General Conference Bulletin, vol. 3
THE WEEK OF PRAYER
L. A. HOOPESG. A. IRWIN
WHY WE SHOULD HAVE SUCH AN OCCASION
Introductory. GCB October 1, 1899, page 73.1
The constant rolling wheels of time have brought us to the closing days of another year, also to the closing days of another century, and to the time of year usually set apart for a special season of seeking God. The question has arisen in some minds, Why continue this custom? It has been in vogue for a number of years, and is becoming formal; why not drop it? We can pray to God in our individual homes; then why put the brethren to inconvenience and expense by calling them together once a day for a whole week? To these questions, others like the following might be added: Why hold any kind of public services? Why hold camp-meetings lasting several days? Why go to the expense of building churches or providing places for public worship, when the people can read their Bibles at home? GCB October 1, 1899, page 73.2
To all such questions, but one answer need be given; namely, because God has thus ordained it; for “It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.” But, says one, what proof have you that the week of prayer is approved of God? I answer, The fact that nearly fifteen years ago the Lord moved upon his highest authorized body on earth to appoint such a season; and within the last few months he has said through his servant that “the week of prayer, instead of being dropped or shortened, should be added to.” GCB October 1, 1899, page 73.3
The spiritual uplifting of the people should be the primary object of these occasions; but this should bring large returns from loving hearts, in liberal donations to sustain and advance the cause in new fields. We are far behind in this work, and God is earnestly calling upon his people to deny self, and cultivate that spirit of sacrifice for his cause that characterized the pioneers in this message. GCB October 1, 1899, page 73.4
From an article written by the President of the General Conference, and published in the Review and Herald at the close of the Conference of 1885, relative to the appointment of the week of prayer, I quote the following:— GCB October 1, 1899, page 73.5
“It would not have been done unless the united judgment of all our leading brethren assembled in Conference had sensed the fact that it was a most proper and necessary thing to do. We all felt that we had reached an important point in the history of our work, and that we must have God’s help to impress the minds of our people everywhere with the danger of inactivity and indifference, and with the vast importance of earnestness and devotion in the work just before us. Hence the propriety of such a season, a week devoted to solemn prayer and humiliation of heart, calling us away from earthly and sensual things to the work now pressing upon us in all directions. GCB October 1, 1899, page 73.6
“It was the general opinion of the delegates to the recent General Conference that never before in all our experience were more momentous questions brought to our attention than those considered this year.... All were deeply impressed with the need of God’s help. We all realized that our people are not generally awake to the necessities of the cause, and that many are doing but little for its advancement either by personal effort or means. Many are spiritually asleep, drowsing over the brink of a precipice, over terrible dangers now imminent. Large numbers will surely be lost unless they arouse. We have but a little time to work.... GCB October 1, 1899, page 74.1
“In the day of God will be shown records which will appall thousands of hearts now slumbering in carnal security. Oh, the terrible awakenings of that great Judgment day! The garments of pleasure-loving, wealth-loving, sleepy Seventh-day Adventists will then be seen stained with the blood of souls forever lost. The sin of Meroz is among us everywhere.”—Vol. 62. No. 49. GCB October 1, 1899, page 74.2
If the brethren fifteen years ago felt that they had reached an important point in the history of the work, when they must have God’s help in an especial manner, how should we feel in the time of peril in which we are now living? We have not the space to enumerate all the events that have taken place since 1885, as a fulfillment of the sure word of prophecy and an evidence that we are in the time of peril, and hence in great need of God’s special help and blessing. A few of the most prominent events must suffice. GCB October 1, 1899, page 74.3
First, prosecution of our brethren for Sunday labor, which has occurred in eleven States in the Union, in two Provinces in Canada, and in England and Switzerland. Eighty different persons have been arrested on this charge, nearly one-half of whom have served terms in jails, chain-gangs, etc., aggregating in length a period of time for one person amounting to three years and five months. GCB October 1, 1899, page 74.4
Second, the “loud cry,” a short period of time just prior to the coming of the Lord, in which the earth is to be lightened with the glory of God, began in 1887, and hence nearly twelve years of this period is in the past. GCB October 1, 1899, page 74.5
Third, the practical making of an image to the beast by the action of the highest judicial authority in this government, declaring this to be a Christian nation; and the action of Congress following, establishing a religious institution in the matter of closing the World’s Fair on Sunday; all of which has been followed by a rapid abandonment of republican and Protestant principles. GCB October 1, 1899, page 74.6
Fourth, the recent so-called “Peace Conference” of the world, which is being followed by bloody wars in different places, and a rapidly increasing armament and preparation for war on the part of the principal nations of the earth. GCB October 1, 1899, page 74.7
All of these things indicate that stormy times are before us, and that we are standing on the threshold of great and solemn events, when the marvelous working of Satan may be expected, and the fulfillment of Revelation 11:18. GCB October 1, 1899, page 74.8
If ever there was a time in the history of the world when God’s people needed to fast and pray and humble their hearts before him, that his protecting power might be over them, it is now, when they are standing in defense of truth and righteousness by keeping the commandments of God and having the faith of Jesus. Yet perilous as are the times, very many of God’s professed people are so nearly asleep that they do not sense the situation, or realize any immediate danger. A spirit of worldliness is taking possession of many; and “my Lord delayeth his coming” is being acted, if not spoken. Sins that grieve the Spirit of God are still cherished and practiced by many, and as a result we have a cold, waning piety that is unsatisfying, because devoid of peace and power, and that will utterly fail us in the time of final test that is just before us. GCB October 1, 1899, page 74.9
