Out of Bondage.

 Egypt. When you think of the Bible and Egypt you almost automatically think of the Ten Commandments and Moses freeing the Hebrew slaves from Egypt by taking them through the Red Sea. Egypt, the place of the pyramids and sphinx, pharaohs and tombs.  Jesus came out of Egypt…

Mat 2:15  And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.

Jesus went into Egypt as a baby for protection and stayed there until it was safe for Him to travel to Nazareth, taken there by His loving parents guided by God, led by the angels. 

God led the Hebrews into Egypt to protect and save them as well, when a famine overtook the land for seven years. Prior to the famine He'd set things up so that a Hebrew sold into slavery would become the second in command of all Egypt. Then those saved Hebrews over the years (400 years) went from being saved people into being slaves, captives of Egypt. God then saved those slaves from their subjugation by using a deliverer, Moses.  You know the very famous true story of Moses and the Ten Commandments. 

Jesus was a part of all these things, a very important part. 

1Co 10:2  And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 

1Co 10:3  And did all eat the same spiritual meat; 

1Co 10:4  And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. 

1Co 10:5  But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 

1Co 10:6  Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lust

The Spiritual Rock- was Christ.

Way before Jesus, as God with God took on the flesh of the Son of God,  He was there with the children of Israel as they were being led out of Egypt. Then as a babe He physically came out of Egypt.  There is an importance here we don't consider… read on…  and may  God enlighten us!

*******

February 5, 1901

“The Keeping of the Commandments” Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 78, 6, p. 88.

WHEN the Lord visited and redeemed His people, to take them into the land of promise, the land which He sware to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give to them: when He took them unto himself to serve Him only in the keeping of His holy law, He said, first of all: “I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” etc. 

Israel missed God’s call; they believed Him not, and therefore could not enter into His rest. These fell in the wilderness. And the generation that went into the land of Canaan did not in that go into “the land” and the “rest” to which the Lord would have taken the people when they first left Egypt, had they only believed. They drifted further and further away from God until they actually rejected Him, that they might be like the nations. 

And they became like the nations. They failed exactly as had their fathers before them. For, in the days of David, the Lord said still: “To-day if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness; when your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do always err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.” Hebrews 3:7-11; 4:7, 8. 

But still they hardened their hearts, and went further away from the Lord, until they got into such darkness that it was the very darkness of “the shadow of death,” which is “darkness, as darkness itself, and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness.” And there the people sat, when there shined unto them a “great light,” even the light of God, in which darkness itself is light. Isaiah 9:2; Job 10:21, 22; Matthew 4:16. 

Christ came. Again God visited to redeem His people, to make them not simply servants, but sons of God, that we “might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our life.” And at that time again God said: “Out of Egypt have I called my Son.” 

Why was it necessary that the infant Jesus should be taken into Egypt at the time of the slaughter of the innocents by Herod? It was not alone to escape the decree of Herod, that Jesus was taken into Egypt; for that decree could have been easily escaped by a much shorter journey. This was done to teach all people forever the deep spiritual lesson of the true deliverance from Egypt. 

Jesus came into the world to take the place of man, to be our substitute and surety. Mankind is overwhelmed in the darkness and bondage of sin—Egyptian darkness, a darkness that may be felt. He was made to be sin; upon Him was laid the iniquity of us all; He was numbered with the transgressors; He was made in all things like those whose substitute He became. 

Therefore He was taken into Egypt, and was brought out again, “that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my Son;” and that by this object lesson there might be emphasized anew, and forever, the great lesson taught from of old to all people, the great truth that men become the sons of God only by their being called out of Egypt. 

The Ten Commandments express the whole duty of man. All that ever a man can do, in deed, word or thought, in righteousness, is covered by the Ten Commandments. All man’s service to God is in the keeping of this His Law. And when it was written of Christ, and it was fulfilled in Christ, as the Example of all mankind, that “out of Egypt have I called my Son,” this was simply speaking anew to all mankind the words which, that great day, God spoke from heaven, as the preamble to the whole Ten Commandments and their keeping: “I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” 

This is the universal lesson: that no man can serve God, that no man can keep a single one of the Ten Commandments, except he is first delivered, by the power of God, from the darkness of Egypt, from the darkness of the shadow of death, from the realm and bondage of sin.

To be continued…. By the grace and will of God! All through Jesus Christ our Lord, now and forever! Amen!

Made Sin

 He was made sin for us. You read that right. The sinless Son of God, was made sin for us. The sinless Son of God was made like us. Not my words…

2Co 5:21  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin…

Heb 2:14  Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same

Heb 2:17  Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren

MADE to be LIKE US.

If Jesus was made to be like us in ALL THINGS, then He was made EXACTLY as we are in our fallen state. HE was NOT given any special powers to defeat sin, powers we do not have access to. He wasn't made in a special flesh, a special spiritual leg up that we aren't given. We sit here and contemplate Jesus being able to remain sinless when we fail over and over again, even from a young age, and we convince ourselves that the only way Jesus could have not sinned was if He has something special, a special connection to the Father, a special ability to commune with Him that we are born without. But that CAN'T BE TRUE if He were made in all things like us. So how did He keep from sinning, where we fail? We can't fathom it try as we might. We insist on given Jesus super powers, of changing His flesh nature to something different than ours. Our flesh nature leads us into sin, Jesus' didn't so His had to be super flesh, protected flesh, changed flesh, special flesh something UNLIKE us in that one thing at least. But we are told IN ALL THINGS He was made like us! Come on! We need to reconcile this some how and it's NOT by giving Jesus something He didn't have! As soon as we give Jesus a supernatural flesh we strip the very humanity from Him that He took on in order to redeem us. Can so few comprehend that HE TRULY did take on our flesh and redeemed us in that flesh? THIS IS FAITH! This is believing in something when we truly cannot fathom it as being real. We NEED to have THIS FAITH, not make up something we can fathom as being realistic. If we do that we are against what Christ truly is, what He truly did! 

