Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, Nos. 31-32

TEXT FOR PRAYER

        I shall read from “The Mount of Blessing,” beginning on page 188, the last paragraph.

M.B., pg. 188 – “Jesus…earnestly desired that the great multitude might appreciate the mercy and loving kindness of God. As an illustration of their need, and of God’s willingness to give, He presents before them a hungry child asking his earthly parent for bread. ‘What man is there of you,’ He said, ‘whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?’ He appeals to the tender, natural affection of a parent for his child, and then says, ‘If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children; how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?’ No man with a father’s heart would turn from his son who is hungry and is asking for bread. Would they think him capable of trifling with his child, of tantalizing him by raising his expectations only to disappoint him?… And should any one dishonor God by imagining that He would not respond to the appeals of His children?
“…The Holy Spirit, the representative of Himself, is the greatest of all gifts. All ‘good things’ are comprised in this. The Creator Himself can give us nothing greater, nothing better….”

        If we do not believe what God tells us, if we do not believe what He says He is, then we dishonor Him. He is very anxious to give us gifts, but only if we want them. He is particularly anxious to give us the greatest gift – the gift of the Holy Spirit. Naturally, with this gift all other gifts are given. It was this gift that Solomon asked for, and with it he was liberally given all the other gifts. Let us likewise pray for this great gift. It is just what God wants to give us if we will only wholeheartedly and honestly promise – positively to use the gift in the way He would have us use it.

THE OLD FAMILY TREE

TEXT OF ADDRESS BY V.T. HOUTEFF,
MINISTER OF DAVIDIAN 7TH-DAY ADVENTISTS
SABBATH, MARCH 8, 1947
MT. CARMEL CHAPEL
WACO, TEXAS

        Let us turn to the eleventh chapter of Isaiah, and begin our study with the first verse.

Isa. 11:1 – “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.”

Here is a family tree in which three persons are introduced. This verse does not say whom the rod represents; it does not say whom the Branch represents; but it does say that the stem is Jesse, the father of king David. The rod, of course, which came out of the stem, could be none other than the son of Jesse – David, the king of ancient Israel. The verses following this verse explain that the Branch is the Lord Himself. Clearly, then, this family tree represents Jesse, David, and Christ.

The remaining verses of the chapter are concerning Christ, His work, and His kingdom.

Verse 2 – “And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.”

Upon this one gift – the gift of the Spirit – all things Γ4 hinge.

Verses 3, 4 – “And shall make Him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of His ears: but with righteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and He shall smite the earth: with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked.”

These verses, I am sure, need no comment save to mention that “the rod of His mouth” and “the breath of His lips” must mean God’s Word, His Truth. This very Truth to which we are listening this afternoon will, therefore, on the one hand slay those who reject It together with those who are disobedient to It, but on the other hand save those who give heed to It, and who comply with Its requirements. The one consequence is as natural as it the other. For example, did not the preaching of the gospel of Christ save the Apostles, but at the same time cause Judas to commit suicide? And did it not save the disciples but destroy all the unbelieving of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.?

In the Kingdom here predicted, not only are men to be at peace with men, but men with beast, and beast with beast as well. The reason given for such perfect peace is that the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord. Knowledge, then, is what we need, and shall we turn it down now when it is so freely brought to our doors?

Just as soon as God’s people obtain this knowledge of the Lord, just that soon shall the kingdom appear. So it is that while learning of God and of His wisdom, Γ5 we are at the same time bringing peace on earth. Plainly, then, those who have not this knowledge of the Lord cannot become citizens of His kingdom. How essential, then, that we study for ourselves; how essential that we know what is Truth through our own personal experience, not through the experience of others!

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.”

That is, in the day of the Branch (in the Christian period), in the day this family tree is completed, then it is that the kingdom of peace (the church purified) sprouts, so to speak, from the ground up. It then stands for an ensign to the people, and to It shall the Gentiles seek for salvation. Plainly, then, this old family tree, Kingdom, is to be set up while probation lasts. Moreover, the place where It is to stand (rest) shall be glorious. It is therefore to have Its own location, and Its own boundary line. It is to be for the gathering of the people, the ark of today as was Noah’s ark in Noah’s day. So we are again brought to the same truth which Isaiah, chapter 2, and Micah, chapter 4, teach:

Verses 11, 12 – “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 Γ6 of the earth.”

        The Lord is to recover the remnant (those that are spared) of His people in the day this Kingdom is set up; that is, the Kingdom is set, then those who are left behind among the Gentiles, those who seek after the ensign, the Lord is to recover them. This second recovery of His people declares Inspiration, is to be from the four corners of the earth. The first, as you know, was from Egypt only.