Our only hope in being able to stand in this time, is in the power that the Lord has promised; and the only way to receive that power is through the medium of prayer. What an encouragement this should be to us, to seek the Lord in this special season, when we consider that the Lord knew our need in this time, and put it into the heart of his servants to appoint a set time for his people to seek him. It implies that the Lord is so anxious to bless us with forgiving grace and overcoming power, that he provides the time and way, thereby giving assurance that if we avail ourselves of his provided means, we will not be disappointed. The Lord has said: “If two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:19, 20. Let not only two be agreed, but let us to a man be agreed that we need God’s blessing above everything else in this world; and let us ask in that same unity for the forgiveness of our sins, and that outpouring of his Spirit during this occasion that will thoroughly transform our lives and characters, and thus secure its constant, abiding presence with us until our work on earth is done, and our Lord comes to take us home to glory. GCB October 1, 1899, page 74.10
If two or three gathering together in the Lord’s name, brings him in the midst, what a blessing may we not expect when all of God’s people assemble at the same time in different parts of the field, in his name, and with one accord, as did the disciples of old. Would it be too much to expect the same blessing that came to them? I think not. This time will come, yea, must come. Why not now? All heaven is ready, and represented as impatiently waiting for us to get ready. The angels are now holding the four winds for this one event alone. “And they that were ready went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut.” God grant that our lamps may not only be filled at this meeting from the two golden pipes that flow from the golden bowls, but continue to be filled and burning until the Bridegroom comes, and we be admitted as welcome guests, having on the wedding garment. GCB October 1, 1899, page 75.1
GEO. A. IRWIN. GCB October 1, 1899, page 75.2
THE LAST CALL
Reading for Sabbath, December 23
“Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean; and I will receive you.” 2 Corinthians 6:17. GCB October 1, 1899, page 75.3
The separation here enjoined has always been demanded of God’s people, and his presence and blessing with them has been measured according to the degree of their compliance. The history of the Jewish nation that has been “written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come,” is made up of a succession of successes and failures, the causes of which are directly traceable to their compliance or noncompliance with the Lord’s requirements to not only come out from among the peoples and nations with which they were surrounded, but to remain separate. GCB October 1, 1899, page 75.4
Directly after the sons of Adam and Eve came to maturity, the separation began; the descendants of Cain, instead of revering the commandments of God, set up a worship of their own, thus voluntarily separating themselves from Jehovah, and becoming the progenitors of that class from which the true worshipers were commanded to remain separate and distinct. The disregard of this command and the mingling of the sons of God with the daughters of men, culminated in the destruction of the inhabitants of the world “that then was,” by a flood. GCB October 1, 1899, page 75.5
In the repeopling of the earth after the flood, the same great distinctions soon developed in the sons of Noah. Speaking by divine inspiration, Noah foretold the history of the races that would spring from his three sons. Of the descendants of Ham,—using his first-born to represent the character of that branch of the family,—he said, “Cursed be Canaan, a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.” Genesis 9:25. As the descendants of Noah increased in numbers, the apostasy implied in this curse soon led to a separation which continued distinct for a time; but within a period of four hundred and thirty years from the release of Noah and his sons from the ark, there had been such a commingling of the two classes, that idolatry again became well-nigh universal. GCB October 1, 1899, page 75.6
At this juncture, in order to fulfill the blessing pronounced upon Shem by Noah, and to preserve a line of holy men as keepers of his law, God called Abraham to “come out from among them, and be ye separate.” I shall not attempt in this brief article to enumerate the many apostasies and subsequent calls to a separation, that have occurred down through the past history of the Israel of God. It is only of the more important I would speak, that involved crises that in the past have marked, and will at present mark, new epochs in their history. GCB October 1, 1899, page 75.7
Passing over the events in the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, at the end of another period of four hundred and thirty years we find their descendants slaves in Egypt, and, because of their disposition to marry with heathen nations, mixed up with them in idolatry, having almost entirely lost the knowledge of the true God. But here the Lord, having heard the cries of the few faithful ones, remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and provided a liverer in the person of Moses, to sound the call to “come out,” and lead the people who would follow, back to Canaan. GCB October 1, 1899, page 75.8
Again, in the days of the prophet Elijah, five hundred and eighty-five years later, we find that Israel had “forsaken the commandments of the Lord,” and were following Baalim. As God’s messenger, Elijah, though surrounded by an imposing display of armed men, boldly commands the king, and demands a convocation of all Israel and the priests of Baal at Mount Carmel. Here a call was made to come out, and, “If the Lord be God, follow him.” A test was also applied, to which the Lord responded in a miraculous manner, honoring the faith of his trusted servant, thus convincing the people, and drawing from them the acknowledgment that “the Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.” GCB October 1, 1899, page 76.1
At the end of another period of over five hundred years, in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, another gathering of the people is recorded, when they are called out from the nations whence they were scattered because of their departure from God. The law was read in the hearing of the people, strange wives were put away, the proper observance of the Sabbath was begun, and a general reform inaugurated that brought a return of the worship of Jehovah in its purity. GCB October 1, 1899, page 76.2
