This quarter's lessons take seriously the stories of the Bible as history. The authors are to be commended for such a worthy endeavor. Why? The modern "Adventist" shows little or no interest in our history. Historians, librarians, and Ellen G. White Estate custodians tell us that the least visited section of the bookshelf has to do with church history.
Why is there such a lack of concern for learning from the past on the part of church members and leaders, young and old? There's no way we can go against Jesus' assessment of the present-day church, she senses no need. "Thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing" (Rev. 3:17). Why change if things appear to be going well?
Willing ignorance or even unwitting misunderstanding of sacred history is terribly dangerous. George Santayana wisely said, "A nation that does not know history is fated to repeat it." Ellen White put it even more strongly: "The Lord has declared that the history of the past shall be rehearsed as we enter upon the closing work" [1]. "We have nothing to fear for the future except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us and His teaching in our past history" [2]. What lessons can modern Israel learn from ancient Israel's revivals and failures?
By a series of miracles God delivered Israel from Egyptian bondage in order to bring them into the land which He had promised their fathers. The present truth for them was to "Go up ... and possess it" (Num. 13:30). Their response to God's message was, "We be not able. ... (Num. 13:31). Instead of believing God's new covenant promise, they focused on the law of self-preservation motivated by fear, which is the basis of their old covenant. Their sin of self-centeredness was so great that the Lord's message for them now was, "Go not up." The whole generation must wander and die in the wilderness forty years.
Likewise, Jesus came to the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the 1888 General Conference Session as a Lover to present the heart-melting truth of the cross, through His delegated messengers, A. T. Jones and E. J. Waggoner. God would finish the work and send Jesus for the ripened harvest. 1888 marks the beginning of the long-awaited outpouring of the latter rain and the loud cry.
History and inspiration are clear that the latter rain and loud cry were "resisted, and by the action of our own brethren has been in a great degree kept away from the world" [3].
This is the primary reason for the long delay in the finishing of our gospel commission. The Lord has not delayed His return; we have delayed it. There is no problem facing this worldwide church as serious as our relationship to the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Godhead. The Lord's inspired messenger said of the 1888 experience: "I know that at that time the Spirit of God was insulted" [4].
Why didn't Ellen White at any time up to her death prepare her own inspired version of a re-examination of 1888 and call for corporate repentance? For the same reason that Moses, during the forty years of Israel's wandering up until his death, never called for a renewed attempt to conquer Canaan through re-doing the Ai campaign. Israel must wander the full forty years. Why continually harp on Kadesh? This people's sin was very deep and could never be truly eradicated during their lifetime. Only a fresh generation (with the exception of Caleb and Joshua) could be as "little children" faith-wise.
From 1888 through about 1901, Ellen White did indeed repeatedly call for denominational repentance beginning with the leadership in Battle Creek. She expressly said that what she hoped to see accomplished at the 1901 conference was a spiritual revival and reformation that would reverse the 1888 unbelief [5].
By the close of the year 1901 a conviction had apparently begun forming in her soul that led up to the heartfelt confession in the January 15, 1903 letter to Jesse Arthur: "The result of the last General Conference has been the greatest, the most terrible sorrow of my life. No change was made" [6].
Ancient Israel's failure to enter the promised land started with their old covenant promise, "All that the LORD hath spoken we will do" (Ex. 19:8). When that generation died in the wilderness, the new generation crossed the swollen Jordan by faith in God's promise-covenant (Joshua 3:17). For a brief moment these young people learned the lesson of their forefathers' failure and repented knowing that they too could commit the same error.
Granted, none of these experiences of repentance were permanent or complete, but God's character was constantly exercised in leading His organized people into repentance. "Where is the fold where no wolves will enter? I tell you ... the Lord has an organized body through whom He will work. There may be more than a score of Judases among them ... but the great Teacher seeks to give lessons of instruction to correct these existing evils. He is doing the same today with His church. He is pointing out their errors. He is presenting to them the Laodicean message. ... The Lord has had a church from that day, through all the changing scenes of time to the present period. ... The Bible sets before us a model church. They are to be in unity with each other, and with God" [7].
The new covenant revival did not last long with ancient Israel because the template had already been set and passed on from generation to generation, from mind to mind, of faith motivated by egocentric concern. It is the natural-born default position. It resulted in the lowest point of Israel's descent from being the tail rather than the head as far as the nations of the earth were concerned. "Every man did that which was right in his own eyes" (Judges 17:6).
