THE RESTORATION AND THE TIME
TEXT FOR PRAYER
Do Your Work; Leave The Results To God
I shall read from Christ’s Object Lessons, page 64, beginning with the last paragraph:
“The work of the sower is a work of faith. The mystery of the germination and growth of the seed he can not understand. But he has confidence in the agencies by which God causes vegetation to flourish. In casting his seed into the ground, he is apparently throwing away the precious grain that might furnish bread for his family. But he is only giving up a present good for a larger return. He casts the seed away, expecting to gather it many-fold in an abundant harvest. So Christ’s servants are to labor, expecting a harvest from the seed they sow…. In our life-work we know not which shall prosper, this or that. This is not a question for us to settle. We are to do our work, and leave the results with God.”
Let us pray for faith, and then go cheerfully into the vineyard and sow the seed the Lord has so graciously provided, remembering His promise that His Work shall not return unto Him void, but that it shall prosper in the thing whereto He sends it. We must remember, too, that faith is the first rung of the ladder to salvation, and that without faith we cannot please God.
THE RESTORATION AND THE TIME
TEXT OF ADDRESS BY V.T. HOUTEFF,
MINISTER OF D. SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS
SABBATH, MARCH 13, 1948
MT. CARMEL CHAPEL
WACO, TEXAS
Our text is found in the third chapter of Acts:
Acts 3:19-21 – “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. And He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.”
Here we are told that the heavens must receive the Lord, not forever, but until the times “of restitution of all things.” He is, therefore, at the time of restitution to return to earth.
Shall this returning be unexpected? or shall the Lord first send someone to prepare His way? And if someone is to precede His coming, who will it be? – “And he answered and told them, Elias verily cometh first, and restoreth all things.” Mark 9:12. The Lord, moreover, through the prophet Malachi declares:
Mal. 3:1; 4:5 – “Behold, I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me: and the Lord, Whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His Γ4 temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts…. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.”
Here the Scriptures point out that someone in the spirit and power of Elijah the prophet is first to appear, and will not only prepare the way, but will also restore all things. Plainly, the message of Elijah shall restore all things in the great and dreadful day of the Lord, the day of restitution, the day the Lord comes to His temple, the Church. The spirit of Elijah was a spirit against idolatry, and his power was a power to destroy those who led in idolatry, and to bring about purity.
Verses 2, 3 – “But who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ sope: and He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.”
At this coming He is not to take His saints to the mansions above, but He is to purify the sons of Levi – the ministry; He is to destroy the leaders of idolatry. Since the purity of His servants is first to be restored, the restoration, therefore, commences in the Church. Thus is the Edenic state of peace and security to be restored, for we are told that–
Isa. 11:6-9 – “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the Γ5 fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.”
So it was in Eden, and so it must be again if all things are to be restored, and if these prophecies are to be fulfilled.
Verse 10 – “And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and His rest shall be glorious.”
“In that day” – that is, in the day this Edenic peace and security are restored – then, not after, is the Kingdom of Judah and Israel to be restored (Ezek. 37:16-28) and made to stand for an ensign. To it shall the Gentiles seek. This restoration of Judah and Israel, therefore, takes place in probationary time, for the Gentiles shall seek the “ensign.” Plainly, then, the Gentiles shall still be standing when Edenic peace and security are restored to God’s people during the great and dreadful day.
“Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest…. But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above Γ6 the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” Mic. 3:12; 4:1, 2.
Clear it is that after the dispersion of the Jews, and after the destruction of Old Jerusalem, in the Christian era, the last days, then it is that the restoration of all things takes place; and the fact that many people shall then join the Lord, the restoration therefore takes place in probationary time, in the great and dreadful day. The “ensign,” too, shall then stand and to it shall the Gentiles seek. The day is to be great for the righteous, and dreadful for the sinners.
Zech 14:4, 5 – “And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.”
“In that day.” In what day? – In the day all nations gather against Jerusalem that now is, and bring its fall from Gentile rule. In that day the Lord’s feet shall stand upon the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives shall cleave in Γ7 the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, there shall be a very great valley; “and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.” Zech. 14:4. The Lord’s post-millennial coming, too, shall be similar to this. See Early Writings, pp. 51, 52.
The servants of God shall then flee to the valley of the mountains, where the Lord’s feet shall stand, and all the saints with them; that is, the Lord’s “feet” will open the way for the restoration of the Kingdom, and for the gathering of the people into it.
Isa. 11:11-14 – “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And He shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.”
