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"Cursed
is the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart
departeth from the Lord." (Jer. 17:5)
Joh
5:44 How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek
not the honour that cometh from God only?
THIRD
ANGEL'S MESSAGE
"If
Any Man Worship the Beast and His Image"
From
WWN7(83)
In studying or presenting the Third Angel's Message, we
often dwell on the results - the reception of "his mark" - rather
than on what the message is really warning us about. Because of this we have
difficulty in understanding the counsel which came to the Church regarding
the 1888 Message of Righteousness by Faith through Elders A. T. Jones and E.
J. Waggoner. Ellen G. White answered an inquiry concerning the message by
stating - "the message of justification by faith ... is the third angel's
message in verity." (SM,
bk i, p. 372) The "testimony" of these brethren was declared to be
"the truth as it is in Jesus, which is the third angel's message, in
clear, distinct lines." (TM,
p. 93)
How do we get the Mark of the Beast into a positive
presentation of Justification by Faith?
We don't!
It is the result which will follow a rejection of the
warning of the Third Angel. The cry of the Third Angel is against the
"worship of the beast and his image." What does this mean? Who is
the beast? "Here is wisdom.
Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the
number of a man."
(Rev. 13: 18) Thus to worship the beast is to worship a man, and the image is
merely the image of a man. The outcome or results lead to a
"number" - and a "mark." In this essay, these
results will only be incidental to the general theme. We want to go to the
heart of the warning as given in the Third Angel's Message.
True worship constitutes the reverence and respect we pay
to the God of Heaven.
A blasphemous worship is reverence and respect we pay to a
human being as a god, or to one we place between ourselves and God.
Such worship is clearly a violation of the First
Commandment - "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me." (Ex. 20:3)
In meeting the temptation suggested by Satan to violate
this commandment, Jesus resolutely declared - "Thou shalt worship the
Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve." (Matt. 4:10) We may
fellowship together as brothers and sisters in Christ; we may enter into the
intimate fellowship that marks the home; we may work together in fulfilling
the great commission; but in all of these relationships, we are to worship
and serve only God.
When we in any of these relationships of life, honor a
fellow man before duty to God and truth, we become a candidate for the mark
of the beast.
There is much more to the first great line prophecy of
Daniel than we have perceived. The story of the nations from Daniel's day to
the final hour of human history is all enfolded in one image - the image of a
man. All that man devises and accomplishes ultimately becomes dust "like
the chaff of the summer threshing floors." (Dan. 2:35) All the
kingdoms - represented by the gold, silver, brass, and iron - were built by
the prowess of men. To accomplish their objectives, the men who established
these kingdoms of earth demanded of their subjects - fellow man - devotion,
loyalty, and worship. Being themselves formed from the dust of the ground,
they and all with them have or will return to dust. Thus the lesson of Daniel
2 is but an illustration of the words of the Lord to Jeremiah - "Cursed
is the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart
departeth from the Lord." (Jer. 17:5)
The only thing that will stand forever is the stone cut out
"without hands" - not of human prowess. This is the stone which the
builders rejected, and upon whomever it falls, it will grind to powder.
(Matt. 22:44) But whoever falls upon this rock and is "broken" the
same shall find life. This is justification by faith as portrayed in the
symbolism of parable and prophecy the Third Angel's Message in verity.
As the prophetic messages of Daniel continue to unfold,
there is pictured the beasts of Daniel 7. But "the saints of the most
High" ultimately possess the kingdom. It is given to them. (Dan. 7: 22, 27) They have declared
their citizenship in harmony with the One who justifies them in Judgment
before the Ancient of Days. Theirs and His kingdom is not of this world.
(John 18:36).
Not only are the "saints" other worldly in their
attitude toward material things, but they are other worldly in their belief
and worship.
They worship only God - not man.
They possess the truth as it is in Jesus. This truth was
emphatically stated in a question Jesus asked - "How can ye believe (The
basis of Justification by Faith) which receive honor one from another, and
seek not that honor that cometh from God only." (John 5:44)
We miss the First Angel's Message - "Fear God and give
glory to Him" - we condition ourselves to reject the Third. So long
as we are looking to men, to seek their guidance, follow their leadership,
instead of seeking to glorify God, believe and follow His truth, we cannot
perceive nor believe in righteousness by faith.
The prophet declared - "Cease ye from men, whose
breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?" (Isa.
2:22) When we are willing to do this, then we are ready to turn to our
only source of help - God alone.