The lesson says the Israelites "were influenced negatively by the surrounding culture." (Wednesday, Sept. 29). Absolutely, when they did not believe God's everlasting covenant of love promised through their Surety, Christ, the vacuum was filled by all sorts of self-pleasing outside philosophies which enslaved them.
The clamor for a king like all the other nations was a rejection of God's rulership (1 Sam. 8:6). God permits them to make their own choice, but Saul is a mere reflection of their own spiritual state. In the course of time Saul's kingship is demoralizing and without vision.
David was the Lord's anointed because he is "a man after mine own heart" (Acts 13:22). David identified with God's self-sacrificing love. After his anointing David did not press any claim to the throne by overthrowing Saul, but allowed God to bring about His promise after years of persecution and patient faith.
Of all the kings of Israel David was the only one who understood the new covenant. You can't truly believe in the forgiveness of sins unless your soul is humbled in the dust by realizing the enormity of sin itself. David pleaded, begged, for cleansing of soul, not just legal "pardon" (Psalm 51:10). He realized that the "bloodguiltiness" of his soul included guilt of the blood of the Son of God (Psalm 51:14, 4; compare Acts 2:36). David consecrated the rest of his life to missionary, soul-saving work, a new career (Psalm 51:12, 13). Did he know that God had "accepted" him? Yes; he realized that no Band-aid could help him; he had been saved from the deepest hell itself.
The Bible record in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles vividly portrays the nature of old covenant revivals, just as they are even today. They may produce spectacular results--but only for a brief time. All egocentric motivation is old covenant in principle. The new covenant motivation is based on freedom, a heart response to the love (agape) of Christ that "constrains" to willing service to Him, not imposed by fear of punishment or even by hope of reward.
The people of God at Mt. Sinai rejected the glorious new covenant God wanted them to appreciate (Ex. 19:4-6), and fastened upon themselves the bondage of the old covenant (vs. 8). It marked their history ever after.
Will the old covenant effect a lasting "revival and reformation"? History says, No. King Hezekiah in Jerusalem led the nation in a powerful old covenant "revival and reformation," doing everything exactly right according to the law (2 Kings 18 to 20). Wonderful! But it all fell apart in the succeeding reign of his son, Manasseh (ch. 21). Then Hezekiah's grandson Josiah came to the throne (ch. 22-23:30). Again, another old covenant revival and reformation, wonderful. But it all fell apart with the death of King Josiah, and from then on it was downhill all the way to national ruin (2 Chron. 36).
How can we as followers of Jesus get through this ever-present barrier of the love of self? How can we as individuals learn how to die to self? More serious yet--how can we as a corporate body, as a church, be "crucified with Christ"? Is it possible now?
Before Jesus can come, His people must learn the lessons of all past history and grow up. Jesus likens their getting ready to a farmer's crop growing up and maturing until it is ready for harvest (Mark 4:26-29). The growing up makes it possible for Him to come the second time to "reap" the "harvest" (Rev. 14:14, 15). But the "crop" cannot become mature until "the latter rain" of the Holy Spirit's outpouring comes (Joel 2:23, 24). Nothing can be more important than for the church to seek the blessing of the latter rain (Zech. 10:1).
And where is the good news? The latter rain is a message of "much more abounding grace," a clearer view of what the Saviour of the world has done for us, a revelation of His love (agape) that "constrains" every honest-hearted soul to live unto Him and not unto self (2 Cor. 5:14, 15), so that this truth can "lighten the earth with glory" (Rev. 18:1-4).
--Paul E. Penno
Endnotes:
[1] Selected Message
s, book 2, p. 390.[2] Life Sketches
, p. 196.[3] Selected Message
s, book 1, p. 235.[4] Manuscript Releases
, vol. 15, p. 83, Letter S24, 1892; The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, p. 1043.[5] See The General Conference Bulletin, April 12, 1901.
[6] Manuscript Release
s, vol. 13, p. 122.[7] Manuscript 21
, 1893.--------------------------------------------------------
Please forward these messages to your friends and encourage them to subscribe.
"Sabbath School Today" is on the Internet at: http://1888mpm.org
To subscribe send an e-mail message with "subscribe" in the body of the message to sabbathschooltoday@1888message.org