God help us to have the FAITH we need and not add super powers to our Savior so we can excuse our failure. 

All through our SAVIOR! 

(excerpt)

“The Faith of Jesus” Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 78, 5, pp. 72, 73.

“LET this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery [“a thing to be seized upon and held fast”] to be equal with God; but emptied himself, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.” Philippians 2:5-7. ARSH January 29, 1901, page 72.1

“For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.” Hebrews 2:10. ARSH January 29, 1901, page 72.2

“Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.” Verses 17, 18. ARSH January 29, 1901, page 72.3

Made “in all things” like unto us, He was in all points like as we are. So fully was this so that He could say, even as we must say the same truth, “I can of mine own self do nothing.” ARSH January 29, 1901, page 72.4

Of Him this was so entirely true that, in the weakness and infirmity of the flesh,—ours which He took,—He was as is the man who is without God and without Christ. For it is only without Him that men can do nothing. With Him, and through Him, it is written: “I can do all things.” But of those who are without Him, it is written: “Without me ye can do nothing.” ARSH January 29, 1901, page 72.5

Therefore, when He said, of himself, “I can of mine own self do nothing,” this makes it certain forever that in the flesh,—because of our infirmities which He took; because of our sinfulness, hereditary and actual, which were laid upon Him, and imparted to Him,—He was of himself in that flesh exactly as is the man who, in the infirmity of the flesh, is laden with sins, actual and hereditary, and who is without God. 

He came “to seek and to save that which was lost.” And in saving the lost, He came to the lost where they are. He put himself among the lost. “He was numbered with the transgressors.” He was “made to be sin.” And from the standpoint of the weakness and infirmity of the lost, He trusted in God, that He would deliver Him and save Him. Laden with the sins of the world, and tempted in all points like as we are, He hoped in God, and trusted in God to save Him from all those sins, and to keep Him from sinning. 

And this is the faith of Jesus: this is the point where the faith of Jesus reaches lost, sinful man, to help him. For thus it has been demonstrated, to the very fullness of perfection, that there is no man in the wide world for whom there is not hope in God: no one so lost that he can not be saved by trusting God. And this faith of Jesus, by which, in the place of the lost, He hoped in God, and trusted God for salvation from sin, and power to keep from sinning,—this victory of His it is that has brought to every man in the world divine faith, by which every man can hope in God, and trust God, and can find the power of God to deliver him from sin and to keep him from sinning. That faith which He exercised, and by which He obtained the victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil,—that faith is His free gift to every lost man in the world. And thus “this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” 

This is the faith of Jesus that is given to men. This is the faith of Jesus that must be received by men, in order for them to be saved. This is the faith of Jesus which, now in this time of the Third Angel’s Message, must be received and kept by those who will be saved from the worship of the Beast and his Image, and enabled to keep the Commandments of God. This is the faith of Jesus referred to in the closing words of the Third Angel’s Message: “Here are they that keep the Commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”

Truth Then, Truth Now.

 We think because we are so incredibly advanced in technology that somehow a lot of the Bible doesn't apply to us any longer. We've so far surpassed those of Biblical times in so many ways - to apply Biblical truths seems impossible to some. There are those who will claim that because we have machinery unheard of in Biblical times that we are beyond the Bible. The Bible is outdated and meant for another time, another era, a way of life long gone. All lies. Yes, the Bible was written thousands of years ago, but it's truths are ageless and surpass all time going on into eternity. 

Read these words of our God - - Dan 12:4  But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

Knowledge shall be increased.  If, and I'm speculating here, knowledge was constantly increasing- explain how for thousands of year horses were our main mode of transportation and then quite suddenly we have trains, cars, planes and so on and so forth. That is just one area of increased knowledge. The advancements in our lives are astounding. The increased knowledge increasing at a rate beyond belief really. To think it was just over a hundred and twenty or so years ago approximately that we were still using horses to pull our carriages etc is mind-blowing.

With all this knowledge comes an increase in sin. So much of our technology used for good is also used extensively for evil. The depravity of mankind has only grown along with knowledge. We live surrounded by technologies that allow evil to flourish in our lives. Does this mean if we choose to live like some groups of people who shun all advanced technology that we've overcome sin? No, not by a long shot. Sin thrives no matter the life around us. We can however embrace sin without resistance or resist sin, making no provision for our flesh nature. 

We have to comprehend that very few will be found as Christ's when He returns, very, very few. May we be among those who are Christ's, all through HIS righteousness, through HIS power, through HIS love, on our own we are completely and utterly lost.

*******

1Co 10:1  Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 

1Co 10:2  And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 

1Co 10:3  And did all eat the same spiritual meat; 

1Co 10:4  And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. 

1Co 10:5  But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 

1Co 10:6  Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. 

1Co 10:7  Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. 

1Co 10:8  Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. 

1Co 10:9  Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. 

1Co 10:10  Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. 

1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. 

1Co 10:12  Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. 