At the close of another period of about an equal number of years, John the Baptist came upon the stage of action, and began his mission as the forerunner of the “Coming One,” by calling men to repent, and forsake the sins that they were attempting to cover up under a cloak of religion. At this time apostasy had for the third time become well-nigh universal. The Jewish nation were under the Roman power, who claimed the right and exercised the authority of appointing men to the priesthood, who, not being divinely appointed, abused the office, using it merely as a cloak under which they might practise dishonesty and fraud. To fasten the people in deception, forms and ceremonies were added to their worship, and human traditions were brought in and magnified above the law of God. GCB October 1, 1899, page 76.3
The most important epoch in human history was at hand. The Seed of the woman, that was to bruise the serpent’s head, had now come. He through whom the promise to Abraham was to be fulfilled, would himself repeat the call, “Come out,” which he had made to the father of the faithful centuries before. By his life of self-denial, loving obedience, and death upon the cross, a standard was erected in the world in a time of unprecedented moral darkness, around which the heirs of the promise might rally in all time to come. GCB October 1, 1899, page 76.4
After the ascension of the Saviour, the work begun by himself was carried forward by the apostles until the then known world had heard the call. But even during the lifetime of these men, there commenced that “falling away” that culminated in a partial revealing of the “man of sin,” and that dark period of the world’s history known as the “Dark Ages.” GCB October 1, 1899, page 76.5
During the sixteenth century a reform was inaugurated by Martin Luther and his coworkers, by means of which light broke in upon the intense moral darkness of the time, that shone with increasing brightness until thousands were brought “out of darkness into light, and from the power of sin and Satan unto God.” This reformation and calling out, important though it was, did not produce that complete separation from the world, and the adopting of the pure principles of the law of God, that characterized the work in apostolic times. GCB October 1, 1899, page 76.6
Passing without comment over the two following centuries, we come to the three-fold message of Revelation 14, by which—including the “mighty angel” spoken of in the eighteenth chapter—the last call to “come out and be separate” that will ever be given to an apostate world, is being heralded forth. “Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come,” are the thrilling words with which this message begins. If the reasoning of the apostle Paul before Felix, of “righteousness, temperance, and a judgment to come,” caused trembling to an unprepared individual, what should be the sensation when the announcement is made to the world that that hour is come! GCB October 1, 1899, page 76.7
The work that began with the opening of this message, has been steadily going forward, until fifty-five years of the most solemn period of the world’s history have been added to the past, and we stand to-day on the very eve of the second coming of Christ, with his “reward with him,” the judgment work having been finished, and the case of every individual decided past recall. GCB October 1, 1899, page 76.8
“The time of the judgment is a most solemn period, when the Lord gathers his own from among the tares. Those who have been members of the same family are separated. A mark is placed upon the righteous. ‘They shall be mine, saith the Lord of Hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.’ Those who have been obedient to God’s commandments, will unite with the company of the saints in light; they shall enter in through the gates into the city, and have right to the tree of life. The one shall be taken. His name shall stand in the Book of Life, while those with whom he associated shall have the mark of eternal separation from God. GCB October 1, 1899, page 76.9
“The tares and wheat are now commingled, but then the one Hand that alone can separate them will give to every one his true position. Those who have had the light of truth, and heard the warning message, heard the invitation to the marriage supper,—farmer, merchant, lawyer, false shepherds who have quieted the convictions of the people, unfaithful watchmen who have not sounded the warning or known the time of night,—all who have refused obedience to the laws of the kingdom of God, will have no right therein. Those who have sought an excuse to avoid the cross of separation from the world, will, with the world, be taken in the snare.”—“Special Testimonies for Ministers and Workers,” No. 4, pp. 6, 7. GCB October 1, 1899, page 77.1
But many who listen to this reading will say, “I have come out and separated myself from the world;” and this is true in a measure; but, my my brother, my sister, pause a moment and reflect. Is the separation in your individual case as complete as Abraham’s, through whom the promise was made? or as complete as that of Jesus Christ, the seed through whom the promise was to be fulfilled to Abraham? We, in being recognized by Christ, become “heirs according to the promise.” “Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee.” Genesis 12:1. GCB October 1, 1899, page 77.2
The apostle Paul, in referring to this in the book of Hebrews, says that by faith he “obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.” Let us consider for a moment what Abraham gave up to obey the call. First, he was to get out of his country; and this is just what we must do, if we would inherit that better country. This does not mean that every one must now get up and go out of that portion of the world where, in the providence of God, the call comes to him; but it means that our affections must be taken from things that pertain to “our country,” such as State and national pride, political parties, societies. and organizations other than the church,—in short, our citizenship must now be in heaven, from whence we look for our returning Lord. GCB October 1, 1899, page 77.3
“And from thy kindred.” Kindred and friends very often have a seductive influence that greatly retards spiritual advancement. Suggestions will be made by godless relatives, which, if heeded, would deflect souls from the path of duty. A holding on to these ties at such a time as this means ruin to the soul. GCB October 1, 1899, page 77.4