How is all this related to Justification by Faith? I
recognize my need. I am a sinner. Neither the works of my hands the deeds I
do - will justify me before God for "by the deeds of the law shall no
flesh be justified in His sight." (Rom. 3:20) Thus I cannot rely upon
myself - a man. To believe that there are things which I can do which will
merit me the favor of God and heaven, is to receive the mark of the beast. To
trust in some man to get me through is equally disastrous. There is only one
mediator between God and man, and that is the Man, Christ Jesus. (I Tim. 2:5)
Those who are justified by faith wherein the glory of man
is laid in the dust, and God does for him what he cannot do for himself -
receive from God His seal, not the mark of a man. That seal is "the
sign of the cross of Calvary." (Letter 26, 1898: 7BC:978) It means
simply that we have fallen on the Rock and have been "broken." A
man with his "bones" broken can do little. He is totally dependent.
It is at the Cross, and over the Cross that the great
struggle concerning justification is centered. In the Cross is gathered all
aspects of travail resultant from sin. To refuse to follow the enemy of God
brings stigma and reproach - the Cross.
To surrender to the call of the Cross, means death to self,
and all that self desires to do - even to merit salvation. To behold the
Cross is to see God's wrath against sin. But to take our cross is to find
life. Jesus said - "If any man will come after Me - [not the beast] -
let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whosoever will
save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life shall find
it." (Matt. 16:24-25)
What has been the story of the Church in its rejection of
the message of Justification by Faith? What is the story
today? "Now it has been Satan's determined purpose to eclipse the
view of Jesus, and lead men to look to man, and trust to man, and be educated
to expect help from man. For years the church has been looking to man, and
expecting much from man, but not looking to Jesus, in whom our hopes of
eternal life are centered. Therefore God gave to His servants (Jones and
Waggoner] a testimony that presented the truth as it is in Jesus, which is
the third angel's message, in clear, distinct lines. " (TM, p. 93)
The present crisis in the Church has produced two distinct
groups. One is identified by their advocacy of neo-Adventism. These can best
be described by a paraphrase on the words of a well-known hymn:
Nothing in my hands I bring,
But to Thy Cross, I shun to cling
Tho' in many songs, I of it sing.
These still want the world and all that the world offers.
They seek to preach Paul, but forget that Paul confessed "God forbid
that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the
world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." (Gal., 6:14)
Due to the emphasis on what is termed, "cheap
grace" - a reactionary group has galvanized which also sing the same
tune, but with different words:
Very much in my hands I bring
For Lord wherein else could I sing
Of all the works I do for Thee;
But the Cross, from it, excuse Thou, me.
In between stands "the bleeding Lamb, our
Saviour" - with hands outstretched, still pleading: "Come unto Me,
all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke
upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall
find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."
(Matt. 11:28-30)
Here is the essence of the Third Angel's Message. Our faith
and our confidence is not in the "beast" - man - but in God
manifest in the flesh, "Who was delivered for our offences, and was
raised for our justification." (Rom. 4:25) We today who are willing to
take up our cross will follow Him to where His cross was placed.
"Wherefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own
blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto Him without
the camp, bearing His reproach." (Heb. 13:12-13) (Bold emphasis
added.)
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Wednesday, August 15, 2018
"If Any Man Worship the Beast and His Image"
Tuesday, August 14, 2018
Shall We Be Found Wanting?
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Shall We Be Found Wanting?
Our
position in the world is not what it should be. We are far from where we
should have been had our Christian experience been in harmony with the light
and the opportunities given us, had we from the beginning constantly pressed
onward and upward. Had we walked in the light that has been given us, had we
followed on to know the Lord, our path would have grown brighter and
brighter. But many of those who have had special light are so conformed to
the world that they can scarcely be distinguished from worldlings.
They not
stand forth as God's peculiar people, chosen and precious. It is difficult to
discern between him that serveth God and him
that serveth Him not.
In the
balances of the sanctuary the Seventh-day Adventist church is to be
weighed. She will be judged by the privileges and advantages that she has
had. If her spiritual experience does not correspond to the advantages that
Christ, at infinite cost, has bestowed on her, if the blessings conferred
have not qualified her to do the work entrusted to her, on her will be
pronounced the sentence: "Found wanting." By the light bestowed,
the opportunities given, will she be judged.
St.
Helena, California, April 21, 1903.
God's Purpose For His People
God has
in store love, joy, peace, and glorious triumph for all who serve Him in
spirit and in truth. His commandment-keeping people are to stand constantly
in readiness for service. They are to receive increased grace and power, and
increased knowledge of the Holy Spirit's working. But many are not ready to
receive the precious gifts of the Spirit which God is waiting to bestow on
them. They are not reaching higher and still higher for power from above that
through the gifts bestowed, they may be recognized as God's peculiar people,
zealous of good works.