1Co 10:13  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 

1Co 10:14  Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry

January 29, 1901

“The Ten Commandments. Who Shall Escape the Plagues?” Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 78, 5, p. 72.

WHO shall escape the plagues? 

In the Seven Last Plagues “is filled up the wrath of God” (Revelation 15:1); the wrath of God falls upon those who worship the Beast and his Image; for it is written: “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.”  Revelation 14:9, 10. 

This Third Angel’s Message is to keep men from the worship of the Beast and his Image, and so to save them from the wrath of God. And the way in which men escape the worship of the Beast and his Image, and so escape the Seven Last Plagues, is by keeping the Commandments of God and the Faith of Jesus; for the closing words of the Third Angel’s Message: “Here are they that keep the Commandments, of God, and the Faith of Jesus.” Revelation 14:12. 

It is true that, in a sense, whatsoever is in the Bible is of the Commandments of God. Yet, in a particular sense, above all things else in the Bible the Ten Commandments are distinguished as the Commandments of God. These are especially singled out from all things else, upon which people are directed to fix their special attention. 

Accordingly, thus it is written: “Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons; specially the day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb, ... and the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice. And He declared unto you His covenant, which He commanded you to perform, even Ten Commandments; and He wrote them upon two tables of stone.” Deuteronomy 4:9, 10, 12, 13. 

When He had spoken the Ten Commandments,—these Ten Words,—He spoke no more: there was no more to be said. Accordingly, the conclusion of the whole matter, the sum of all that hath been heard is, “Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” Ecclesiastes 12:13. 

When the Lord spoke that day from the top of Sinai, all that He said needed to be said. And when He had spoken, all was said that could be said. Now the first words that were spoken that day are these:— 

“I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” Exodus 20:2. 

This is the introduction, the preamble, to all the Commandments, the whole Law of God. It is as much a part of the Law of God as is any word that follows; for it is written: “God spake all these words.” These words were a part, indeed the very beginning of the words that day spoken, when all was said that could be said, and when nothing was said that needed not to be said. 

That law is spiritual: all that is in it or of it is spiritual. This preamble, equally with all the rest of the law that day spoken, is “holy, and just, and good.” Romans 7:12. 

God is spirit. And this law, preface and all, being altogether of God, is therefore altogether spiritual; for “the law is spiritual.” Romans 7:14. Accordingly, the Egypt referred to is spiritual Egypt: and the bondage referred to is spiritual bondage; for the Scriptures deal definitely with a spiritual Egypt, as well as with a temporal Egypt. Revelation 11:8. 

Spiritually, then, what is Egypt? Read this: “By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt.” Hebrews 11:24-26. 

Here we have “affliction with the people of God” set over against “the pleasures of sin,” and “the reproach of Christ” set over against “the treasures in Egypt;” thus:— 

Affliction with the people of God. Pleasures of sin. 

Reproach of Christ. Treasures in Egypt. 

This shows “affliction with the people of God,” and “the reproach of Christ,” to be synonymous; and “the pleasures of sin,” and “the treasures in Egypt,” to be likewise synonymous. It also plainly shows “sin” and “Egypt” to be synonymous. Spiritual Egypt, therefore, is the realm of sin. Therefore this beginning of the Law of God, as spoken by the Lord from heaven, simply says, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the realm and bondage of sin. 

And by these holy words being placed at the very threshold of the keeping of the Commandments of God, it is signified to all people forever that in the keeping of the Commandments of God the first of all things is that the soul shall be delivered from the realm and bondage of sin. By this it is indicated that no man can keep the Commandments of God unless he is first delivered from the realm and the bondage of sin. And in these blessed words, God presents himself to every soul, as the perfect and free Deliverer of men from the realm and the bondage of sin, that they may keep His Commandments. 

This is the teaching of the whole record of the deliverance of Israel from Egypt, which was “written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” While Israel was yet in Egypt, the word was spoken to Pharaoh: “Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: and I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me.” Exodus 4:22, 23. And when, by great plagues and mighty judgments, Pharaoh was brought to the point where he would let Israel go; and when, by His great power, God had delivered Israel, that they might serve Him,—then He said: “I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” and so on, to the end of the Ten Commandments; and He added no more. 

And all this happened unto them for an ensample: it is “written for our learning,” and “for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” 

The deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage did not, even at that time, consist in deliverance from bodily oppression or temporal bondage. For even after the multitude of Israel had been delivered from that bodily oppression and temporal bondage, their hearts were yet in Egypt: in thought and in heart they time and again “turned back again into Egypt.” Hebrews 11:24-26. 

And there were others; because it was by faith that Moses, “when he was born, was hid three months of his parents;” for, by this faith, “they were not afraid of the king’s commandment” that had gone forth, to slay all the male children of the children of Israel. 

As, therefore, it is true that the children of Israel, though bodily and temporarily in Egypt, were yet free from Egypt, and were the children of God; and as the whole multitude, although taken bodily entirely out of Egypt, were not free, but, in heart, were still in Egypt,—this demonstrates that at that time, as well as now and forever, true deliverance from Egypt is spiritual; and that the real Egypt from which this true deliverance is found is spiritual Egypt.

Not An Angel.

 Not an ANGEL.

Heb 2:16  For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. 

Heb 2:17  Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. 

God with God made a decree and that decree was the declared Son of God so that it was no longer God with God, but God the Father and God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. 