“And from thy father’s house.” The Saviour’s words in Matthew 10:37, “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me,” is the best comment on this clause. Advice of parents even, can not be followed contrary to the call to obedience. In considering the call of God, and our obligations to him in a time like this, we are not to confer with “flesh and blood,” even though that flesh and blood be our own immediate relatives, “Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house.” Psalm 45:10. GCB October 1, 1899, page 77.5
When the final separation is made, as foretold in Matthew 25:31 and onward, the place that each individual will occupy will be the result of his own choosing, and not the result of an arbitrary ruling upon the part of the Judge. The Lord simply announces to the “gathered nations” the choice each has made, and the character formed as the result of that choice. “Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.” Malachi 3:18. GCB October 1, 1899, page 77.6
However complete may have been our separation, or deep our consecration, in the past, it will not suffice for the present, or stand the test of the days just before us. In the closing days of the nineteenth century the Lord is calling for a reform among his people, and a return to the old-time spirit of self-sacrifice and self-denial that characterized the message in its early history, and must be seen and experienced in it again before there can come the great outpouring of the Spirit of God that is to enlighten the whole world with its glory, and prepare a people for translation. GCB October 1, 1899, page 77.7
The time of test is upon us. Messages of warning and reproof have come to us of late, such as we have never had before. In them our sins are laid bare before us. Of these, selfishness and covetousness seem to stand out most prominent,—sins that are most offensive to God, because they lie at the foundation of all others. None will get through to the kingdom without being thoroughly tested. Time, we are told, will never again be a test; but selfishness and covetousness will, for the Lord has said that “every selfish, covetous person will fall out by the way.” This statement is made in connection with the loud cry of the “last call,” which adds to it force and significance; hence if we would not “fall out by the way,” we must address ourselves at once—and with an earnestness born of the dreadfully solemn thought that for us it may soon be forever too late—to the work of overcoming these things in the name and power of Christ. GCB October 1, 1899, page 77.8
The following startling words are used toward the close of one of the many messages of warning and reproof that have recently come: “While it is called to-day, if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. It may be you will never hear the invitation again. A mere answer in the affirmative is not sufficient. We are to repent and forsake every sin, and work the works of righteousness.” GCB October 1, 1899, page 78.1
Guilty though we may be, it is our privilege to lay hold of the gracious invitation to every soul, “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” In order to avail ourselves of this invitation, we do not need to afflict the body, or become violently excited in mind, but simply submit our wills to the will of God, and walk in obedience to, and fellowship with, him. GCB October 1, 1899, page 78.2
May the Lord this day roll away the reproach from his remnant people, because of their repentance and turning to him with full purpose of heart, and let the light of his reconciled countenance shine upon us, to the glory of his name, for Christ’s sake. GEO A. IRWIN. GCB October 1, 1899, page 78.3
PREPARE FOR TRANSLATION
Reading for Sunday, December 24.
Calm reflection, in the light of prophecy, upon the character of recent political events, the sociological disturbances that are rife, the condition of Christendom, and the message that is now preached to the remnant people of God, irresistibly leads to the conclusion that the end of the age is at hand. The proper effect of such conclusion is the awakening of expectation, and the fruit of expectation is preparation. He who really expects to see the Lord come, and to be like him when he does come, will purify himself even as he, the Lord, is pure. Hence the message for the present time is, Prepare for translation. GCB October 1, 1899, page 78.4
Those who compose the remnant church to-day are candidates for translation; for they belong to the last generation of mankind upon earth. The pious of preceding generations were not candidates, though they may have been animated by the comforting hope of the soon coming Lord; for, not being members of the last generation, they could not live to see the Lord come. GCB October 1, 1899, page 78.5
Paul was not a candidate for translation; for he expected to die and be raised in the first resurrection. “If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead,” expresses his hope. Peter was not a candidate; for the Lord himself spoke to him in the following language, which foretold his death: “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.” The divine comment on this language is, “This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God.” Peter so understood it, for he writes in his second epistle: “Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath showed me.” GCB October 1, 1899, page 78.6
Neither could James and John hope for translation in the light of the Saviour’s language: “Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with.” These all wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, and were cheered by the glorious hope of the returning Lord; yet they, while tabernacling in the flesh, did not expect to see him come. In other words, they were not, and could not become, candidates for translation, for they expected to die. Only those true believers who comprise a part of the last generation can be candidates for translation, for they alone of all true believers will be alive when Christ comes. We, the remnant people of God, living amidst events that clearly indicate the early advent of our Lord, expect to see him come. Therefore we are candidates for translation, and we alone of all true believers that have ever lived from Adam till now. Then, brethren, what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness? GCB October 1, 1899, page 78.7
Our lives testify to the sincerity of our faith, and faith that is genuine works by love. Mere profession is nothing, outward compliance with rules and regulations avails naught, but a new heart reflecting the image of Christ. GCB October 1, 1899, page 79.1