Here we see that there is to be peace in “the valley of the mountains” – peace between beast and beast, and also between man and man, for the lion shall not hurt the lamb, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim, and Ephraim shall not envy Γ8 Judah. Judah and Ephraim are nevertheless to be in conflict with the countries surrounding the land, for they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines, and lay hand upon Edom and Moab. The Ammonites, though, shall obey them.
Verse 15 – “And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with His mighty wind shall He shake His hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod.”
Yes, the Lord will open the way for the gathering of His people. The Exodus of today, therefore, shall be as the Exodus of yesterday, only on a greater scale. God’s people in these last days shall be gathered from every land, not from the land of Egypt.
Verse 16 – “And there shall be an highway for the remnant of His people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.”
Thus shall the kingdom of Judah and Israel be restored, and be given peace and plenty.
Micah 4:4 – “But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it.”
And now this is God’s light, and this is His plea:
Isa. 2:5 – “O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.”
The message of Elijah that restores all Γ9 things is indeed an addition to the Third Angel’s Message, and it shall certainly swell into a loud cry. It shall gather God’s people from the four corners of the earth, and bring them out of Babylon as the earth is lightened with the glory of the angel (Rev. 18:1-4). (See Early Writings, pg. 277.)
As Noah’s ark preserved every living thing that was to inhabit the earth after the flood, in like manner the restored Kingdom of Judah and Israel is to gather and preserve from the plagues every living thing that is to inhabit the new earth; the Kingdom restored is to be the ark in our day, and her people shall live and reign a thousand years with Christ (Rev. 20:4), and finally return when the earth is made new.
Isa. 65:17, 18, 25 – “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy…. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, saith the Lord.”
Obviously those who seek to enter into this ark of safety shall live and reign with Christ during the thousand years, and those who spurn it shall lie breathless in the “bottomless pit” until the post-millennial resurrection, only to rise in shame and everlasting contempt, subject to suffer the second death.
How important, then, that we be not napping, but that we arise and put on the wedding garment Γ10 now lest we find ourselves weeping and gnashing our teeth, even worse than did the ante-diluvians outside the ark when the rains came and the lightning and thunder blasted through the sky as the fountains of the deep broke up.
We have now seen that the restoration “of all things” begins with the gathering of the people unto Judah, and that the Kingdom is complete when the earth is made new. Let us therefore do what we can to help build the ark now and to enter into it with as many souls as possible, for Inspiration’s own revelation of this Truth shows that we are approaching the day of restitution of all things, that this is the message of the hour.
Solemn Thought
O solemn thought! and can it be
The hour of Judgment now is come,
Which soon must fix our destiny,
And seal the sinner’s fearful doom?
Yes, it is so; the Judgment hour
Is swiftly hastening to its close;
Then will the Judge, in mighty power,
Descend in vengeance on His foes.
He who came down to earth to die,
An offering for the sins of men,
And then ascended up on high,
And will ere long return again,
Is standing now before the ark,
And mercy-seat, and cherubim,
To plead His blood for saints, and make
The last remembrance of their sin.
The solemn moment is at hand
When we who have his name confessed,
Each in his lot must singly stand,
And pass the final, searching test.
Jesus! we hope in Thee alone;
In mercy now upon us look,
Confess our names before the throne,
And blot our sins from out Thy book.
O Blessed Saviour! may we feel
The full importance of this hour.
Inspire our hearts with holy zeal,
And aid us by Thy Spirit’s power,
That we may, in Thy strength, be strong,
And brave the conflict valiantly;
Then, on Mount Zion, join the song,
And swell the notes of victory.
–R. F. Cottrell.
IF A MAN DIES HOW SHALL HE LIVE AGAIN? AND WHAT SHALL HE BE LIKE?
TEXT OF ADDRESS BY V.T. HOUTEFF,
MINISTER OF D. SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS
SABBATH, MARCH 20, 1948
MT. CARMEL CHAPEL
WACO, TEXAS
“For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. For this we say unto you by the Word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thess. 4:14-18.
Here we see that those who come up in the first resurrection shall not only live again, but shall die no more.
Now to find our answer to the question, What shall man be like if he lives again? We shall first turn to the book of Genesis:
Gen. 2:7 – “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
In this scripture we are told that God formed man out of the dust of the ground. Then the breath of life was breathed into his nostrils, and thus he became a living soul, that the breath and the body together are what make the soul. The process of development is the same as is the process of ice making – low temperature and water make ice just as the body and the breath make the soul. Hence when the breath leaves the body, man no longer is a living soul – no, no more than the ice is ice after it goes back to water. Man obviously has no existing soul after the breath leaves his body, for the body and the breath together make the soul.