God the Father, was whom God the Son relied upon for ALL things when He became the Son of God in the flesh. The Holy Spirit- is not an angel, just as God the Son did not take on the nature of angels. The Holy Spirit is a God, none of the angels are gods. The Holy Spirit is a God who comforts, who lives among mankind. The distinction needed to be made that Jesus did not take on the nature of angels. Angels are ministering spirits doing the will of God- through love. Angels also have freedom of choice, and 1/3 of all the angels created decided they did not want to serve God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. 1/3 made a forever choice for Satan, and 2/3 made a forever choice to serve God. These angels of God serve God by doing His will ministering to us human beings. The angels can take on human form, but not human flesh, Jesus took on human flesh, He was born into humanity, no angel is born into humanity, ever. 

Distinctions are necessary, we cannot forget them. Too many want to overlook the distinctive nature of our Savior and gloss over the truth of His flesh nature. Too many simply do not care to make any distinctions and would rather just believe what any charismatic pastor, leader, or person in general might tell them. The Word of God tells us we need to comprehend that Jesus did not take on the nature of angels, but on the seed of Abraham. That seed, humanity's seed is the seed that sinned. 

Gen 3:15  And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. 

God said- I will put a hatred been Satan and the woman-  between Satan's seed and the woman's seed.  Abraham's seed is from the woman's seed God spoke of. Jesus is from the woman's seed. Did every seed from the woman sin? Without a doubt all who were capable of sinning- sinned. I say it in that way because, there are those who are too young too sin even though their flesh contains all the abilities to sin once they reach an age to unless they perish before that time is reached. Also, there are those whose mental faculties do not allow for them to sin. These innocents are only known by God to be sure, and only God has that power and right to know. All others will sin as their natures incline them towards it in the weakness they possess.  When the Holy Spirit seed merged with the woman's seed and God and flesh united- Jesus was born with the nature towards sin with the ability to sin, with flesh filled with the history of sinning and sinners, yet, He made the choices to resist temptation time and time again.  He had to resist just where we succumb, and without any special flesh, without any special power, save the powers that are available to us all- the power of prayer, of supplication, of submission, of obedience. If our Savior couldn't keep from sinning in our flesh there was no point in His taking on our flesh, none. If He came filled with a special ability above our own, then He proved nothing except that God can overcome sin- something we know already. Jesus had to prove that humans could overcome sin. Why else was Satan so infuriated that he filled the land with his evils so intently trying Jesus to the uttermost, tempting Him in all ways, in the harshest ways he possibly could.  The flesh Jesus had, was OUR FLESH, if it were any other, Satan would have cried FOUL very loudly! Satan wants to get us to believe that Jesus had special power, because therein we are denying Jesus' power to save us. You don't realize it because it's crouched in deep deception and touted as unimportant and inconsequential, but oh, isn't that exactly how Satan disguised as an angel of light would work? Isn't this how Satan is going to deceived millions and millions, and millions who think they are God's?  We need to comprehend the TRUTH, and we need to accept the TRUTH- because Jesus is the TRUTH.

******* EXCERPT)

Elder E. J. Waggoner was asked to give the evening message at 7 p.m. He chose for his text - Hebrews 10:4-10. Then he introduced a question that had been given to him which read as follows:

Was that holy thing which was born of the virgin Mary born in sinful flesh, and did that flesh have the same evil tendencies to contend with that ours does? (1901 GC Bulletin, p. 403).

In Waggoner's answer there was left little doubt as to what he was talking about. He mentioned the concept of sinless flesh, and declared it to be "the deification of the devil" (ibid. p. 405).  He stated very specifically as to when the change would come in the flesh, and what the results would be. His words were:

The flesh will be opposed to the Spirit of God so long as we have it, but when the time comes that mortality is swallowed up of life, then the conflict will cease. Then we shall no longer have to fight against the flesh, but that sinless life which we lay hold of by faith and which was manifest in our sinful bodies, will then by simple faith be continued throughout all eternity in a sinless body (Ibid., p. 406).

What then is the purpose of this earthly struggle? Waggoner continued:

When God has given this witness to the world of His power to save to the uttermost, to save sinful beings, and to live a perfect life in sinful flesh, then He will remove the disabilities and give us better circumstances in which to live. But first of all this wonder must be worked out in sinful man, not simply in the person of Jesus Christ, but in Jesus Christ reproduced and multiplied in thousands of His followers. So not simply in the few sporadic cases but in the whole body of the church, the perfect life of Christ will be manifested to the world, and that will be the last crowning work which will either save or condemn men; and greater testimony than that there is not, and cannot be, because there is none greater than God. When God is manifest among men, not simply as God apart from man, but as God in man, suffering all that man suffered, subject to everything that man is subject to, what greater power can be manifest in the universe than that? (Ibid.)

During the sermon, Dr. Waggoner challenged those listening to settle it, each for himself, whether or not he was truly "out of the church of Rome." He then commented:

There are great many that have got the marks yet, but I am persuaded of this, that every soul who is here tonight desires to know the way of truth and righteousness, and that there is no one here who is unconsciously clinging to the dogmas of the papacy, who does not desire to be freed from them.

Do you not see that the idea that the flesh of Jesus was not like ours (because we know that ours is sinful) necessarily involves the idea of the immaculate conception of the virgin Mary? Mind you, in Him is no sin, but the mystery of God manifest in the flesh, the marvel of the ages, the wonder of angels, that thing which even now they

Page 5

desire to understand, and which they can form no just idea of, only as they are taught it by the church, is the perfect manifestation of the life of God in its spotless purity in the midst of sinful flesh. 0 that is a marvel is it not? (ibid., p. 404).