"Repent, and Do the First Works"
Solemn
admonitions of warning, manifest in the destruction of dearly cherished
facilities for service, say to us:
"Remember
therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first
works." Revelation 2:5.
Why is
there so dim a perception of the true spiritual condition of the church?
Has not
blindness fallen upon the watchmen standing on the walls of Zion?
Are not
many of God's servants unconcerned and well satisfied, as if the pillar of
cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night rested upon the sanctuary? Are
there not those in positions of responsibility, professing to know God, who
in life and character deny Him?
Are not
many of those who count themselves as His chosen, peculiar people satisfied
to live without the evidence that of a truth God is among them to save them
from Satan's snares and attacks?
Would we
not now have much greater light if, in the past, we had received the Lord's
admonitions, acknowledged His presence, and turned away from all practices
contrary to His will?
Had we
done this, the light of heaven would have shone into the soul-temple,
enabling us to comprehend the truth and to love God supremely and our
neighbors as ourselves.
Oh, how
greatly Christ is dishonored by those who, professing to be Christians,
disgrace the name they bear by failing to make their lives correspond to
their profession, by failing to treat one another with the love and respect
that God expects them to reveal in kind words and courteous acts!
The
powers from beneath are stirred with deep intensity. War and bloodshed are
the result. The moral atmosphere is poisoned with cruel, horrible doings. The
spirit of strife is spreading; it abounds in every place. Many souls are
being taken possession of by the spirit of fraud, or underhand dealing. Many
will depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of
devils. They do not discern what spirit has taken possession of them.
A Failure To Honor God
One who
sees beneath the surface, who reads the hearts of all men, says of those who
have had great light: "They are not afflicted and astonished because of
their moral and spiritual condition." Yea, they have chosen their own
ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations. I also will choose their delusions,
and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer;
when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before Mine eyes, and
chose that in which I delighted not." "God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a
lie," because "they received not the love of the truth, that they
might be saved," "but had pleasure in unrighteousness." Isaiah
66:3, 4; 2 Thessalonians 2:11, 10, 12.
The
heavenly Teacher inquired: "What stronger delusion can beguile the mind than the pretense that
you are building on the right foundation and that God accepts your works,
when in reality you are working out many things according to worldly policy
and are sinning against Jehovah? Oh, it is a great deception, a fascinating delusion, that takes
possession of minds when men who have once known the truth, mistake the form
of godliness for the spirit and power thereof; when they suppose that they
are rich and increased with goods and in need of nothing, while in reality
they are in need of everything."
Rev 3:17
Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of
nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and
blind, and naked
God has
not changed toward His faithful servants who are keeping their garments
spotless. But many are crying, "Peace and safety," while sudden
destruction is coming upon them. Unless there is thorough repentance, unless
men humble their hearts by confession and receive the truth as it is in
Jesus, they will never enter heaven. When purification shall take place in
our ranks, we shall no longer rest at ease, boasting of being rich and
increased with goods, in need of nothing.
Who can
truthfully say: "Our gold is tried in the fire; our garments are
unspotted by the world"? I saw our Instructor pointing to the garments
of so-called righteousness. Stripping them off, He laid bare the defilement
beneath. Then He said to me: "Can you not see how they have
pretentiously covered up their defilement and rottenness of character? 'How is the faithful city become an harlot!'
My Father's house is made a house of merchandise, a place whence the
divine presence and glory have departed! For this cause there is weakness,
and strength is lacking."
A Call For Reformation
Unless
the church, which is now being leavened with her own backsliding, shall
repent and be converted, she will eat of the fruit of her own doing, until
she shall abhor herself. When she resists the evil and chooses the good,
when she seeks God with all humility and reaches her high calling in Christ,
standing on the platform of eternal truth and by faith laying hold upon the
attainments prepared for her, she will be healed. She will appear in her
God-given simplicity and purity, separate from earthly entanglements, showing
that the truth has made her free indeed. Then her members will indeed be the
chosen of God, His representatives.
The time
has come for a thorough reformation to take place. When this reformation
begins, the spirit of prayer will actuate every believer and will banish from
the church the spirit of discord and strife. Those who have not been living
in Christian fellowship will draw close to one another. One member working in
right lines will lead other members to unite with him in making intercession
for the revelation of the Holy Spirit. There will be no confusion, because
all will be in harmony with the mind of the Spirit. The barriers separating
believer from believer will be broken down, and God's servants will speak the
same things. The Lord will co-operate with His servants. All will pray
understandingly the prayer that Christ taught His servants: "Thy kingdom
come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." Matthew 6:10.
Testimonies
for the Church, Vol. 8, Page 247
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Monday, August 13, 2018
Take Heed.