“I know” says the wise man, “that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.” Eccl. 3:14.
Eccl. 9:5, 6 – “For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.”
Eccl. 3:18-21 – “I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts. For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knoweth Γ14 the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?”
Inspiration you see, first tells us how man was created and what he is like, then It asks point-blank: “Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?” – The only answer that can be given is that no one knows but God. And since He has told us that the body and soul together, not apart, make the soul, then it is plain that a dead man has no soul, that the body returns to dust, and the breath returns to breath, to wind. Moreover, whatever befalls the beast the same befalls the man. They both have one breath, declares Inspiration, and the one has no preeminence above the other.
This is what God says about the soul, and we should believe Him rather than fool ourselves with uninspired theories of men who presumptuously say that the soul never dies, although God says, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Ezek. 18:4. Hence, when man dies, his soul vanishes as does ice when the temperature rises above freezing.
Next to find what man will look like when he is made to live again a sinless life, we should see what man looked like before he sinned:
Gen. 3:6-8 – “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they Γ15 sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.”
Immediately after Adam and Eve had eaten of the forbidden fruit, a surprising change took place. They at once perceived that the light of life and beauty with which they had been clothed vanished away, and they saw themselves naked, ugly, and shameful to the eye. Consequently they tried to cover themselves with leaves and to hide away among the trees. The leaf-covering, though, was not adequate, and therefore the Lord made them “coats of skins.”
What shall man be like if he lives again? – Certainly not less than he was in the beginning for all that was lost is to be restored. Neither is he to be improved upon, for everything the Lord made, He Himself pronounced “very good.” Gen. 1:31. And so if a man lives again, he shall be exactly what Adam was before he sinned.
Now for the answer to the question, “How shall he live again?” we shall turn to Ezekiel–
Ezekiel 37:1-10 – “The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, and caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. And He said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, Thou knowest. Again He said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, Γ16 and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the Word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: and I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. Then said He unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.”
Here we learn that the process of resurrection is the same as the process of creation: first the frame of the man, then the organism, the flesh, the skin, and last the breath, and again he becomes a living soul. Man’s soul or spirit, you see, is not called down from heaven, or up from hell. In fact, not a soul at all, but wind from the four corners of the earth fills his lungs at the command of God, and thus he again becomes a living soul. Then, too, the material of which man was composed originally, of the same shall he be made again, for bone to bone come together. When he is thus re-created or resurrected, though, he must retain the knowledge and memory which he Γ17 had at his death, otherwise the man that is raised would not be the man that died, and if such be not his case, then the experience gained in this life would be lost.
The next point of interest would be to note why there are two resurrections, a thousand years apart (Rev. 20:5, 6). Let us turn to Romans:
Rom. 8:10, 11 – “And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you.”
Those who die with the Spirit of Christ in them, are the ones who come up in the resurrection of the just. But those in whom the Spirit of Christ does not dwell are to come up in the resurrection of the unjust, a thousand years after the resurrection of the just.
Rev. 20:6 – “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.”
If these verses mean what they say concerning the righteous, then concerning the wicked they actually say:
“Cursed and unholy is he that hath no part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath power; they shall not be priests of God and of Christ, and shall not reign with Him during Γ18 the thousand years.”
If we accept God’s Word as Inspiration gives It to us, and if we are doers of His Word, we shall live again, and be the perfect image of God as were Adam and Eve. We shall indeed return to the Garden of Eden. The garden, too, shall again flourish as before, and the tree of life shall bear its fruit every month. And so, you see, man shall thus live again, and thus live forever.
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And He said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be My son.” Rev. 21:4-7.
“But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” 1 Cor. 13:10-13.
Γ2
THE CLEANSING OF THE SANCTUARY– WHEN AND HOW DONE?
TEXT FOR PRAYER
Grow In Grace Or Else Die
This afternoon I shall read from Christ’s Object Lessons, page 65, beginning with the last paragraph.
“The germination of the seed represents the beginning of spiritual life, and the development of the plant is a beautiful figure of Christian growth. As in nature, so in grace; there can be no life without growth. The plant must either grow or die. As its growth is silent and imperceptible, but continuous, so is the development of the Christian life. At every stage of development our life may be perfect; yet if God’s purpose for us is fulfilled, there will be continual advancement. Sanctification is the work of a lifetime. As our opportunities multiply, our experience will enlarge, and our knowledge increase. We shall become strong to bear responsibility, and our maturity will be in proportion to our privileges.”
