresented not only by individuals but even by some of the leaders of our church. In this present tape we will search for the true meaning of the first one of these two passages. A study of the second quotation will follow in our next tape, part 2.
The passage we will consider today is taken from Review and Herald, January 20, 1903 and it reads as follows: "Little heed is given to the Bible, and the Lord has given lesser light to lead men and women to the greater light."
Immediately the question must be asked, "Who is the lesser light and who is the greater light?" It is here that Satan has begun to destroy confidence in the writings of the Lord's servant. Now, the best way to learn the meaning of a perplexing expression is to ask the author what he or she meant. Surely Ellen White will explain just what the Holy Spirit, who inspired her thought, had meant for her to convey.
It will be well for us to read this often-quoted passage in its context and this we will do. But first, there are a number of other passages in which Ellen White uses the expressions "the lesser light" and "the greater light." In solving this statement these should be very helpful. We will begin with one that is found in Spirit of Prophecy, Volume 2, p. 83, 84. As I read, listen carefully for her explanation as she describes the work of John the Baptist. "The prophet John was the connecting link between two dispensations. He was the lesser light which was to be followed by a greater. He was to shake the confidence of the people in their traditions, call their sins to their remembrance, and lead them to repentance; that they might be prepared to appreciate the work of Christ. God communicated to John by inspiration, illuminating the understanding of the prophet, that he might remove the superstition and darkness from the minds of the honest Jews, which had, through false teachings, been gathering upon them for generations. But the least disciple who followed Christ, witnessing His miracles, and receiving His divine lessons of instruction and the comforting words that fell from his lips, was more privileged than John the Baptist. No light has even shone or ever will shine so clearly upon the mind of fallen man, as that which emanated from the teachings and example of Jesus. Christ and his mission had been but dimly understood and typified in the shadowy sacrifice….Although not one of the prophets had a higher mission or greater work to perform than had John, yet he was not to see even the result of his own labors. He was not privileged to be with Christ and witness the divine power attending the greater light."
Now did you notice those last words, "the divine power attending" Who? - There is no question, her answer is Christ, "the greater light"? This sentence definitely reveals the "great light" was Christ. And who did she name as the "lesser light"? - The prophet John. In this passage she has defined both of these two terms in unmistakable language. As we read other passages from her writings we will find that she will be consistent.
Now let us look at a second passage, which is found in the Review and Herald, April 8, 1873. Herein Ellen White writes that John was one of the greatest prophets that God had sent as a messenger to the church. Christ had said of him that he was "more than a prophet." That "there has not been a greater prophet" than John the Baptist.
In the context of these words, Ellen White continues, "John was the lesser light, which was to be followed by a greater light." And Who was that greater light who followed John? - We all will answer, Jesus.
Passing on to the third statement we'll turn to Desire of Ages p. 220. "The prophet John was the connecting link between two dispensations. As God's representative he stood forth to show the relation of the law and the prophets to the Christian dispensation. He was the lesser light, which was to be followed by a greater. The mind of John was illuminated by the Holy Spirit, that he might shed light upon his people; (and now notice these words that follow) but no other light has ever shone or ever will shine so clearly upon fallen man as that which emanated from the teaching and example of Jesus."
Now from this we can but come to one conclusion. John, the lesser light, was to show the relation of the law and the prophets of the Old Testament to Christ, the greater light, who followed him. And the Bible confirms Ellen White's definition to be correct. Read in John 1:6-9, "There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world."
Continuing on in John 5:35,36 Jesus said, "He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. But I have greater witness (meaning light) than that of John." Then in John 9:5 Jesus declared plainly, "I am the light of the world." If no other light ever had shone or ever will shine so clearly as Christ, surely all the Old as well as the New Testament prophets of the Bible were lesser lights. And friend, there is no question about this.