The Sign of the End
Of Time(Excerpt from wwn12/00)
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In August of this year a publication of questionable reliability issued its own interpretation on a prophecy of Jesus, ignoring completely what Jesus Himself had said. The defiant dictum read - "The Jews will not have regained control of
Jesus Himself had stood on the
When ye shall see
What if the early Christians who dwelt in
In this verse (24) and the one following (25), the word, ta eqnh is used four times. Twice it is translated "nations" and twice "Gentiles." This word with the article is used for the Hebrew word, hagoyim, the pagan nations apart from
This sign is unique and was given by Jesus to answer a specific part of the question asked by the disciples. The disciples were concerned about the destruction of the temple, and had asked, "When shall these things be?" (Matt. 24:3). But they, thinking that such an event would involve the end of the world, asked further - "What shall be the sign (singular) of thy coming and of the end of the world?" They asked not what would be the signs of the time of the end, but the sign of the end of time. Thus the answer of Jesus, in which
Some History of the Interpretation of Luke 21:24
In 1898, James Edson White published The Coming King . It went through several editions. It was printed in the
We also read that "
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When the Australian edition was printed in 1904, this paragraph was enlarged and modified. The last sentence was omitted, and previous sentence was made to read:
Jerusalem has never again come into the possession of the Jews, but when the "times of the Gentiles" are fulfilled, and Christ comes to gather the faithful of all ages, then all who are Israelites indeed, all the household of faith, will have a home in that city of which the old Jerusalem was but a type, - the city for which Abraham looked, whose builder and maker is God. Hebrews 11:10. (p.98)
When an enlarged edition was published by the Review & Herald in 1906, the final paragraph of the chapter was abbreviated to state:
We also read that "
Whether the above interpretation of Luke
"The author gratefully acknowledges contributions on special subjects treated in this book, from the pens of J. O. Corliss, M. E. Kellogg, and G. C. Tenny." (p. viii) Does this apply to all previous editions as well as to the 1906 edition?
During the time of the publication of the various editions of Edson White's book, his mother wrote in a letter to Dr. J. H. Kellogg the following insight:
In the twenty-first chapter of Luke, Christ foretold what was to come upon Jerusalem; with it He connected the scenes which were to take place in the history of the world just prior to the coming of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (Letter 20,1901)
Two factors need to be carefully considered from this statement: 1) Luke 21 is singled out from the other two parallel chapters of Matthew 24 and Mark 13 in the Synoptic Gospels. It is Luke alone who recorded Jesus' prophecy - "And Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the nations until the times of the nations be fulfilled." 2) It was what "was to come upon
In 1944, the Voice of Prophecy published for their Book of the Month offer,
The apostle Paul speaks of old
In 1947, another book appeared, The Jews and Palestine. It was published by the Pacific Press and authored by Roy F. Cottrell. In a chapter on "Modern Zionism," the author after quoting Jeremiah 19:10,11 - "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Even so will I break this people and this city, as one breaketh a potter's vessel, that it cannot be made whole again" - wrote:
The God of heaven who overthrew the city and nation and who because of their apostasy dispersed the inhabitants to the ends of the earth forever settles the question of a complete return and restitution in old
Yet within a year, the State of Israel became a fact. This should teach the Church and its writers on prophecy to be very cautious, recognizing that some positions held may be faulty, and need to be carefully restudied. "God and heaven alone are infallible."
The Church at the first opportunity rectified its position and returned in principle to the understanding suggested by Edson White in 1898. In 1952 a Bible Conference was held in the
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Second Coming." One section of his presentation was devoted to "Areas of Unfulfilled Prophecy." He cited three, one of which was "Developments in
There is one prophecy concerning
Citing "the amazing prowess of the Israeli troops" in every other part of
It may well be that the same principle applies today, on a wider scale. If so, then
One means used in Adventist evangelistic outreach has been Bible Correspondence courses. Among them was one called the "20th Century Bible Course." Lesson 5 of this course - "Time Running Out" - cited the prophecy of Luke 21. Question #2 asked - "What sign did Jesus give that would indicate when the destruction of the city was at hand?" The text given for the answer was Luke 21:20. Question #3 continued - "How long did Christ say that
Old
In reflection it would seem that providentially, the Adult Sabbath School Lessons for the second quarter of 1980 were devoted to "The Witness of Jesus." The month following the conclusion of these lessons, the Knesset of Israel on July 30, voted that "
We shall not linger long over the numerous signs given by Jesus in this discourse. Only one will occupy our attention, the one that deals especially with time. Even in our day it constitutes a critical point in the political world:
This prophecy of Jesus was a sign for the Christians of the
It is not a matter of seeing in the return of the Jews to
As I understand the Biblical language, the times of the Gentiles is the period set aside by God for the evangelization of the heathen nations. It is not the time needed for them to be converted to Christianity, as some think but for them to hear the gospel. It is in this sense that Jesus said, "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come" (Matt. 24:14).