What is our need of prayer this afternoon? – Let us pray to grow in grace for there can be no life without growth; to advance with the truth; to take advantage of all our opportunities; to cooperate with Divine agencies; to be willing to bear responsibilities; to realize that when we do all these, then our responsibilities will increase, and our maturity will be commensurate to our privileges.
THE CLEANSING OF THE SANCTUARY– WHEN AND HOW DONE?
TEXT OF ADDRESS BY V.T. HOUTEFF,
MINISTER OF D. SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS
SABBATH, MARCH 27, 1948
MT. CARMEL CHAPEL
WACO, TEXAS
Our text is found in Daniel chapter eight, verse 14. I shall begin with verse 13.
Dan. 8:13, 14 – “Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.”
To this question, “How long shall be the vision concerning the daily, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?” came the answer, “Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” That is, within the 2300 days the daily shall be taken away, the transgression of desolation set up, the sanctuary and the host shall be trodden underfoot. After this the sanctuary is to be cleansed. “Every morning” (margin), denotes 24 hour days – full measure of time. The word “sacrifice” does not belong in the text.
Dan. 8:16, 17 – “And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision. So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision.”
Gabriel’s explanation that at the time of the end shall be the vision, shows that the paramount importance of the vision is the cleansing of the sanctuary, and that it takes place not in Daniel’s time, and not before the time of the end, but after the 2300 days, in the time of the end.
Now since the 2300 days began somewhere in the fifth century before Christ (as seen in the following verses), and since the vision was to be for many days, for the time of the end, then obviously the 2300 days must be computed a day for a year as in Ezekiel 4:6. The 2300 days, therefore, are actually 2300 years, in the end of which the sanctuary is cleansed. What signs are to mark the time of the end?–
Dan. 12:4 – “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.”
The angel explained that at the time of the end many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. And the fact that men are now running to and fro and that knowledge has been increased in itself proves that we are now living in the time of the end, that the vision is now to be understood, and that the sanctuary is now to be cleansed.
Dan. 8:18-21 – “Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright. And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be. The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.”
Here you see where the prophetic history of this vision begins. It begins with the Medo-Persian empire, and carries us in time through the victories of Alexander the Great.
Verse 23 – “And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.”
In the latter end of the Medes and the Greeks, when the transgressors, the Jews, are come to the full, another king or kingdom was to stand up. It was of course none other than Rome, the kingdom which overran the four Grecian divisions.
Verses 26, 27 – “And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days. And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king’s business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it.”
Daniel here confesses that the meager explanation which Gabriel gave concerning the vision was not sufficient. None could understand it. Γ6 Consequently, as time went on and as he still could not understand the vision although the set time for liberation had come, he graphically said:
Dan. 9:1, 2, 3, 22, 23 – “In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans. In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:… And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.”
Because Gabriel was to begin where he left off (Dan. 8), he counselled Daniel first to consider the vision. Then said Gabriel:
Verse 24 – “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.”
Since Gabriel is here explaining the vision of chapter 8 – the things that were to take place during the 2300 days – the seventy weeks are therefore a part of the 2300 days.
Γ8
Let us now study the subject with the aid of this chart.
The seventy weeks are actually 490 years. Mark that during these 490 years, Daniel’s people, the Jews, were to make an end of sin and make reconciliation for their iniquity, or else be hopelessly given up. Next Daniel was told where the 70 weeks begin:
Verse 25 – “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.”
From the commandment to restore and to rebuild Jerusalem to Messiah the Prince, to Christ, there were to be 7 weeks (49 years), and 62 weeks (434 years) – 69 weeks in all, or 483 years. History shows that the decree to rebuild the ancient city went forth in 457 B.C. Hence 483 years from 457 B.C. bring us to 27 A.D., to the year Christ, the Messiah, was baptized. (This incident, too, proves that the 2300 days are computed a day for a year, and that the seventy weeks are the first block of time from within the 2300 days. Look at the chart.) We should now remember that after cutting off the 69 weeks from the 70 weeks there is yet one week left. What takes place during this week is told in the verses that follow:
Verses 26, 27 – “And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for Himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the Γ9 end of the war desolations are determined. And He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations He shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”
Just what was to take place during the first seven weeks or 49 years I am not prepared to say, but in the end of the next 62 weeks, or 434 years the Messiah was to be cut off, crucified. During the remaining week, the 70th, He was to confirm the covenant with many, and in the midst of it He was to be cut off, crucified; that is, there were to be 3½ years from His baptism to the crucifixion, and 3½ years after the crucifixion in which He was to confirm the covenant. This completes the 70 weeks and brings us to the time to apostles were commanded to go out and preach the Gospel to the Gentiles: One named Cornelius (a Gentile), and Peter (a Jew and an Apostle) were both given a vision: Cornelius was instructed to see Peter and Peter was commanded to meet Cornelius. See Acts, chapter 10. The Jews as a nation failed to make an end of sin and were therefore rejected, given up.