Inasmuch then as we, the remnant people of God, living in the last days, and expecting while yet in the flesh to see Christ come, are alone, of all true believers that ever lived on earth, the only real candidates for translation, it certainly behooves us to inquire most earnestly into the qualifications of translation. Whatever else the question may be to others, to you and me it is a living issue, big with results of a most tangible and practical nature. Do not relegate it to the domain of theory, do not defend it in words simply as an article of faith, but meditate upon it and pray over it, till you bring forth in your life fruit worthy of him who is waiting to greet the coming king. Your eternal destiny is at stake. The situation is one of gravity. Indifference now is fatal. Watch, pray, work. The evening bells of time are already sounding forth their notes of warning, the echoes of which are resounding from the shores of eternity that is about to burst upon us. GCB October 1, 1899, page 79.2
Now let us inquire into the conditions and qualifications of translation. The first question which arises is this; viz., Is more required of the candidates for translation than of others who have lived and died in Christ? I answer, Most certainly. Why?—Because those who shall be translated must reach that degree of perfection while in the flesh that will enable them to stand in the last times without a mediator. That means much,—a great deal more I fear than many of us realize. Stop and reflect a moment, that we may see its meaning. When will the mediatorial work of Christ cease? This question is best answered by asking another: When did his work of mediation begin? It began when the necessity for mediation arose. When was that?—When man lost his innocency and became a sinner. The wilful act of disobedience destroyed the perfect harmony between God the Creator and man the creature. The sins of man separated him from God. A breach occurred between the two, for they were at variance. Christ, the Son of God and Son of man, stepped into this breach, and as great High Priest has been mediating between God and man ever since. Then if his work as mediator began just as soon as the necessity for it arose, we conclude that it will cease only when the necessity for it ceases. GCB October 1, 1899, page 79.3
But this necessity for mediation arose when man became a sinner, a being in rebellion against his Maker, an apostate. Hence it will cease only when God’s children in the flesh have been restored to that complete harmony with God which was enjoyed by man before he sinned. That is to say, he who will be translated will be as perfectly conformed to the image of Christ, the purpose for which he was called (Romans 8:28, 29), as Adam before he sinned was conformed to the image of God. And because the candidates for translation must and will reach that state of perfection, while in the flesh, in which the image of Christ is perfectly reflected, they are restored to a condition of perfect harmony with God; and because they are in perfect harmony with God, the services of the mediator are no longer required. They are “holy and without blemish,” the precise kind of beings which God wants, and which he will have, and for the preparation of which the gospel was designed. GCB October 1, 1899, page 79.4
Thus we see that the qualifications required of the remnant people are very exacting. Praise God that they are. A cheap salvation is no salvation at all. We shall either be saved from sin, or we shall not. If we are saved from sin we certainly shall not be saved in it. If our Saviour can not cleanse us from all unrighteousness, he is an incompetent Saviour, and our hope is vain. Beware, beware of lowering the exalted standard of purity which God himself has erected. God knows best his own requirements, and he knows his ability to bring the surrendered heart into complete harmony with himself. GCB October 1, 1899, page 79.5
Listen to the words of assurance he gives us: “He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Consider well the words, “to the uttermost.” The Greek literally reads, “unto all completeness;” not only to “completeness,” but unto “all completeness.” And observe why he is thus able to save. It is because he lives to intercede, or mediate, for us. Then when he ceases his intercessory work for us just before the end, it will be only when we are saved “unto all completeness,” and have no further need of an intercessor. It is plain from the teaching of scripture that this state of complete salvation from sin and of perfect harmony with God is reached before Christ returns. Read Revelation 22:11, 12: “He that is unjust let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me.” Observe that the announcement is here made, before the Lord comes, that the “filthy” and “unjust” will ever remain so. They are incorrigible. No hope remains for them. Their probation is closed, and the terms of salvation are withdrawn. They need no mediator, for their case is hopeless. On the other hand, the righteous and holy, having passed through the trials of the last days, have reached a state of fixedness, when righteousness and holiness, the qualities of God, have become a permanent possession. They are saved. Their probation is closed. They have no need of a mediator, for they are saved to the uttermost, unto all completeness. The image of God, lost through Adam, has been completely restored through the saving and intercessory work of Christ. And mark well, this occurs before Christ comes, while we are still in the flesh, not having yet received our reward. This enables us to appreciate more fully the words of Paul when he tells us that Christ will present the church “to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” Also Paul’s prayer for the Thessalonian Christians is invested with a deeper interest: “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” GCB October 1, 1899, page 79.6
In view, then, of the foregoing statements, we reiterate the conclusion that those who will be translated must reach a higher degree of perfection than that yet attained by any preceding generation of believers. The privilege of translation is great, inestimably so. Think of it—entering the kingdom of glory without tasting death! On the other hand let us reflect that the responsibility and requirements are commensurate with the privilege. Brethren, we simply can not afford to neglect present opportunities. Ceaseless vigilance and agonizing prayer are the price of translation. Learn to cooperate with God. Keep step with the Holy Spirit, and advance with the moving hosts of God. To delay is dangerous. To falter may be fatal. The following words of admonition from “Early Writings” emphasize the danger that confronts us: “I also saw that many do not realize what they must be in-order to live in the sight of the Lord without a High Priest in the sanctuary, through the time of trouble. Those who receive the seal of the living God, and are protected in the time of trouble, must reflect the image of Jesus fully.” Again, “Oh, how many I saw in the time of trouble without a shelter! They had neglected the needful preparation, therefore they could not receive the refreshing that all must have to fit them to live in the sight of a holy God.... I saw that none could share the ‘refreshing,’ unless they obtain the victory over every besetment, over pride, selfishness, love of the world, and over every wrong word and action. We should, therefore, be drawing nearer and nearer to the Lord, and be earnestly seeking that preparation necessary to enable us to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord.” GCB October 1, 1899, page 80.1