I believe that the times of the Gentiles began in AD 34, when the prophetic seventy weeks that God set aside for the people of
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The very least that this fulfilled prophecy of Jesus is saying is that God is no longer restraining the power of Satan in his control of the nations of earth. Even though Satan declared that he possessed such power and could delegate it to whomever he chose (Luke 4:6), the book of Daniel draws the curtain aside and reveals that God "ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will" (Dan. 4:17). When kings and rulers resisted His purposes, Michael, to whom all earthly authority is given (I Cor.
We have not been left in doubt as to what Satan is seeking to accomplish. In the Revelation of Jesus Christ, the picture is drawn. "The spirits of devils go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of the great day of God Almighty" (Rev. 16:14). But you respond, that is the sixth plague after the close of probation. No, it is the cause for the sixth plague, not the plague. Consider the first plague: a "grievous sore" on those who had received the mark of the beast (16:2). Was not the mark of the beast received prior to the close of probation? Just so, the sixth plague. Verse 12 describes the plague - the drying up of the great river
Note the use of this text in The Great Controversy, pp.561-62. Observe the context - "the last remnant of time."
The location of this gathering is given as a place in the Hebrew tongue, called "Har-Magedon" (
Even as the sanctuary "was the key which unlocked the mystery of the disappointment" in 1844 (See, Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. 4, p. 268), so also it gives a further understanding as to the significance of Jesus' prophecy as recorded in Luke 21:24. During the daily ministration, confession of sin, both individual and corporate was made in the court of the sanctuary. The distinct difference between these two ceremonies was where the blood of confession was placed. For the individual, the blood of his sacrifice was placed upon the horns of the Brazen Altar of the Court, while for a corporate sin, the blood of the sacrifice was placed on the horns of the Golden Altar of Incense in the
What Warning Has God Given? -- When God told Moses, the nature of the Coming One, that He would be a Prophet raised up in the midst of the Children of Israel like unto himself, and that He would put words into His mouth, He also sounded a warning:
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. (Deut. 18:19)
It was that Prophet who declared that "
Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and the cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. (Luke 21:34-36)
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Is The Coming of Jesus Off Schedule?
The
following study on the return of Jesus Christ- that all Christians should
eagerly be awaiting- is taken from the newsletter called - Watchmen, What of
the Night- put out by Adventist Laymen's Foundation.
This isn't
an easy read- this is meat, not milk. If you're looking for just a few soothing
words, a bit of acknowledgement, a couple of paragraphs of reassurance this
isn't the article you're looking for.
We know
our Savior is returning of that there is no doubt. However, ever since our Lord
made the prediction before He ascended to heaven people have had this
expectation. Right away there were people questioning when Jesus would return.
People wanted Him to return right away, and as time passed their hope either
grew stronger or for some, it faded away and left them hopeless and filled with
disbelief. The same can be said for
every successive generation of people- the hopeful, the steadfast, and those
who give up hope. By now, thousands of years later many have given up all hope,
yet not all.
We have
the assurance of prophecy- all prophecy eventually coming to past- our history
is the proof.
Our Savior
will return of that there is not a single doubt.
The
generation of those alive in 1980 will see His return. Does that mean all who
were alive then will see His return? Absolutely not. What it means is some of
the people in that generation WILL see our Savior's return. My Dad was alive in
1980, so was my mother, but they are both asleep in Jesus right now. I was
alive in 1980 just on the verge of graduating high school. Will I be alive when
our Savior returns, only God knows. I do know Anyone born in 1980 has this very
real prophetic hope. Will all those born then witness Christ's return? Again
no. People of all ages pass away. However, the hope is REAL, the hope is TRUTH.
May God bless us and keep us in HIM, and by HIS GRACE and MERCY may we be among
those alive to witness His return!
*******
Is The
Coming of Jesus Off Schedule?
…
At issue
here are two things: 1) The New Testament emphasis on the soon return of Jesus,
and 2) The meaning of what Jesus meant by, this generation shall not pass away
until all these things be fulfilled.
There can
be no question, Jesus did promise the disciples just prior to His crucifixion
that He would come again. The sole condition was: "If I go ... I will come
again" (John 14:3). He did go, and as He went two angels reiterated the
promise: "This same Jesus
- shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven" (Acts
1:11). But He has not come, yet in the Book of Revelation. Jesus plainly
declared, "Behold, I come quickly" (22:12) and his final words to
John were, "Surely I come quickly" (22:20).