Christ’s own sacrifice at the end of the first 3½ years replaced the sacrificial ceremonial system, and thus He caused the sacrifice to cease in the midst of the week. All this, time and event, you see, took place exactly as Gabriel predicted.
Nevertheless, even with this added explanation, Daniel still was not able to comprehend all Γ10 that was in the vision. But as time went on, and as his burden for the deliverance of his people increased, knowing that the time had come, he prayed for light. His prayer is recorded in the first part of chapter 10, after which the angel appeared and again explained:
Dan. 10:21 – “But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.”
Daniel was then promised all the light that could be given, not only on the vision of Daniel 8, but on all that is noted in the scripture of truth in connection with the vision. That which the angel showed him is recorded in Daniel 11 and 12:
Chapter 11, you will see, begins with the vision of Daniel 8, with the kings of Medo-Persia and Grecia as symbolized by the ram and he goat in chapter 8. Then was Daniel told that the explanation at last was sufficient, but that it was impossible for him to understand it all, for the vision was sealed to the time of the end (chapter 12, verses 8, 9).
By this long prophetic history and geography as seen in chapters 11 and 12, the angel brings us up to the time of the end, to the time the cleansing is to take place. And here is the nature of the cleansing according to the angel’s word:
Dan. 12:1 – “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of Γ11 trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.”
By delivering the righteous, He thoroughly separates the righteous from among the wicked – He puts the good “fish” in the vessels and casts out the bad (Matt. 13:48). He shall cleanse His people from sin and sinners.
Verses 2, 3 – “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.”
The wicked that arise with the righteous in this mixed resurrection are also to be separated from the righteous. The wicked are to be put to shame and everlasting contempt, but the righteous are to be given eternal life.
Verse 10 – “Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.”
The living righteous shall be purified, but the wicked shall become even more wicked.
Verses 11, 12 – “And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.”
Here another block of time from within the 2300 days is introduced, beginning from the time the daily is abolished and the abomination set up. (The daily represents something which should not have been abolished, and the abominations represent something that should not have been set up. The word “sacrifices” is supplied and does not belong in the text. For light on these read Tract No. 3, The Harvest.)
It should be noticed, however, that the promised blessing (the cleansing) does not begin until after the 1335 days, or years, expire.
Now since the 2300-year period begins in 457 B.C., with the commandment to restore and to rebuild the city Jerusalem, the 2300 days consequently end in 1844, the time the 1335 days end, then the days of the blessings begin. It should now be remembered that this cleansing of the sanctuary includes the cleansing of both those who are to be resurrected and those who are to be living during the cleansing time. Speaking through the prophet Ezekiel of the cleansing among the living, the Lord says:
Ezek. 36:24-29 – “For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your Γ13 fathers; and ye shall be My people, and I will be your God. I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you.”
None of the living can actually be cleansed from all their marks of sin while among the Gentile nations, you see. They must first be separated from the hypocrites and Gentiles, then brought into their own land, there to be sprinkled with clean water, cleansed from all their filthiness and from all their idols, when they get to their own land, not before. Even a new heart is to be given them there, and a new spirit also. Thus will the Lord cause them to walk in His statutes and keep His judgments forevermore. Thus shall they return and dwell in the land of their fathers, Palestine, and thus shall they be God’s people eternally. These things, you see, are premillennial.
Let us now examine the cleansing according to the prophets Joel, Malachi, and Jeremiah–
Joel 3:21 – “For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the Lord dwelleth in Zion.”
Malachi 3:1-3 – “Behold, I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ sope: and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in Γ14 righteousness.”
Jer. 31:31-33 – “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which My covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord: but this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be My people.”
The old covenant has been to keep the commandments while they are written, not on the heart, but on tables of stone, against the will of the stony heart. But the new covenant is to cleanse them from their stony hearts, and to write the commandments on their hearts of flesh.