But perhaps some one may raise the objection that at the last moment a change occurs whereby all existing defects of character will be removed; for Paul says, “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.” True, a change at the last moment is here referred to, but not of moral character. Paul in the Philippian letter defines that change: “For our conversation [i. e. citizenship] is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body.” This statement of Paul harmonizes well with that of John: “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” GCB October 1, 1899, page 80.2
Now note the facts herein stated. In the Corinthian letter Paul declares that we shall be changed. In the letter to the Philippians he says that the change will take place in our body, so that it will “be fashioned like unto his glorious body;” while John with rapturous joy exclaims, “we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” It is evident, then, that no change of character occurs at the coming of the Lord, but of body only. It is from mortality to immortality, from a “natural body” to a “spiritual body.” Our characters ere then will have been formed, purified by obedience to the truth, and made ready for translation. Those who delay preparation of character till then, will be too late. Character must be developed, not made. Now is the time for character-building. And when we reflect that the characters we are now forming, are those with which we must stand before the coming King and will be subjected to his deep, penetrating gaze, it becomes us to be careful of our thoughts, words, and conduct. We are all daily forming character that is determinative of our destiny, and our thoughts, words, and deeds are the ingredients that enter into the composition thereof. What food is to the body, such are thought and purpose to character. A recognition of this fact adds deep solemnity to life, and gives proper emphasis to the truth that the gospel teaches how to live. Nowhere are we taught that the gospel is designed to teach us how to die. It teaches how to live. Life, not death, is the glorious theme of the gospel. How to live, not how to die, is the burning question of the hour. Solve the problem of right living, and that of right dying ceases to annoy. Let us take heed therefore to our thoughts and ways, that pure characters may be formed. Especially would I urge upon the young the importance of pure thinking in connection with character-building. Watch your thoughts. Scrutinize carefully your motives. Pure thoughts and motives are component parts of pure characters, while those that are low and selfish can not but crystallize into character corresponding with themselves. GCB October 1, 1899, page 80.3
May the Lord add his blessings, and may all who read or hear these words read, reflect upon the solemn truths set forth. May his Spirit enlighten our minds, and couch our eyes to the realities of eternity. May the thought that we are now, daily, yea at this moment, forming character that determines our destiny, so stimulate us to search for the pearl of great price, that nothing will be able to turn us from our purpose till the prize has been found. GCB October 1, 1899, page 81.1
“To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” GCB October 1, 1899, page 81.2
JOHN A. BRUNSON. GCB October 1, 1899, page 81.3
THE TRIUMPHS OF TRUTH, AND ITS COUNTERFEITS
Reading for Monday, December 25.
There is a definite relation between sin and disease, between violation of nature’s laws and suffering. These things are not sent to punish us, but to impress vividly upon us the terrible nature of wrong sowing. As these things are sent upon us to only lead us to avoid the cause, the moment we thoroughly and sincerely repent of the wrong sowing, there is no reason why God should not relieve us of the necessity of reaping the harvest; for God does not willingly afflict his children. He says, if we will repent of our evil ways, he will repent of the evil that he thought to do to us. In other words, there will be no need of God correcting us when we are already corrected. GCB October 1, 1899, page 81.4
At the same time we must remember that the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked, and who can know it? Certainly not the individual himself; but God says, “I know the heart.” So we can not always tell whether we have thoroughly learned the lesson which we think we have. To Moses forty years must have seemed to be a long time in the wilderness, but his subsequent history shows that he needed every lesson that he learned there; and God knew that he was not there a day longer than was absolutely necessary for his good. Joseph was not having a comfortable time in prison, but the moment the word of the Lord had tried him (purified him, the Jews’ translation), the king sent and loosed him. Psalm 105:19, 20. In a similar manner God has angels that stand by our side ready to do his bidding to loosen us from our spiritual and physical infirmities, just to the extent that the spirit of obedience is actually being born in our natures. God, speaking to the remnant people, says, “I will correct thee in measure.” Jeremiah 30:11. The measure which he has to correct us is the exact indicator of the amount of the dross in us, whether we recognize it or not. GCB October 1, 1899, page 81.5
It is always God that brings the harvest; and it is always of the same sort as the planting. “He that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption.” As has already been stated, the only reason that God sends the correction is to teach us how much sweeter it would be to sow to the Spirit than to sow to the flesh. True conversion and true repentance include not only ceasing to do evil, but learning to do well. There are some who, in a moment of time, may so completely renounce all evil sowing that it is evident to God that the last root of it has been removed, and Christ assumes to bear in his own flesh the harvest that this man should have borne, and the man goes absolutely free. But if the sufferer does not reap such a triumphant harvest at once, he has only to ask God to give him more wisdom as to how to sow, and to remember that there is a message of comfort directed personally to him in the following words: “Be not weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.’ The due time is absolutely in God’s hands, and is safer there than it would be in ours. The responsibility rests on us not to get weary nor faint by the way, even though the vision of absolute spiritual or physical health seems to tarry in reaching us. GCB October 1, 1899, page 81.6