In the fourth passage, Ellen White speaks of the Old Testament era as a lesser light and the New Testament era as a greater light. We quote from This Day With God p. 246, "With the first advent of Christ there was ushered in an era of great light and glory; but it would indeed be sinful ingratitude to despise and ridicule the lesser light because a fuller and more glorious light had dawned. Those who despise the blessings and glory of the Jewish age are not prepared to be benefited by the preaching of the gospel."
So we can clearly see Ellen White does not depart from her established definition. Christ's first Advent ushered in a time of greater light and glory. God, through the Old Testament prophets, had established the lesser light, the glory of the Jewish age. The purpose of this age was to establish the sanctuary service which pointed toward the greater light to be ushered in with the first Advent of Christ.
Now friend, I believe that we are ready to discuss the passage in the Review and Herald, January 20, 1903. From this passage it has been declared from our pulpits and books that Ellen White refers to the Bible as the greater light and to herself and her writings as the lesser light. I refer particularly to the man-made caption in a recently published Ellen White book, Selected Messages, Book 3, p. 30 (copyright 1980). It clearly promotes this mistaken position. The caption reads, "Relationship of E.G. White's writings to the Bible. The lesser light." Immediately after this caption, the passage from the Review and Herald is printed. "Little heed is given to the Bible, and the Lord has given a lesser light to lead men and women to the greater light." Review and Herald, January 20, 1903.
Now, friend, let me ask you a question. Have you ever read this passage in its context? As we read it, please note the reason for this Review and Herald article. From its beginning to its ending she is promoting the sale of what? - Her books. To whom? -The people of the world. Why? - To lead them to the Savior, the Greater light.
Listen carefully as we read this sentence in its context. "I thank my Heavenly Father for the interest that my brethren and sisters have taken in the circulation of Christ's Object Lessons. By the sale of this book great good has been accomplished, and the work should be continued. But the efforts of our people should not be confined to this one book. …The larger books, Patriarchs and Prophets, Great Controversy, and Desire of Ages, should be sold everywhere. These books contain truth for this time, -- truth that is to be proclaimed in all parts of the world. Nothing is to hinder their sale….Many more of our larger books might have been sold if church members had been awake to the importance of the truths these books contain, and had realized their responsibility to circulate them. My brethren and sisters, will you not now make an effort to circulate these books?" She continues, and I quote, "Sister White is not the originator of these books. They contain the instruction that during her life-work God had been giving her. They contain the precious, comforting light that God has graciously given his servant to be given to the world. From their pages this light is to shine into the hearts of men and women, (notice) leading them to the Saviour. The Lord had declared that these books are to be scattered throughout the world. There is in them truth which to the receiver is a savor of life unto life. They are silent witness for God. In the past they have been the means in his hands of convicting and converting many souls. Many have read them with eager expectation, and, by reading them, have been led to see the efficacy of Christ's atonement, and to trust in its power….The Lord has sent his people much instruction, line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little. Little heed is given to the Bible, and the Lord has given a lesser light to lead men and women to the greater light."
Surely, nothing could be stated more clearly. Some of Ellen White's books were designed to be distributed widely to the public. Why? - For the reason that "from their pages light is to shine into the hearts of men and women leading them to the Saviour." She surely expressed the same thought when, a few sentences later, she said, "The Lord has given a lesser light to lead men and women to the greater light."
Because people had neglected the Bible which God had given to the world for this very purpose. Ellen White pointed to her own writings, though they were precious and inspired, as the lesser light to lead the people of the world to Jesus Christ, the Greater Light. If this passage meant what is commonly believed, that the greater light referred here to is the Bible it should not be consistent with all of her other passages in which she defines the greater light to be Christ.
Therefore, we must conclude from this article that Ellen White is not demeaning her writings as inferior to the Bible, for since the Holy Spirit is the author of her writings, as stated in Selected Messages, Book 3, p. 30, and since God, not Ellen White, is the originator of her writings, as found in the Review and Herald, January 30, 1903, then who is it that is teaching that the writings of Ellen White are "second class"?