Verse 34 – “And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
When God’s people are thus cleansed, they shall all know the Lord. Then they shall indeed be His people, His nation. And God’s guarantee is this:
Verses 35, 36 – “Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, Γ15 which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The Lord of hosts is His name: if those ordinances depart from before Me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before Me for ever.”
Does God do this because His people have been good or because He wants to vindicate His name? Let us see:
Ezek. 36:20-24 – “And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned My holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the Lord, and are gone forth out of His land. But I had pity for Mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went. Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for Mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. And I will sanctify My great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.”
Plainly, the Word declares that the sanctuary is to be cleansed, that the land also is to be reclaimed, and the Kingdom restored, not by reason of the people’s goodness, but for God’s name’s sake, for His own goodness sake. The heathen, too, will know what God has done for His people, for the Scriptures show that all this shall take place right before their eyes. This same cleansing Christ describes thus:
Matt. 25:32-34 – “And before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: and He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
Here is truth that the Denomination has overlooked: they think that they are to make a bee line to the throne of God for the Millennium. But according to the scriptures, here you see the people must first be separated from among the heathen, then cleansed from all their filthiness, and thus be enabled to stand in the presence of a pure and eternal God. Thus is the sanctuary among the living cleansed, and thus are the people to be fitted to reign with Christ a thousand years.
Brothers, Sisters, make certain that you be found, not among the goats on His left, but with the sheep on His right if you are to hear the King say, “Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Matt. 25:34).
And remember that we have now been living “in the time of the end” for some years. Moreover, this light has now come because the cleansing of the living members of the church is at hand.
IF YOU WERE NOTHING, WHAT WOULD YOU CHOOSE TO BE?
TEXT OF ADDRESS BY V.T. HOUTEFF,
MINISTER OF D. SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS
SABBATH, APRIL 17, 1948
MT. CARMEL CHAPEL
WACO, TEXAS
Our text is found in 1 Kings 3:5.
1 Kings 3:5 – “In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.”
Solomon asked for wisdom, and along with it he got everything a man could desire to have. (1 Kings 3:10-14.) If we were given a choice such as Solomon was given, what would we ask for? – I fear many of us would not ask for as good a thing as Solomon asked. I think most of us would ask for a reasonable amount of money, and some of us perhaps would ask for great riches, others for a wife or a husband. And what makes me think this? – Simply because I see so many applying themselves to earning and hunting, not to learning.
Supposing you were nothing, and you had enough sense to hear God’s voice, as did Solomon, saying: “What do you wish to be? Ask for it, and that shall ye be.” You would, of course, want to be the best in God’s creation – a human being.
Let us suppose that your request has been granted, that you have now become a fine human being, but have advanced no further: You as yet belong to no family, race, government or people. You know nothing about God and nothing about religion.
Next in your progress among the living, you would want to choose your nationality. Which of all the people on earth would you choose to be? I would choose to be a Hebrew, because the Hebrew nation of all the nations on earth has for its parentage prophets, kings, and priests. The Hebrew nation, of course (I do not mean the unbelieving present day Jews), at the present time has no government of its own; it is scattered among the nations. You would therefore have to choose the government under which you would like to make your home. Since the United States of America is the most prosperous nation, and since under its rule you can move about with greater freedom than in any other nation, you would doubtless choose to become one of its citizens.
Suppose next you were greatly impressed to connect yourself with a church. There being but three religions to choose from – Pagan, Christian, and Mohammedan – which one would you choose for your own? Your God-given wisdom would tell you that it would have to be the one that has the best and longest record, the one that has proved its origin and endurance, the one that has proved itself capable of saving a sinner, raising the dead, and translating the living.
Since the religion of Christ alone has proved itself capable of performing all these and of predicting the rise and fall of nations and peoples, past, present, and future – from time Γ19 immemorial to the time of the end. And since its founder alone claims credit for creating the world; and of being the Son of God, the beginning and the end, the Saviour of all mankind, you would want to join it. In fact, if one is to reap the fullest benefit from religion, then these are the qualifications which his religion must have. And if these are the chief reasons for one’s embracing religion, then there is no alternative but to take the Christian religion, for it alone backs up its guarantee with actual facts, with actual performance.
Suppose you have now become a whole-hearted, an altogether Christian, but you are confronted with still a greater problem; that is, you find Christianity divided into many sects, one differing from the other both in doctrine and deportment. You are therefore forced to choose the sect you would like to join, the sect you would like to make your own.