Verses 13-15 – “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 [–there shall be no sinner among them]. 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. 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.”

Both kingdoms, Israel (sometimes called the house of Ephraim) and Judah, are to be restored and united in the antitype. They shall never again envy or vex each other. And through Ezekiel commands the Lord:

        “Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in Mine hand. And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes. And say Γ7 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 dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be My people, and I will be their God.” Ezek. 37:19-23.

        Thus it is that “…in the days of these kings [not after their days] shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it [the kingdom] shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.” Dan. 2:44, 45.

If the Kingdom is to destroy all these kingdoms, then It must be set up before these kingdoms are destroyed. The stone that is cut out of the “mountain” in the days of these kings, is itself to become a great mountain, and It, the Kingdom, is to fill the whole earth (Dan. 2:35, 45).

In the days of Moses the Lord smote but one stream, the Red Sea, and one nation, Egypt. But now the Γ8 Lord promises to smite every stream (all “seven”) and cause His people from the four corners of the earth to reach their land without so much as getting their feet wet. Although today as in Moses’ day, such a thing seems utterly impossible, yet it is certain that just as God made it possible then, He will now, too. The battle is the Lord’s, the will is ours. We have nothing to do but to obey His voice. That is our only duty Brother, Sister.

        There is no Bible Truth plainer than this, and there is no truth as important at this time as is this Truth. These are the very reasons that it either saves or destroys – to accept It is to have all your sins blotted out; to reject It, is to sin against the Holy Ghost. “Today if ye will hear His Voice, harden not your [heart]” is God’s counsel for you and for me. You well know now that this Truth is irrefutable. Try and see for yourself.

Verses 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.”

After the first fruits and the Lamb are gone to Mount Sion, there shall be a highway for the second fruits, for those who are still in “Assyria,” the world. In other words, all obstructions shall be removed. Our faith shall not fail us, and our hope shall not be in vain, for God has not forsaken the earth. He Who rules and guides the stars in their unerring path, is able to lead us safely to our own land. Indeed, just as not one of them fails in its course, so not one of God’s promises shall ever fail to materialize. Let no one deceive you in this. Study verse by verse, word for word, read, stop and think, Γ9 do not hastily pass by this positive, most urgent Truth, for as it was in the days of the flood so shall it be now, says the Lord (Matt. 24:37). The first born (firstfruits) who failed to paint the door post with the sacrificial blood in the first exodus, the type, perished. So any of the firstfruits of today who fails to comply with the demands of the message for today, will as certainly perish at the angel’s slaughter weapons (Ezek. 9:5, 6).

Isa. 12:1-3 – “And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise Thee: though Thou wast angry with me, Thine anger is turned away, and Thou comfortedst me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; He also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.”

“In that day,” that is, in the day His people are being gathered from the four corners of the earth, in that day are they thus to praise Him, because they will plainly see that His anger has been turned away from them. They will positively know that He is their salvation, their fear, and their strength. They will therefore with greater joy drink in the freshly revealed truths of the Bible.

Verse 4 – “And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon His name, declare His doings among the people, make mention that His name is exalted.”

“In that day,” that is, in the gathering time shall they encourage one another to praise the Lord, to call upon His name, and to declare His doings among the people. They will then whole-heartedly and with knowledge be doing real and profitable missionary work.

Verses 5, 6 – “Sing unto the Lord; for He hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.”

You certainly will not let anything hinder or stifle your voice now that God commands to cry out and shout.

“Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in Judgment. And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.” Isa. 32:1, 2.

No, this is not what popular theology teaches, but you admit that this is what the Bible teaches, and that It we must believe rather than men.

Thus far faith in God’s promises has not failed us, and why will He fail us now? – Never. Faith mixed with works will bring everything in due season. The adversaries of Truth shall fail, but Truth shall triumph, and the faithful with It.

        “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

“By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. By faith Enoch was Γ11 translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.

        “And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

        “Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: and others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

        “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.” Hebrews 11:1-40.

        Now while the eternal records are being made, will you not cause your name to be written among the great heroes of God? How can you afford to eternally lose out at such a late hour?

FATHERS PREFERRED DECEIT THEIR CHILDREN GIVEN GRACE

TEXT OF ADDRESS BY V.T. HOUTEFF,
MINISTER OF DAVIDIAN 7TH-DAY ADVENTISTS
SABBATH, MARCH 15, 1947
MT. CARMEL CHAPEL
WACO, TEXAS

        We shall study the thirteenth chapter of Isaiah, beginning with the very first verse.