I'll tell you. It's none other than the "liberals" among us who are being used by Satan to make of none effect the Spirit of Prophecy. Ellen White was taught by the same Holy Spirit of God as were the ancient prophets, and if John the Baptist, the greatest of the prophets, was a lesser light, surely the Bible prophets were all "lesser lights."
Christ alone is the Greater Light. In the creation story there is an interesting illustration which may help us understand the difference between the lesser and the greater light. It is found in Genesis 1: 16 "And God made two great lights; the great light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night." I like the way John Januik calls attention to this illustration in his Great Controversy Endgame (Book 3). He points out that in the context of this verse two questions are answered: 1. What is the greater light? The answer – the sun that rules the day. The sun is the greater light for it has original light or light emanating from itself. And 2. What is the lesser light that rules the night? The moon. Does the moon have light in itself? No. All the moon can do is to reflect the light of the sun. Does this not teach an important Bible principle? A greater light has light in itself while a lesser light can only reflect light. A thousand moons together could never become the greater light because the greater light is the original light – the sun.
Januik concludes that the writers of the Bible and Ellen White did not have light in themselves. As the moon, they could only reflect the original light of Jesus Christ, the Sun of Righteousness; and spiritually speaking Christ is the Sun of Righteousness. The Bible promise in Malachi 4:2 states as the "Sun of righteousness [He will] arise up with healing in his wings." Why? - For Jesus is the light of life.
From the Desire of Ages p. 463 I quote these beautiful thoughts, "Then spake Jesus again unto them saying, 'I am the light of the world; he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.' When He spoke these words, Jesus was in the court of the temple specially connected with the services of the Feast of Tabernacles. In the center of this court rose two lofty standards, supporting lampstands of great size. After the evening sacrifice, all the lamps were kindled, shedding their light over Jerusalem. This ceremony was in commemoration of the pillar of light that guided Israel in the desert, and was also regarded as pointing to the coming of the Messiah. At evening when the lamps were lighted, the court was a scene of great rejoicing….In the illumination of Jerusalem, the people expressed their hope of the Messiah's coming to shed His light upon Israel."
But to Jesus, the scene had a wider meaning. As the radiant lamps of the temple lighted up all about them, so Christ, the source of spiritual light, illuminates the darkness of the world. "Yet the symbol was imperfect. That great light (and here she speaks of the sun, which He Himself had infused with original light) which His own hand had set in the heavens was a truer representation of the glory of His mission."
This same thought is expressed in Counsel to Teachers p. 54. "The sun rising in the heavens is a representative of Him who is the life and light of all that He has made." But let us never forget that man has a part to act in the salvation of the world. For Jesus said, "Ye are the light of the world." But humanity has no light in itself. Men are likened not to the sun but to the moon. Man can only reflect the light of Jesus.
Listen as I read this from Mount of Blessings p. 40. "Humanity has in itself no light. Apart from Christ we are like an unkindled taper, like the moon when her face is turned away from the sun; we have not a single ray of brightness to shed into the darkness of the world. But when we turn toward the Sun of Righteousness, when we come in touch with Christ, the whole soul is aglow with the brightness of the divine presence. Christ's followers are to be more than a light in the midst of men. They are the light of the world."
So as in the moon, all human beings are lesser lights whether they be prophet, priest or king. However when men turn their faces toward Christ and connect themselves to Him they can reflect His light to the world.
I quote this from the book This Day With God p. 92, "It is the privilege of the Christian to connect with the Source of light, and through this living connection become the light of the world….As the light of the sun is light and life and blessing to all that live, so should Christians, by their good works, by their cheerfulness and courage, be the light of the world. As the light of the sun chases away the shades of night and pours its glories on valleys and hills, so will the Christian reflect the Sun of Righteousness which shines on him." Isn't that beautiful?
O what a privilege to reflect the light that shines from the Sun of Righteousness. In the book That I May Know Him p. 341 we are advised, "O be sure you receive your illumination from the Source of all light. He is the great central Light of the universe of heaven and the great Light of the world." May this beautiful counsel be fulfilled in each and every one of us.