Your choice, of course, would have to be again based on facts, not on assumption. And since the Bible Itself has now become your only guide, your only teacher, you would have to consult It, and your choice would have to be made accordingly. And if you be living now in the time of the end, the time in which The Revelation of John actually speaks and shines upon the path of the saints, you would of course have to consult the book of The Revelation first and join the sect which It recommends. And which is it? – Let us turn to Revelation 12 –
Rev. 12:15 – “And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.”
The woman, you know, is the symbol of the sect, the Church.
Verse 16 – “And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.”
Only this Church, you see, is favored even by the earth itself. This sect alone is saved from the Dragon’s flood, saved from being carried away by the flood of hypocrites and “tares” in her midst.
Verse 17 – “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
Here, you see, the remnant – those who are left after the others are swallowed by the earth, so to speak – keeps the commandments of God and has the testimony of Jesus Christ. This remnant, or sect, that keeps the commandments of God, therefore, is the only one that Inspiration recommends, the only one that is worth joining, the only one that can profit any one. It alone possesses the power to escape any and all of the calamities that are now brewing throughout the world. It is the only sect that finds favor with God. No other would do, for no other could profit you.
Then, too, it alone has the testimony of Jesus Christ – the living Spirit of Prophecy in its midst (Rev. 19:10), – the Spirit Who leads into all Truth, Who alone can rightly interpret the Scriptures (2 Pet. 1:20, 21). Plainly, then, Inspiration would have you join no sect but this “remnant.”
Keeping the commandments of God, though, involves keeping everyone of them, for “Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” James 2:10. And remember, too, that the keeping of the commandments can openly be recognized only by the keeping of the Sabbath commandment, the commandment which says:
“Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.” Ex. 20:9-11.
The Sabbath day, you see, is created holy, but the first six days are created for work. The seventh-day Sabbath is the only Sabbath, and in all the holy Word of God there is no command to keep another day in its stead. The keeping of the seventh-day Sabbath alone testifies of one’s faith in the Creator, and against evolution. A Sabbath substitute, therefore, can no more be acceptable as a commandment of God than could Cain’s offering have been accepted as God’s ordained sacrifice.
No, do not contradict the Lord by saying the seventh-day is for the Jews only, for the Lord says:
Isa. 56:2-7 – “Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and Γ22 keepeth his hand from doing any evil. Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the Lord, speak, saying, The Lord hath utterly separated me from His people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. For thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my Sabbaths, and choose the things that please Me, and take hold of My covenant; even unto them will I give in Mine house and within My walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants, every one that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting It, and taketh hold of My covenant; even them will I bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon Mine altar; for Mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.”
The only Sabbath Jesus ever knew was the seventh-day Sabbath, and looking forward to the great tribulation, deep in the Christian era, He said: “But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: for then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” Matthew 24:20, 21. The Sabbath, you see, is for all peoples, both in Old and New Testament times. Moreover, again speaking of the Christian era, the time the earth is made new, Inspiration declares:
Isa. 66:23 – “And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Γ23 Me, saith the Lord.”
Since “The Revelation,” the book that speaks to the people of God at this time, recommends the sect that keeps the commandments and that has the gift of prophecy, you cannot wisely connect yourself with any other sect. And since God so declares, it must be that there is but one such people at this particular time who have the living testimony of Jesus Christ, the Gift of the Spirit of Prophecy. Moreover, for God to place the Gift with more than one people, would be for Him to cause confusion and disaster to His own work, to thwart His own purpose. Still further, if more than one has the Gift, then they all would necessarily have to agree as one. But since there are no two sects that agree with each other, the truth that there is but one sect that has the Gift is an absolute reality. And while you may choose to keep the Sabbath commandment, you cannot inspire yourself with the Spirit of Prophecy – this Gift is bestowed upon the remnant by God Himself.
Your next problem in your progress of life would be to find the proper name of that commandment-keeping people, a name that would actually by practice express that they are “the remnant,” for a Divinely inspired name must in actuality point out the people whom Inspiration here recommends. Any other name on them would be misleading, and the same name on any other people would be misleading, too.
Let us not neglect to note, too, that the name of a people is not really a name but a title. And titles, you know, change as fast as Truth unfolds, as fast as Truth advances from one phase of the gospel work to another.
To illustrate: Even the personal names of the patriarchs, by which various movements of the past were named, were changed as time went on. Abram, you recall, in the process of time was called Abraham; and Jacob was called Israel. Then, too, the Church of Moses’ time was called Israelite, at Christ’s time it was called Judean, and after that Christian. Finally came the time that it was called either Catholic or Protestant. Then either Lutheran or some other. Each one of these was the offspring of the old. Not those who lag behind, but those who march on with the messages of God, as time goes on, are always recognized by Heaven as the Church.