*******

January 22, 1901

“The Faith of Jesus. The Nature of Christ” Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 78, 4, p. 56. 

(Excerpt continued) 

'By His death He paid the penalty of all sins actually committed, and thus can justly bestow His righteousness upon all who will receive it. And by condemning sin in the flesh, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity. He delivers from the law of heredity; and so can, in righteousness, impart His divine nature and power to lift above that law, and hold above it, every soul that will receive Him. 

And so it is written: “When the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” Galatians 4:4. And “God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for [on account of] sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Romans 8:3, 4. And “He is our peace, ... having abolished in His flesh the enmity, ... for to make in Himself of twain [God and man] one new man, so making peace.” Ephesians 2:14, 15. 

Thus “in all things it behoved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that He himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succor them that are tempted.” 

Whether temptation be from within or from without. He is the perfect shield against it all, and so saves to the uttermost all who come unto God by Him.'

Jesus' Humanity.

 Do we fully comprehend the lineage of Jesus Christ? We tend to gloss over His human side as if it really isn't all that important other than the fact it is God in that human flesh.  

Human flesh.  

Why couldn't God with God, simply appear as human without actually taking on human flesh, and save mankind?  Because man failed and deserved total annihilation and in order to keep mankind from that annihilation, God had to prove beyond any doubt whatsoever that there was something in mankind worth redemption. To prove this, God divested Himself of his Spirit form and entered into life as the male seed merging with the woman's egg. That woman's egg held ALL the heredity of many generations of human beings. That egg which was supplied with the DNA from the Holy Spirit to form Jesus as a tiny fetus, all the way to a newborn and beyond, was humanity- sinful humanity. That egg contained all the tendency towards sin that every human being in the world possesses.  If God did not want to take on this sinful human flesh, He did NOT have to be born of a woman at all, there would be no purpose to do so. The purpose was for Him to meet mankind where they are, to overcome where they failed to overcome, to be touched with the feeling of our infirmities- in all points. God knows the human creature He created - inside and out. Yet, God needed to take on our human flesh the very flesh He created in order to save humanity. He didn't take on flesh created in innocence, in newness, in purity, He took on the sin-stained flesh.

It's so important that we comprehend this truth, because there are many who would have us believe that Jesus' mother, who was blessed by God, was somehow free of all sin herself- an impossibility- just look at her lineage which was preserved by God just so we could know the history of our Savior's flesh. 

Read the following excerpt (part one of it) which goes into more detail…

May God bless us with full truth, His truth, and all the understanding, all the wisdom we need to be wholly His! All through our Savior, Jesus Christ, now and forever! Amen.

(Excerpt)

January 22, 1901

“The Faith of Jesus. The Nature of Christ” Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 78, 4, p. 56.

“AND the Word was made flesh.” 

“When the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman.” Galatians 4:4. 

“And the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:6. 

We have seen that, in His being made of a woman, Christ reached sin at the very fountain head of its entrance into this world; and that He must be made of a woman to do this. 

And thus all the sin of this world, from its origin in the world to the end of it in the world, was laid upon Him; both sin as it is in itself and sin as it is when committed by us; sin in its tendency, and sin in the act; sin as it is hereditary in us, uncommitted by us, and sin as it is committed by us. 

Only thus could it be that there should be laid upon Him the iniquity of us all. Only by His subjecting himself to the law of heredity could He reach beyond the generation living in the world while He was here. Without this there could be laid upon Him our sins which have been actually committed, with the guilt and condemnation that belong to them. But, beyond this, there is in each person, in many ways, the liability, to sin, inherited from generations back, which has not yet culminated in the act of sinning, but which is ever ready, when occasion offers, but which is ever ready, when occasion offers, to blaze forth in the actual committing of sin. David’s great sin is an illustration of this. Psalm 51:3; 2 Samuel 11:2. 

In delivering us from sin, it is not enough that we shall be saved from the sins that we have actually committed; we must be saved from committing other sins. And that this may be so, there must be met and subdued this hereditary liability to sin: we must become possessed of power to keep us from sinning—a power to conquer this liability, this hereditary tendency that is in us, to sin. 

All our sins which we have actually committed were laid upon Him, were imputed to Him, so that His righteousness may be laid upon us, may be imputed to us. And also our liability to sin was laid upon Him, in His being made flesh, in His being born of a woman, of the same flesh and blood as we are. 

Thus He met sin in the flesh which He took, and triumphed over it, as it is written: “God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin IN THE FLESH.” And again: “He is our peace.... having abolished in His flesh the enmity.” 

And thus it is that for the sins which we have actually committed, for the sins that are past, His righteousness, is imputed to us, as our sins are imputed to Him. And to keep us from sinning, His righteousness is imparted to us in our flesh, as our flesh, with its liability to sin, was imparted to Him. 

Thus He is the complete Saviour: He saves from all the sins that we have actually committed, and saves equally from all the sins that we might commit, dwelling apart from Him. 

If He took not the same flesh and blood that the children of men have, with its liability to sin, then where could there be any philosophy or reason of any kind whatever in His genealogy as given in the Scriptures? He was descended from David; He was descended from Abraham; He was descended from Adam; and, by being made of a woman, He reached even back of Adam, to the beginning of sin in the world. 