Again I quote, "The princely dignity of the Christian character will shine forth as the sun, and the beams of light from the face of Christ will be reflected upon those who have purified themselves even as He is pure." Sons and Daughters of God p. 10. So friend, let us always remember that the Sun of Righteousness has risen. Christ our Righteousness is shining in brightness upon us.
Beloved, Christ does this for us because He loves us. We read further in Bible Commentaries, Volume 6, p. 1118, "Christ, 'loved the church, and gave himself for it.' It is the purchase of His blood. The divine Son of God is seen walking amid the seven golden candlesticks. Jesus Himself supplies the oil to these burning lamps. He it is that kindles the flame. 'In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. No candlestick, no church, shines of itself. From Christ emanates all its light."
In Selected Messages, Book 2, p. 249 we are promised, "The trials may be severe, but look to Jesus every moment -- not to struggle, but to rest in His love. He careth for you." I like that. We hope that as trials press closer and closer the hope grows stronger. The beams of the Sun of Righteousness shall shine into your heart with their healing power. Look beyond the clouds to the brightness, even the light of the Sun of Righteousness.
Now with these glorious truths before us we can better comprehend the damage that is being done to our church when through misunderstanding or various means, the writings of Ellen White are downgraded as a lesser light to the Bible.
Satan understands the tremendous blessings and encouragement that the Testimonies are to God's church when they are treasured and studied by its members. I fear that this misunderstanding is one way, among others, that Satan is seeking to undermine the ministry of God's messenger to the remnant church so that eventually her writings will become of non-effect in the lives of many. If Satan can downgrade the Spirit of Prophecy by this and other implications so that the Testimonies are neglected, left on the shelves to collect dust, he knows that God's people may not detect his final deceptions. These are deceptions that the Spirit of Prophecy not only points out clearly but also tells us how to avoid them. Never, never forget, that if it were possible, Satan would have all of us to perish.
Listen carefully to this quotation from Selected Messages, Volume 1, p. 48, "The very last deception of Satan will be to make of none effect the testimony of the Spirit of God. 'Where there is no vision, the people perish.' (Proverbs 29:18). Satan will work ingeniously, in different ways and through different agencies, to unsettle the confidence of God's remnant people in the true testimony." O friend, let us not despise the last-day "lesser light" or regard Ellen White's writings as "inferior words" from God.
I must be honest with you, for during my sixty years of ministry for the Lord I have constantly used the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy in my preaching to Seventh-day Adventists all over the world and in all of my tape ministry. I have always believed that both the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy originated from the same Source of authority, the Holy Spirit.
Now may I bring one more beautiful thought. In the beginning, when Christ created this world, He set His healing light upon this void and shapeless earth. God said, "Let there be light, and there was light. And the evening and the morning were the first day." Genesis 1:3,5. On that first day there was no light from the sun or the moon, they were not created until the fourth day. But there was light. And Who was that light? It was Jesus, the Creator, who was that light. And in the earth made new, there will come a time when in the New Jerusalem there will be no need of the light from the sun or the moon for we read in Revelation 21:23, "And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God did lighten it. And the Lamb is the light thereof."
Jesus was, now is, and every will be, the Sun of Righteousness – our "greater light" forever. O what a Savior! Praise His name! I appeal to you in the name of our Lord and Master, let us face this coming crisis with absolute assurance of victory in Jesus because we have accepted the Spirit of Prophecy and the Bible as the lesser light which leads us to the greater light – the Sun of Righteousness, Jesus Christ, who to alone is able to save us.
Let us pray, Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for this positive information that encourages us to believe without question in the writings of Ellen White and the Bible as both authored by the Holy Spirit. Please give us the courage to read, study and obey all of the teachings in these two inspired sources that Thou hast given, that we may fully understand what is soon to come upon the world. And we thank Thee for the promise of Thy dear Son, "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame and am set down with My Father in His throne." And we ask this in the name of Jesus, Amen.
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