At the commencement of each message the people that marched on with the Truth were the individual members of the church which had become a church through the acceptance of a message, a message which its founder brought forth. For example, the entire Jewish church did not become a Christian church, but the Christian church drew its members from the Jewish church and brought them to advanced Truth, Truth especially adaptable for the time and the people then.
As we are now living in the time of The Revelation, in the time of the unfolding of the prophecies which point to the setting up of the Kingdom as well as to the second advent of Christ, the Church at this time, therefore, could not logically go by a name other than a name which would befit her present (advanced) phase of the gospel work.
Plainly, then, her name must express the truths she advocates: that is, the keeping of Γ25 the commandments, the second advent of Christ, and also the restoration of the Davidian Kingdom according to prophecy. Hence the logical name that would represent her work from this time down to the time the Kingdom is set up, is to be Davidian Seventh-day Adventists, – a name that testifies of the Kingdom message, of keeping the commandments of which the seventh-day Sabbath is a part, and of the second advent of Christ.
Now you see that every additional timely Truth brings an additional timely name. And you who have not been baptized in the name of the Church, but in the name of Christ through the Truth of the Spirit, you who are not tied to any man, but to Christ, cannot help going on with the Spirit of Prophecy Who unfolds the Truth and names Its people. You could not, therefore, afford to calmly stand by, dreaming of being rich and increased with goods, in need of nothing while in fact you are spiritually poor and naked. And you will stay that way if you neglect to advance with the Truth for this time.
Finally, you need to know concretely what is the Kingdom message, the “additional message” (Early Writings, pg. 277), and the phase of its work that promotes the title “Seventh-day Adventist” to the title Davidian Seventh-day Adventist.
Isa. 11:11, 12, 16 – “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And He shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall Γ26 assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth…. And there shall be an highway for the remnant of His people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.”
If God’s people who are in Babylon are to come out of her to escape her plagues (Rev. 18:4) and to avoid the sins that are in Babylon when she rides the beast and rules the world (Rev. 17) they must necessarily go to a place that is not vulnerable to her plagues, and where there is no sin. Where is that place? – Let the Bible give the answer:
Ezekiel 37:21-28 – “And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: and I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all. Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be My people, and I will be their God. And David My servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in My judgments, and observe My statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob My servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell Γ27 therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children forever: and My servant David shall be their prince forever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.”
Ezek. 36:22-28 – “Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for Mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. And I will sanctify My great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them. And ye shall well in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be My people, and I will be your God.”
Now you can more fully appreciate the name Γ28 Davidian Seventh-day Adventists. And so if you were nothing yesterday, and a Divinely enlightened human being today, you would at last be a Davidian Seventh-day Adventist.
Suppose, though, you would then wish to go on to perfection? You would of course again cry out to the Lord, and say:
Mic. 6:6, 7 – “Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
And now this is God’s answer to your cry:
Verse 8 – “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”
Yes, here you have the answer to your heart’s desire: Do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God; be not high-minded and self-sufficient. And what is more, Inspiration continues:
Verse 9 – “The Lord’s voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and Who hath appointed it.”
The Shepherd’s Rod, the books that Inspiration so named and inspired its contents, being the only Rod in the world that can be heard speaking, the Lord commands that you should hear it, that you do not waste any time in deciding Γ29 between the Rod literature and some other. For there is none other today than the Rod literature which God recommends you to hear. And when you hear the Rod, you will find yourself wrapped in the love of Christ and in the “arms” of God. Try it.
Now listen to His Word and let Him in the language of the prophets tell you more about the day you and I are now approaching, the day with which we are almost face to face. With the light already given, the following scriptures need no special comments; they are self-interpretative.
Micah 6:9 – “The Lord’s voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and Who hath appointed it.”
Zech. 13:8, 9 – “And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on My name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is My people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.”
Zech. 12:8-10 – “In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Γ3 Him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.”
Jer. 30:9 – “But they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.”
Ezek. 37:24-26 – “And David My servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in My judgments, and observe My statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob My servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and My servant David shall be their prince for ever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.”
Since you are now instructed in Truth and righteousness, and since the earth has not yet swallowed up the Dragon’s flood, also since this message is but the announcement that the earth will soon swallow the flood, with which class of church members would you love most to associate? – Hear ye now the class which the Lord recommends:
Matt. 5:3-16 – “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for their’s is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall Γ31 obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for their’s is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