In that genealogy there are Jehoiakim, who for his wickedness was “buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth, beyond the gates of Jerusalem” (Jeremiah 22:19); Manasseh, who caused Judah to do “worse than the heathen;” Ahaz, who “made Judah naked, and transgressed sore against the Lord;” Rehoboam, who was born of Solomon, who was born of David and Bathsheba; there are also Ruth the Moabitess, and Rahab; as well as Abraham, Isaac, Jesse, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and Josiah; the worst equally with the best. And the evil deeds of even the best are recorded equally with the good. And there is hardly one whose life is written upon at all of whom there is not some wrong act recorded. 

Now it was at the end of such a genealogy as that that “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” It was at the end of such a genealogy as that that he was “made of a woman.” It was in such a line of descent as that that God sent “His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh.” And such a descent, such a genealogy, meant something to Him, as it does to every other man, under the great law that the iniquities of the fathers are visited upon the children, to the third and fourth generations. It meant everything to Him in the terrible temptations in the wilderness of temptation, as well as all the way through His life in the flesh. 

Thus, both by heredity and by imputation, He was “laden with the sins of the world.” And, thus laden, at this immense disadvantage, He passed over the ground where, at no shadow of any disadvantage whatever, the first pair failed. 

Satan Appears As An Angel of Light.

 Do you believe in Jesus?  If you answered yes, then you have to answer yes to the next question. Do you believe in Satan? Remember, you have to answer yes if you said you believe in Jesus. There is no other way about it, if you believe in one you have to believe in the other. Oh, sure, you could be contrary and simply declare you don't believe in Satan, but Christ believed in Satan, it's factual. Satan came face to face with Christ in the wilderness tempting Him. Satan was around every corner in the evil being wrought by those who had no real love for God at all. Who do you think instigated the trial and death sentence of Jesus? Satan.

Do you believe Jesus is just as real today as He was back then before His crucifixion?  If you do, then you have to believe that Satan is just as real today as he was back then. We have the truth of Jesus crucifixion and resurrection. Nowhere are we told that Satan was no longer in power upon earth, that his evil rule was over. In fact we were told the devil is like a roaring lion seeking to devour people. 

1Pe 5:8  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour

We are also told this…

2Co 11:14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 

2Co 11:15  Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

Satan HIMSELF is transformed….. Into and ANGEL OF LIGHT….

When you hear the words, 'angel of light', you do not put Satan's perceived evil image with those words. Angel of light makes one think of hope and joy, happiness and goodness. Angel of light sounds like the good guys come to the rescue, not evil. Yet, Satan is transformed so that he appears to be all things that are considered good and righteous. Satan is wearing a perfect disguise enabling him to wreck all kinds of havoc completely unsuspectingly. Satan appears to be perfectly good!  And you know what the word of God tells us more…

Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 

Rev 13:13  And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 

Rev 13:14  And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.

Satan does GREAT WONDERS. Satan DECEIVES those that dwell on the earth by MEANS OF THOSE MIRACLES.

Most assuredly Satan will have the majority of people deceived beyond any doubt at all. It's not going to be a vast population believing the truth, it's going to be a tiny population. It's not going to be half the population believing truth, it's going to be a miniscule part of the population. The few that find that narrow path are going to be out of step with the majority of the world, they aren't going to find like-minded people believing as they do. Satan is going to have people so caught up in their lives and he's going to use every side of the political spectrum that exists to ensnare as many people as he can. It won't matter a bit to him if you vote one way or another, the corruption found throughout all government is rampant and he's controlling it all- regardless of what either party or more have to say. He is the puppet master and he appears as an angel of light. 

The majority are going to be deceived… if you stand arm in arm with any large group of people, be wary of who is truly behind the cause you may be touting as righteous… Satan has most deceived- not by outright, plain to see evil, but by what people believe is righteousness. 

Our Flesh, Not Special Flesh.

 Gods speaks-

1Jn_4:3  And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.

It sounds simple enough, doesn't it? Jesus had flesh we all agree on this point. Jesus was born of a woman and He emerged as all human babies- in flesh. He had flesh and bones and blood, He was a human being by all appearances. Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. Yes. And if it were that simple wouldn't the majority of people agree on this point? Will there be someone who claims that Jesus did not have flesh? Did you picture that? No flesh…. How did you actually picture that? Jesus as simply spirit without flesh? As anyone you know claimed that Jesus came without flesh? Christian history starts out with Jesus being born with flesh, right? So it's really ludicrous to imagine Christianity without Jesus being born in that manger. Every Christian would clearly deny Jesus being here without flesh. That He was born, lived, and was crucified with flesh, in flesh, as a human being is undeniable but all Christians. So, are only those who don't believe in Jesus at all filled with the spirit of antichrist- against Christ, opposed to Christ? Or, is there more to this? 

What kind of flesh did Jesus have?  No, that's not a trick question. I'm asking because some people believe that Jesus was born with special flesh, different flesh, holy flesh, sinless flesh.  What? Did I really say that? Of course he was born with sinless flesh, right? He didn't sin. Ah, but He was MADE sin.  

2Co 5:21  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him

He had NO sin, He NEVER sinned. There was NO SIN found in Him. Yet…

Heb_4:15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

TEMPTED IN ALL POINTS- LIKE WE ARE.

It would be IMPOSSIBLE for Jesus to be tempted like we are if He didn't have the possibility of letting that temptation become sin. Tempted… it means He felt the PULL of sin. Do you say a new born babe is tempted to sin? Uhm, no. That newborn has no ability to sin, no one does until they know right from wrong and have to make a choice to follow one or the other. Being tempted is having to make a knowledgeable choice one way or another. If you do not choose sin, then you have resisted the opportunity presented to you.  When Satan tempted Christ after His baptism, he did so when Christ was at His physical weakest. The first recorded temptation after His baptism was to make bread of stone… to eat. Jesus had been fasting for forty days, such a perfect temptation to confront Him with. Did Jesus want to eat? Was Jesus hungry? Yes, and yes. 