The first
Christians believed - and hoped - it would be in their lifetime. Paul
proclaimed the return of Jesus so vividly that many of the church he raised up
in Thessalonica were troubled over what to them seemed like a delay. He had to
follow his first letter with a second in which he wrote plainly:
Now I
beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our
gathering together unto Him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or he
troubled, neither in spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the
day of Christ is at hand. (II Thess. 2:1-2).
Paul then
stated that certain things needed to transpire before Jesus would or could
return a second time. The return of Jesus would be preceded by "a failing
away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition" (v. 3).
The brief
summary given by Paul to the Church in Thessalonica, was enlarged in the
visions given to John on Patmos.
The
controversy between good and evil which Jesus capitalized with the Cross was to
continue until He would return as King of kings, and Lord of lords. (Rev.
19:11-16)
At issue,
is the method of interpretation to be used in understanding "the things
which must shortly come to pass" as revealed to John on Patmos.
In other
words, if history is truly the response to the voice of prophecy, the
historistic methodology is to be used, which Cottrell abhors. Or is some other
format to be imposed upon what God has declared would be? From whose
perspective and viewpoint is the "revelation" given? In the very
first "unveiling" of Jesus Christ to John, He declared of Himself:
"I am
he that liveth, and was dead: and behold, I am alive forevermore .... and have
the keys. .. " (1:18).
What is
Jesus saying? He is "alive forevermore." No longer is He operating in
the time frame of earth. He died in time, but lives forevermore in eternity.
When He stated to John, "I come quickly," it was from His
perspective. Man can only watch the unfolding of events as prophesied, to
perceive how "soon" from the perspective of time. And the methodology
which permits this approach is the historistic.
We still
have the second question to consider. What did Jesus mean when He responded to
the inquiring disciples about the end time, "Verily I say unto you, This
generation shall not pass away, till all these things be fulfilled"? And
He confirmed it as it were with an "oath" - "Heaven and earth
shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away" (Matt. 24:34-35). The
other synoptic gospels - Mark and Luke - state the same thing, placing it
seemingly as a summary on the whole as if one generation alone is
Page 3
involved,
and that generation being theirs to whom Jesus was speaking. This cannot be for
the context, in which the first major sign Jesus gave was placed, clearly
points to another event and not His second coming.
We need to
remember that the question asked by the disciples was two-fold: 1.) "These
things" referring to the destruction of Jerusalem; and 2) "The sign
of Thy coming and the end of the world." (Matt. 24:3)
The sign
Jesus gave regarding "the abomination of desolation" is clearly
focused as an answer to the first part of the two-fold question that was asked.
After stating the "sign" Jesus adds, "Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains" (24:15-16)
This was
to be followed by a period of "great tribulation" which unless
shortened "there should no flesh be saved" (24:21, 22).
But time would continue on - "Immediately
after the tribulation of those days" there were to be major celestial
signs, and then the return of "the Son of man coming in the clouds of
heaven with power and great glory" (24:29-30).
There is
no way that a single generation - let alone the generation represented by the
twelve disciples before Him - could experience all that Jesus defined would
take place between that hour and His return again a second time.
How are we
to understand what Jesus meant?
Consider
the first question asked by the disciples - the destruction of the temple. To
this question, Jesus gave the specific sign of "the abomination of
desolation" standing in the holy place. There was a brief time lapse
between the sign and the overthrow of Jerusalem.
Luke,
taking the sign out of the prophetic symbolism used in Mark and Matthew,
stated, "When ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that
the destruction thereof is nigh." (21:20). This occurred in 66 AD, and in
70 AD, the same Roman armies returned and took the city. The question of
"generation" can be answered from this prophecy and events. Did the
"generation" which saw the sign live to see what that sign
predicated, fulfilled? The answer is "Yes!"
During His
eschatological discourse Jesus gave other specific signs - signs to be in the
sun, moon and stars, as well as the "times of the nations" being
fulfilled. Can the axiom established in the fulfilment of the first sign be
applied to each major sign Jesus gave?
In other
words: The "generation" which
sees the specific sign, does not pass away until the event to which that sign
points is fulfilled, or begins to be fulfilled.