As we get nearer to the end, we shall know more and more about the truth in reference to sowing and reaping. Just in proportion as we learn that the harvest we are reaping is a result of wrong sowing, and thoroughly renounce the sowing, we shall be set free from the harvest. There is no way to be set free except by knowing the truth. We are living in a day when truth is to be seen as clear as the noon-day sun, and wonderful triumphs will follow in its wake. Brethren, do not postpone all the grand and glorious triumphs of the gospel over into the next world, when the last opportunity shall have been past for God to use them as object-lessons to create in the soul of some poor sinner a hunger and a thirst after righteousness. GCB October 1, 1899, page 82.1
Do you not think that the devil will try to counterfeit this mighty display of God’s power which will be manifested in the lives of those who are doing the right sowing? At the very time that the people of God are casting out devils and doing wonderful works, no doubt across the street or possibly in the same denomination, there will be another company casting out devils and doing a wonderful work,—doing it in the name of Christ, too; nevertheless he has nothing to do with it. “I never knew you.” Matthew 7:23. GCB October 1, 1899, page 82.2
From a human standpoint there will evidently be no outward difference which can be then and there discerned by the human eye. That is why it is going to deceive if it were possible the very elect. The reason that it will not deceive them is because they are thoroughly established upon the question of sowing and reaping. Here is where the difference can be detected. God and his agents hold out a grand harvest only from right sowing. The devil and his agents present an apparently equal harvest without the trouble of sowing for it at all. He tried to persuade Christ that he need not sow three years and a half in order to redeem this world. If Christ would but consent to fall down and worship Satan, he would give him this whole world without the trouble of sowing for it at all; and his agents are inspired to-day to pursue the same method, and will say to the sufferer, “You just pray with us, and if you only have faith, it makes no difference whether you are out of harmony with the health principles or trampling in the dust the principles of right living which God has been proclaiming for nearly half a century. You can have the kingdom of health just the same;” and as far as the human eye can see the effect will be successful. The fact that a miracle has been wrought is interpreted as sufficient evidence that God lays but little importance on the law of sowing and reaping. GCB October 1, 1899, page 82.3
The devil goes one step further, and actually leads the people to believe that they can sow to the flesh and avoid reaping corruption. Did he not say to Adam and Eve, when they began to sow for death, “Ye shall not surely die”? Do we not hear on every side remarks like this, even by those who are professing to be preparing to meet God in peace, “Why this or that practice does not hurt me; I have been doing it for years, and have felt no harm arising from it. Look at Brother A.; he gave up these things long ago. He does not look nearly as well as I do.” All the while God is saying to this person: “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” Ecclesiastes 8:11. We do not reap even thorns and thistles the very same day that we sow them; but for all that, the crop is sure. During this same time God is saying to Brother A., who is so perseveringly sowing for health: “Be not weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Galatians 6:9. “It doth not yet appear what we shall be.” 1 John 3:2. GCB October 1, 1899, page 82.4
Christian science and bogus faith cures will become more prevalent; famous divine healers will arise, and if the only proof we accept as to their real character is that they perform miracles, we shall surely be deceived. But the people of God are to rely upon a better test than that. The overwhelming evidence to the masses that Elijah was a man of God was the fact that he brought down fire from heaven. In the last days Satan is to bring down fire from heaven. But we are to know the truth by its flavor. GCB October 1, 1899, page 82.5
When any man or woman arises purporting to relieve a person of the necessity of reaping a harvest of disease while still sowing for it, and laying no stress upon the necessity of sowing for a harvest of health, we may safely say of such a person, in the words of Paul, Though an angel from heaven preach any other gospel, let him be accursed. Such a person may be very sincere, and apparently doing good in many ways; but he is rearing a structure of health which has for its foundation only sinking sand, and when the first storm of disease assails that person, he will go down, and great will be the fall. God says that he will not be mocked; that those who continue to sow to the flesh must reap corruption; for he still continues to sin against his body in wrong habits. GCB October 1, 1899, page 83.1
Caleb and Joshua went into the promised land because they had another spirit. The great majority of the children of Israel fell in the wilderness, as a result of their wrong sowing. For a long time the serpents which so thickly infested that part of their route, were kept out of the camp by the power of God; but by and by his restraining spirit was withdrawn, and then the serpents overran the camp. Then it was that the symbol of the uplifted Christ was reared; and even then those who had not joined in the rebellion had to get a new experience in order to live in a way in which it was not necessary for them to live before; for they were now subject to greater dangers. We are now repeating all that history. The restraining power of God is being withdrawn from the earth, as a result of the wickedness of men, and the serpents are again, as it were, coming into the camp. Numerous vicious habits are sapping the vitality of the race, and the life of God is, as it were, leaking out, and men are falling victims to almost every disease to which they are exposed. GCB October 1, 1899, page 83.2