Mat 4:11  Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him

Angels came to minister to Jesus!  Jesus needed ministering because He was in such a state that it necessitated angels helping Him.

Jesus was tempted but He did NOT let that temptation turn into sin in anyway, not even by thought! He did not have any special flesh nature that protected Him from sin's pull, if He did then HE WAS NOT TEMPTED LIKE WE ARE!

So many would have us believe that Jesus, as the Son of God, was impervious to all temptation, that it was IMPOSSIBLE for Him to sin. If that's the case, His temptations were pointless and He proved nothing at all. 

Jesus came in the flesh- OUR FLESH- not flesh created special for Him. If we don't believe this then we don't believe Jesus came in the flesh and we are against Christ and all He represents, all He truly is!  Believing otherwise means believing in a Christ, but the Christ people are believing in is the Devil disguised as an angel of light. 

2Co 11:14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 

God help us all to believe in Jesus Christ, born with our flesh, tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin! Amen!

(Excerpt)

January 15, 1901

“The Faith of Jesus” Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 78, 3, pp. 40, 41.

“LET this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus; who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery [“a thing to be seized upon and held fast”] to be equal with God; but emptied himself, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.” Philippians 2:5-7. 

“And the Word was made flesh.” 

How was it that He was made flesh? How did He partake of human nature?—Exactly as do all of us, all of the children of men. For it is written: “As the children [of the man] are partakers of flesh and blood, He also himself likewise took part of the same.” 

Likewise signifies “in the like way,” “then,” “in the same way.” So He partook of “the same” flesh and blood that men have, in the same way that men partake of it. Men partake of it by birth. So “likewise” did He. Accordingly, it is written, “Unto us a Child is born.” 

Accordingly, it is further written: “God sent forth His Son, made of a woman.” Galatians 4:4. He, being made of a woman in this world, in the nature of things He was made of the only kind of a woman that this world knows. 

But why must He be made of a woman? why not of a man?—For the simple reason that to be made of a man would not bring Him close enough to mankind as mankind is, under sin. He was made of a woman in order that He might come, in the very woman in order that He might come, in the very uttermost, to where human nature is in its sinning. 

In order to do this He must be made of a woman; because the woman, not the man, was first, and originally, in the transgression. For “Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.” 1 Timothy 2:14. 

He was thus made of a woman in order that He might meet the great world of sin at its very fountain head of entrance into this world. To have been made otherwise than of a woman would have been to come short of this, and so would have been only to miss the redemption of men completely from sin. 

It was “the Seed of the woman” that was to bruise the serpent’s head; and it was only as “the seed of the woman,” and “made of a woman,” that He could meet the serpent on his own ground, at the very point of the entrance of sin into this world. 

To have been made only of the descent of man, would have been to come short of the full breadth of the field of sin; because the woman had sinned, and sin was thus in the world, before the man sinned. 

It was the woman who, in this world, was originally in the transgression. It was the woman by whom sin originally entered. Therefore, in the redemption of the children of men from sin, He who would be the Redeemer must go back of the man, to meet the sin that was in the world before the man sinned. 

This is why He who came to redeem was “made of a woman.” By being made of a woman, He could trace sin to the very fountain head of its original entry into the world by the woman. And thus, in finding sin in the world, and uprooting it from the world, from its original entrance into the world till the last vestige of it shall be swept from the world, in the very nature of things He must partake of human nature as it is since sin entered. 

Otherwise, there was no kind of need whatever that He should be “made of a woman.” If He were not to come into closest contact with sin as it is in the world, as it is in human nature; if He were to be removed one single degree from it as it is in human nature,—then He need not have been “made of a woman.” 

But as He was made of a woman—not of a man; as he was made of the one by whom sin entered in its very origin in the world, and not made of the man, who entered into the sin after the sin had entered into the world,—this demonstrates beyond all possibility of fair question that between Christ and sin in this world, and between Christ and human nature as it is under sin in the world, there is no kind of separation, even to the shadow of a single degree. He was made flesh; He was made to be sin. He was made flesh as flesh is, and only as flesh is in this world. 

And this must He do to redeem lost mankind. For Him to be separated in a single degree, or a shadow of a single degree, in any sense, from the nature of those whom He came to redeem, would be only to miss everything. 

Precisely as He must be “made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law;” and must be “made a curse,” to redeem them that are under the curse; and must be made “to be sin,” to redeem them that are “sold under sin,” so He must be made of a woman, to reach sin at its very root in this world, and must be made flesh, to redeem them that are flesh. 

And precisely as He was made “under the law,” because they are under the law whom He would redeem; and as He was made a curse, because they are under the curse whom He would redeem; and as He was made sin, because they are sinners; “sold under sin,” whom He would redeem,—so He must be made flesh, and “the same” flesh and blood, because they are flesh and blood whom He would redeem; and must be made of a woman, because sin was in the world first by and in the woman. 

Consequently, it is true, without any sort of exception, that “in all things it behoved him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that He himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succor them that are tempted.” Hebrews 2:17, 18. 