        Here, as in other chapters of Isaiah’s prophecy, you will notice that a part of the chapter (in this instance, the first seventeen verses) speaks of the sins of ancient Israel, the fathers of antitypical Israel, and of their fall from power. But the remainder of the chapter speaks of Israel in the latter days, the days in which antitypical Israel rises to power. Let us now consider

Isa. 30:1, 2 – “Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of Me; and that cover with a covering, but not of My Spirit, that they may add sin to sin: That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at My mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt!”

        Evidently God’s people in those days were guilty of these sins. Instead of trusting in God to deliver them from their enemies, they trusted in Pharaoh. What a poor support to lean on! As a result they were plainly told:

Verses 3-7 – “Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion. For his princes were at Zoan, and his ambassadors came to Hanes. They were all ashamed of a people that could not profit them, nor be an help nor profit, but a shame, and also a reproach. The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people that shall not profit them. For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still.”

This, as you know, is exactly what befell God’s ancient people. How much better it is to sit still, to wait on the Lord for help when you are helpless, than to solicit the help of His enemies!

Verses 8 – “Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever.”

True, they killed the prophets for warning the people of their sin, but God decreed that the prophets’ writings against the existing sins must remain intact to be read as object lessons by the generations that were to follow thereafter. God’s people of today, therefore, have no excuse for repeating the mistakes of their predecessors. If they do repeat the sins of those who have gone before them, however, then their guilt will bring upon them even greater doom than was brought upon the Jews. And if no one can deny that Isaiah’s prophecies against the Jews were fulfilled, then who can dare say that they will not be fulfilled Γ16 against us if we fail as they did?

Verses 9, 10 – “That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord: which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits.”

By killing the prophets for their frank speaking, God’s ancient people were in effect saying, Prophesy unto us deceit. Tell us smooth things, we do not want to know the truth about us. Does this thing still exist among us? – Let me tell you an incident that will quickly answer this question.

Just the other day from a brother minister I received a very kindly written letter, in which he sincerely expresses his opinion of our literature. He very politely explained that all he has against it is that in it we speak of the sins and mistakes which the leaders of the church commit. If you have love for them he said, you will speak only good of them.

I do appreciate this brother’s sincerity in this matter, but I do not appreciate his judgment on it. If he will re-examine the literature, I am sure he will find that we have said nothing but only what the Scriptures say on the subject for our time. Therefore his burden in actuality is directed, not against us but against God Himself!

Our business, Brother, Sister, is not to find fault with either the ministry or the laity, but to truthfully bring to light what the Scriptures have to say to God’s people of today. We cannot do otherwise, God helping us. Ezekiel’s charge is our charge:

       “When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.” Ezek. 3:18.

When the Jews found fault with the prophets for speaking of the sins in which the priests were indulging, they actually said:

Verse 11 – “Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.”

Spiritual blindness is a cruel thing. Its victims can hardly be made to see either their sins or the righteousness of God. They misinterpret and misapply everything that is intended for their own good.

Verses 12, 13 – “Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this Word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon: therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant.”

If the spiritual eyes of God’s ancient people could possibly have been opened, if they could have seen that their sins were undermining the foundation upon which they were standing, they would not have spit upon the faces of the prophets for warning them of their plight. Indeed not. Instead, they would have welcomed the prophets.

Verse 14 – “And He shall break it as the breaking of the potters’ vessel that is broken in pieces; He shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the Γ18 bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit.”

        Who dares deny that their kingdom thus fell? All these things came upon them only because they refused to hear the prophets.

Verses 15-18 – “For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not. But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift. One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill. And therefore will the Lord wait, that He may be gracious unto you, and therefore will He be exalted, that He may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for Him.”

Because there was nothing that could have been done to save our ancestors from shame, the Lord let the nations beat His people and scatter them to the four winds. He nevertheless left a promise that He would wait until they as a people have gone through their period of prodigality, until they as individuals discover their mistakes and give the Lord opportunity to display His grace to them. Those who wait for Him are certainly to receive His blessings.

With the eighteenth verse comes the dividing line between the account of God’s ancient people and the forecast of His people’s future in the latter days. Up to this point is the record of the former; now concerning the promises to the latter, we read:

Verse 19 – “For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: He will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when He shall hear it, He will answer thee.”

What is the reason that God so patiently waits? and why does He promise His grace so abundantly to His people? – Because He is determined that they shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem. His aim is to take them back there, and to give them rest. His purpose is to end their weeping, to hear their prayers, and to grant their needs.