After
giving the counsel as how to relate to the fulfilment of the first sign -
"the abomination of desolation ... standing where it ought not" (Mk
13:14) Jesus declared: "Then shall be great tribulation" (Matt
24:21). This tribulation was to be numbered in "days." Before
relating the next set of signs in the heavens, Jesus stated, "Immediately
after the tribulation of those days"
(24:29). Having established His answer to their questions in the book of Daniel
the prophet (24:15), Jesus continues to refer to the book. "Days" and
"the Abomination of Desolation" are connected. What is designated,
"the Abomination of Desolation" in Daniel 8, is in Daniel 7,
"the little horn" who would "wear out the saints of the Most
High" for "a time and times, and a dividing of times" (v. 25),
or 1260 days. (See Rev. 11:3 & 12:6).
Further,
"the transgression of desolation" is involved in the question asked
in Dan. 8:13, and the answer given in verse 14 involves "evenings and
mornings" ("many days" - 8:26).
One
problem remains. How do we harmonize Luke's reporting of Jesus' answer to the
disciples questions with Matthew and Mark?
The idea
that Jesus taught that He would return to the generation compassed in the life
span of the Twelve who sat before Him that night on Olivet was not original
with Cottrell. In the Journal of the
Adventist Theological Society [11/1-2 (2000), pp. 295-306] Dr. John
T Baldwin on the staff of the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary,
discusses the question. Citing the positions of the English theologian, Matthew
Tyndall, and the German theologian, Herman S. Reimarus of Hamburg, Baldwin
notes the challenge these men made to the integrity of Jesus over the
"generation" statement. Reimarus went so far as to call the premise
of Jesus' return a "clear falsity."
In his
answer to justify Jesus’ promise, Baldwin restructures a "harmony" of
the synoptic Gospels seeking to bring Luke 21 into line with Matthew 24 and
Mark 13. This ultimately leads to a mixing of the literal words of Jesus and
His symbolic revelations given in vision to John on Patmos. You cannot put
"apples and oranges" together and call them one fruit.
It is
difficult to determine whether Baldwin is challenging Cottrell's position, or
whether he is seeking to negate the application of the prophecy, found only in
Luke, to this present time. Perhaps both, like "killing two birds with one
stone."
Baldwin
sets forth his premise that -
The Olivet
Discourse as presented in Matthew 24, in which Jesus outlines the signs of His
second coming
Page 4
in some
detail, needs to be augmented with crucial information from the parallel
account given in Luke 21. An initial important task is to compare the listing
of the major signs as presented in each chapter which show, at first reading,
an important omission in Luke's list as compared with that as given by Matthew
and Mark (p. 298).
He then
lists the major signs as given in Matthew and Mark:
1) The
destruction of earthly Jerusalem,
2) A
period of tribulation,
3) Signs
in the sun and moon, and
4) The
powers of heaven are shaken.
Baldwin
observes: "In striking contrast to the four signs listed in Matthew and
Mark, Luke apparently presents only three distinct, sequential signs which are
to transpire before the coming of the Son of man. ... The apparent missing sign
in Luke's account is the second sign given by Matthew and Mark, namely, the
period of tribulation sign." He then asks the question - "Is the
tribulation sign truly missing in Luke's account?" In the answer given,
Baldwin seeks to define the Jerusalem of Luke 21:20 as the literal city
destroyed in 70 AD, and the Jerusalem of verse 24 as the Heavenly Jerusalem. He
then concludes that the "tribulation" period stated in Matthew and
Mark is "the times of the Gentiles" as given in Luke.
The
first problem is that there is no evidence within the text - Luke 21:20-24 -
that Jesus shifted meanings for "Jerusalem" from the earthly to the
heavenly. To so conclude is merely an assumption. It would contribute to a
clearer understanding of Luke 21:24 if the word, eqnh were
consistently translated "nations" as sense so requires in its first
use in the verse. The verse would then read:
And they
shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all
nations (eqnh): and Jerusalem shall he trodden down of the
nations (eqnwn - genitive), until the times of the nations(eqnwn) be
fulfilled.
This
translates this verse consistent with the verse which follows -"upon earth
distress of nations (eqnhn)" [ver. 25]. Further, Luke discusses
the destruction of Jerusalem prior to the Olivet discourse which finds no
parallel in either Matthew or Mark. In recording the words of Jesus, he uses
the word, kairoV the "time of thy visitation"
meaning probationary time (Luke 19:41-44). Now in Luke 21:24, he chooses the
same word, and applies it to the "nations." The probation for the
Jewish nation as the chosen people of God ended in 34 AD; the "times of
the nations" would end when Jerusalem was restored to the control of a
Jewish state. Dr. J R. Zurcher has well stated it. He wrote in his book, Christ of the
Revelation:
I believe
that the times of the Gentiles began in 34 AD when the prophetic seventy weeks
that God set aside for the people of Israel ended. The baptism of the first
"heathens" - the Ethiopian eunuch and the centurion Cornelius - as
well as the conversion of Paul as the apostle to the Gentiles mark the
beginning of these new times when the gospel would be preached to the nations.