If He were not of the same flesh as are those whom He came to redeem, then there is no sort of use of His being made flesh at all. more than this: since the only flesh that there is in this wide world which He came to redeem, is just the poor, lost, human flesh that all mankind have; if this is not the flesh that all mankind have; then He never really came to the world which needs to be redeemed. For if He came in a human nature different from that which human nature in this world actually is, then even though He were in the world, yet, for any practical purpose in reaching man and helping him, He was as far from him as if He had never come; for, in that case, in His human nature He was just as far from man and just as much of another world, as if He had never come into this world. 

It is thoroughly understood that in His birth Christ did partake of the nature of Mary. But the carnal mind is not willing to allow that God in His perfection of holiness could endure to come to men where they are in their sinfulness. Therefore endeavor has been made to escape the consequences of this glorious truth, which is the emptying of self, by inventing a theory that the nature of the virgin Mary was different from the nature of the rest of mankind; that her flesh was not exactly such flesh as is that of all mankind. This invention sets up that, by some special means, Mary was made different from the rest of human beings especially in order that Christ might be becomingly born of her. 

This invention has culminated in what is known as the Roman Catholic dogma of the Immaculate Conception. Many Protestants, if not the vast majority of them, as well as other non-Catholics, think that the Immaculate Conception refers to the conception of Jesus by the virgin Mary. But this is altogether a mistake. It refers not at all to the conception of Christ by Mary; but to the conception of Mary herself by her mother. 

The official and “infallible” doctrine of the Immaculate Conception as solemnly defined as an article of faith, by Pope Pius IX, speaking ex cathedra, on the 8th of December, 1854, is as follows:— 

By the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the blessed apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, we declare, pronounce, and define, that the doctrine which holds that the most blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instant of HER conception, by a special grace and privilege of Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of mankind, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, has been revealed by God, and, therefore, is to be firmly and steadfastly believed by all the faithful. 

Wherefore, if any shall presume, which may God avert, to think in their heart otherwise than has been defined by us, let them know, and moreover understand, that they are condemned by their own judgment, that they have made shipwreck as regards the faith, and have fallen away from the unity of the Church.—“Catholic Belief,” page 214. 

This conception is defined by Catholic writers thus:— 

The ancient writer, “De Nativitate Christi,” found in St. Cyprian’s works, says: Because (Mary) being “very different from the rest of mankind, human nature, but not sin, communicated itself to her.” 

Theodore, patriarch of Jerusalem, said in the second council of Nice, that Mary “is truly the mother of God, and virgin before and after childbirth; and she was created in a condition more sublime and glorious than that of all natures, whether intellectual or corporeal.”—Id., pages 216, 217. 

This plainly puts the nature of Mary entirely beyond any real likeness or relationship to mankind or human nature as it is. Having this clearly in mind, let us follow this invention in its next step. Thus it is, as given in the words of Cardinal Gibbons:— 

We affirm that the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Word of God, who in His divine nature is, from all eternity, begotten of the Father, consubstantial with Him, was in the fullness of time again begotten, by being born of the virgin, thus taking to himself from her maternal womb a human nature of the same substance with hers. 

As far as the sublime mystery of the incarnation can be reflected in the natural order, the blessed Virgin, under the overshadowing of the Holy Ghost, by communicating to the Second Person of the adorable Trinity, as mothers do, a true human nature of the same substance with her own, is thereby really and truly His mother.”—“Faith of Our Fathers,” pages 198, 199. 

Now put these two things together. First, we have the nature of Mary defined as being not only “very different from the rest of mankind,” but “more sublime and glorious than all natures;” thus putting her infinitely beyond any real likeness or relationship to mankind as we really are. 

Next, we have Jesus described as taking from her a human nature of the same substance as hers. 

From this theory it therefore follows as certainly as two and two make four, that in His human nature the Lord Jesus is “very different” from mankind; indeed, His nature is not human nature at all, but divine. 

That is the Roman Catholic doctrine concerning the human nature of Christ. But Catholic faith is not the faith of Christ; it is the faith of Antichrist. 

The Catholic doctrine of the human nature of Christ is simply that that nature is not human nature at all, but divine. It is that in His human nature Christ was so far separated from mankind as to be utterly unlike—a nature in which He could have no sort of fellow-feeling with—mankind. 

But such is not the faith of Jesus. The faith of Jesus is that “as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also himself likewise took part of the same.” 

The faith of Jesus is that God sent “His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh.” 

The faith of Jesus is that “in all things it behoved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that He himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succor them that are tempted.” 

The faith of Jesus is that He “himself took our infirmities,” and was touched “with the feeling of our infirmities,” being tempted in all points like as we are. If He was not like we are, He could not possibly be tempted “like as we are.” But He was “in all points tempted like as we are.” Therefore He was “in all points” “like as we are.” 

In the quotations of Catholic faith which in this article we have cited, we have presented the faith of Rome as to the human nature of Christ and of Mary. In the second chapter of Hebrews and kindred texts of Scripture, there is presented, and in these studies we have endeavored to reproduce as there presented, the faith of Jesus as to the human nature of Christ. 

In former studies in these columns we considered the commandments of God; and in that connection we found that the commandments of Rome have been substituted for the commandments of God. In these latter studies we have considered the faith of Jesus; and in this connection we find that the faith of Rome has been substituted for the faith of Jesus. 

But the scripture in God’s last message of mercy to the world, the Third Angel’s Message, calls to all mankind: “Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” 

Which way do you take—the commandments of God or the commandments of Rome? the faith of Jesus or the faith of Rome?