So it is that while God’s ancient people faced destruction, punishment, and desolation, we now are facing restoration, pity, and grace. Today we have the same promise that the people had in Moses’ day – yes, greater.

Verse 20 – “And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers.”

Although God anciently permitted the peoples’ teachers (their prophets) to be pushed into a corner, abused, and slaughtered, He will permit it no longer. The eyes of His people shall see their God-appointed teachers as they are brought to the front.

Verse 21 – “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.”

There is therefore no need for any of us to go wrong. There is no excuse for making mistakes which we ought not make.

Verse 22 – “Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence.”

No, God’s faithful people will not hold to anything that displeases the Lord. Not only will they cast away all idolatrous things, but they will actually hate them.

Verse 23 – “Then shall he give the rain of thy seed, that thou shalt sow the ground withal; and bread of the increase of the earth, and it shall be fat and plenteous: in that day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures.”

When we comply with all God’s requirements, then it is that we will prosper. Then it is that the devourer shall be rebuked, and the curses kept back from us. We should therefore now realize that prosperity does not depend merely upon one’s ability, but that it depends even more upon God’s approval of one’s deeds.

Verse 24 – “The oxen likewise and the young asses that ear the ground shall eat clean provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan.”

If our cattle are to have clean feed, then how much more important that we ourselves have spiritual food that is winnowed by the Spirit of Truth. This they are to have.

Verse 25 – “And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.”

        Obviously, when God’s waters of salvation cover the earth – even to the tops of the mountains, so to speak – then the watch towers (the pulpits), which the people have on their own initiative built, will fall. Doubtless the day of slaughter is the great and dreadful day of the Lord. So again we are brought face to face with the reality that Truth does one of two things – if It cannot save, It destroys.

This Truth to which you are listening today will verily spread throughout the world as fire spreads in stubble. Matters not who attempt to stop God’s Truth, I know that all such will stumble and fall and not be found, but that the Truth shall cover the earth.

Verse 26 – “Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the Lord bindeth up the breach of His people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.”

Were this not a figure of speech, were the sun actually to become seven times hotter than it is, then the earth itself would go into flames. Obviously the sun in this instance is used figuratively to illustrate that the light of God’s Word now while He is binding the “wound” of His people, is to increase sevenfold – all the light that there is will burst upon the earth as does the sun after a cloudy day. Moreover, the moon (the church), the agency which reflects the rays of the sun into the dark places of the earth, will as a result accommodate the people, not much better than she has heretofore, but perfectly. Already we see the light of God’s Word rising higher and higher with each passing week.

Verse 27 – “Behold, the name of the Lord cometh from Γ22 far, burning with His anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: His lips are full of indignation, and His tongue as a devouring fire.”

        Look! commands the Lord, the unveiling of these truths indicates but one thing – that we are approaching the great and dreadful day of the Lord, the day in which there shall be but one Lord, and His name one.

Verse 28 – “And His breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err.”

The Lord’s breath, His written Word, will rise (revealed Truth will increase) up and up until It shall reach to the “midst of the neck,” as it were, to sift the nations. The vain shall fall, but the humble, those that wait for the Lord, shall stand.

Verse 29 – “Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the Lord, to the mighty One of Israel.”

Yes, the rejecters of God’s Word may lament and gnash their teeth in outer darkness, but the obedient, those who wait for the Lord, shall sing as when a holy solemnity is kept, and shall, as it were, play with a pipe instrument “to come into the mountain [kingdom] of the Lord.”

Verse 30 – “And the Lord shall cause His glorious voice to be heard, and shall shew the lighting down of His arm, with the indignation of His anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones.”

        God is about to thus manifest His power and vindicate His cause. The days of His silence are almost past.

Verses 31-33 – “For through the voice of the Lord shall the Assyrian be beaten down, which smote with a rod. And in every place where the grounded staff shall pass, which the Lord shall lay upon him, it shall be with tabrets and harps: and in battles of shaking will He fight with it. For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; He hath made it deep and large: the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.”

        If God’s people in ancient days had believed what the prophets told them, what a difference it would have made! Their mistakes must now become our knowledge, our stepping stones of escape.

        “Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; Who was faithful to Him that appointed Him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house…. Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the Word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard It. Again, He limiteth a certain day, saying in David, Today, after so long a time; as it is said, Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts.” Heb. 3:1, 2; 4:1, 2, 7.

        Our forefathers preferred deceit. We, though, ought to now gladly respond to Mercy’s plea, and thus obtain grace.