And if I have understood the prediction of Jesus properly, this time will be
"fulfilled" when Jerusalem will cease "to be trodden down of the
Gentiles." The fact that since 1967 Gentiles no longer occupied Jerusalem
means, therefore, that we are now living at the end of "the times of the
Gentiles."(p. 72).
The text
by which Baldwin seeks to equate the prophecy of Jesus concerning "the
times of the Gentiles" in Luke with the "tribulation" period
noted in the other two Synoptics is Revelation 11:1-2. It reads:
And there
was given me a reed like a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise measure the
temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court
which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto
the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two
months.
This is
symbolic language and connects with other symbolic language in the book of
Revelation. "The temple of God" and "the forty two months"
connect it with the "beast" of Revelation 13 who opens "his
mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and
them that dwell in heaven (13:5-6). There is no question but that this
association of texts places them parallel with the "tribulation"
period as noted in both Matthew and Mark. The missing link is the justification
of equating "Jerusalem" in Luke 21:24 with the "holy city"
of Revelation 11:2. The "holy city" in Revelation is defined as
"the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven" (21:2).
There is
no question that the "abomination of desolation" in Daniel "cast
down the truth to the ground, and it practised, and prospered" (8:12).
This does connect the prophetic description of Revelation 11, and words in
"Daniel the prophet" with the "days" of tribulation, Jesus
spoke about on Olivet. However, it is equally beyond question, that there is no
evidence to recognize the
Page 5
"Jerusalem"
in Luke 21:20, as the literal city, and the "Jerusalem" of Luke 21:24
as "the holy city" in Heaven.
By
recognizing the obvious in what Jesus said, and applying the axiom confirmed by
the first sign that Jesus gave in regard to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70
AD, Luke's unique difference from Matthew and Mark, speaks to us today.
When Luke
listed the sign which would mark the answer to the first part of the twofold
question asked by the disciples, he quotes Jesus as saying, "When ye shall see ... then know the desolation is
nigh" (v. 20). He again uses this same phraseology, when prefacing the statement, "This
generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled."
Let us
follow through progressively Luke's report of the words of Jesus. Follow
carefully with your Bibles open to these verses (20-33). Noting "the days
of vengeance" that would befall Jerusalem with the scattering of those who
survived as captives "into all nations," Jesus is quoted as saying
that "'Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the nations until the times of
the nations be fulfilled" (v. 24). [We shall translate the one
word, eqnh, used in verses 24 and 25 four times, as "nations."
The KJV translates the word twice as "nations" and twice as
"Gentiles."]
After
covering the events involving the city of Jerusalem, Luke briefly notes that
there "shall be signs in the sun, moon, and stars without giving any
details as found in both Matthew and Mark, then quickly returns to "'the
nations" - "upon earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the seas
and the waves roaring" (v. 25). Here "symbolism" is used,
borrowed from the book of Daniel -"'the four winds of heaven strove upon
the great sea" (7:2). Then follows a series of designations - "those
things," "these things" - all connected with "upon
earth." Observe carefully:
Verse 26 -
'"Men's hearts failing them for fear and for looking as those things which
are coming on the earth. Verse 28 - "And when these things begin to come to pass, then look
up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh."
A parable
from the fig tree is given, and then the admonition: "So likewise ye,
when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand" (v. 31). Why?
"Verily
I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be
fulfilled." (v. 32).
From
Luke's analysis of what Jesus said on the Mount of Olives, a connection can be
drawn between the sign of the close of the probation of the nations - Jerusalem
returned to the control of Israel, and the "generation" that would
not pass away till all be fulfilled.
In the
twenty-first chapter of Luke, Christ foretold what was to come upon Jerusalem,
and with it He connected the scenes which were to take place in the history of
the world just prior to the coming of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven
with power and great glory.
Mark the
words: "Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be
overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and the cares of this life, and
so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them
that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always,
that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to
pass, and to stand before the Son of man."
This is a
warning to those who claim to be Christians. Those who have had light upon the
important testing truths for this time, and yet are not making ready for the
Son of man, are not taking heed. …
Only by
being clothed with the robe of Christ's righteousness can we escape the
judgments coming upon the earth. Let all remember that these words were among
the last that Christ gave His disciples. If this instruction were often
repeated in our papers and publications, and less space were taken for matter
which is not one hundreth part so important, it would be more appropriate. In
these sacred, solemn warnings the danger signal is lifted. It is this
instruction that the church members and the people of the world need; for it is
present truth. (Letter 20, 1901)
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