There are to-day one million two hundred thousand cases of consumption in the United States, or practically one in every fifty of the entire population. Last year this disease carried off four and a half times as many victims as typhoid fever, smallpox, diphtheria, and scarlet fever combined. It now claims for its victims one-third of all who die between the ages of fifteen and sixty. Dr. Parks, of Buffalo, who has charge of the New York laboratory for the study of cancer, recently said, that if cancer continues to increase in the next ten years as it has in the past ten, it will then carry off more victims than are now claimed by consumption and typhoid fever together, or nearly one-fourth of all who die. Death from old age will soon be rare. During the last fifty years, insanity has increased thirty per cent. faster than the population. If the present number of insane in this country were placed in a single file, allowing three feet of space to each person, they would form a procession one hundred and thirteen miles long. Think of such an army of raving lunatics, howling maniacs, and senseless idiots, and ask yourself whether or not the serpents are coming into the camp. Rheumatism, Bright’s disease, and a train of similar ills are increasing in a like ratio. The Lord must soon come, or from a human standpoint none but the righteous would be left when he appears. The remnant people will be careful to select for their food the pure and clean things that God originally set aside for man in the garden of Eden. They will recognize that just in proportion as the water which they drink is allowed to be contaminated with germs, tea, coffee, liquor, or sewerage, to exactly that extent it will cease to be the river of life to them. They will recognize that they are out of harmony with God’s divine purpose when they willingly breathe the poisonous gases present in poorly ventilated rooms, or mingle tobacco-smoke with the air that was ordained for life. Some will say, “Who is sufficient for these things?” “Who may abide the day of his coming?” But remember that as all who looked to the uplifted serpent were healed, so God’s healing power is constantly active in the world. Those who cooperate with him by obedience will to that extent grow up into him in all things both spiritual and physical. But the man who is not in harmony with the principles of healthful, spiritual, and physical living is out of harmony with God, and unless speedily converted will be lost. The same wind that sways the young saplings so gracefully, snaps the trunk of the decayed oak. The same spirit that will finally translate the righteous will be a fame of fire to the wicked. GCB October 1, 1899, page 83.3
We can not sow for these wonderful results in purely human strength; but God can inspire us with such a spirit of obedience that it will be the joy of our life to do it. Thousands will err in simply imitating some one else instead of having this precious experience born in their own hearts. One of the characteristics of the man who has had imparted to him physical and spiritual righteousness is that he will not be inclined to boast, but like Paul, will say: “The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God.” Galatians 2:20. He will in the very near future have abundant opportunity to recognize that from a human standpoint he would be dead, but Christ has kept him alive. Such a person will walk this earth a living and tangible example of what a living Christ can accomplish both spiritually and physically for the man who is entirely surrendered to him. He humbly recognizes moment by moment that the one reason he lives is because, like the children of Israel looking at the uplifted serpent in the wilderness, he is looking at the Man of Calvary. The very atmosphere that surrounds his life has such a fragrance in it that it begets a desire for spiritual and physical righteousness in the hearts of those with whom he is associated. They care not so much to copy him as to have their souls and bodies inoculated with the same power that makes him so powerful. GCB October 1, 1899, page 84.1
When these come to such a man and ask, “What shall I do to be saved?” he will not merely point out a certain round of physical duties, but will first introduce them to the Saviour, who is yearning to implant in their hearts the same spirit of obedience that will prompt them to do these very things; and he will maintain himself in readiness to instruct them just as fast as God opens their hearts for the reception of these grand and glorious principles of salvation for the soul and body. DAVID PAULSON. GCB October 1, 1899, page 84.2
THE FIELD AND ITS NEEDS
Reading for Tuesday, December 26.
“And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day and night, who worship the beast and his image, and whatsoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” GCB October 1, 1899, page 84.3
This is the third angel’s message. It is a warning against worshiping the beast and his image, and receiving his mark. It is God’s last message of mercy to a lost world. It is a specific work to be done for the last generation of men; a work of grace accomplished for a class of people in whose hearts the deadly up as of sin has nearly reached its climax. GCB October 1, 1899, page 84.4
For six thousand years the reign of sin has been dragging man down from the image of God, debasing him, poisoning his fountain of life, deadening every sensibility of morality, and quenching every aspiration after God. The devil, too, has come down on this earth, knowing that he hath but a short time. Amid this awful maelstrom of sin, this vortex of all that is evil, God stretches out his scepter of mercy, and invites the sinner to enter his fold. Regardless of nationality, race, or color, without measuring the depths of sin to which the soul has been degraded, the call is made for men and women to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. GCB October 1, 1899, page 84.5
By his Holy Spirit, God proposes to call out a people from the midst of this last generation of sinners. In these very persons in whom the virus of sin has become so strong, in spite of all that heredity, habits, environment, and all that Satan with all his angels can do, God is to perfect a work of grace which will result in their standing on Mount Zion. How inspiring is the description of these overcomers, given by the prophet in Revelation 14:— GCB October 1, 1899, page 84.6
“I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the Mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: and they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the first-fruit unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.” GCB October 1, 1899, page 84.7
This message is positive and reformatory. It makes, by the grace of God, a perfect people. In sincerely accepting the third angel’s message, there is not one sin or evil habit but what must be put away. Every truth taught in the Word of God is embraced in this message; and the receiver is perfected for translation, if he but permits it to transform his life. GCB October 1, 1899, page 85.1