Lesson 13: Turning Hearts in the End Time

Sabbath School Today
With the 1888 Message Dynamic

Family Seasons
Lesson 13: Turning Hearts in the End Time

 

The 1888 message is for imperfect people, yes, for sinners. The Pharisees complained of Jesus, "This man receiveth sinners" (Luke 15:2). The main appeal in the message is to people who come from dysfunctional families. Abraham came from a dysfunctional family--they were actually idolaters, worshipped idols (Joshua 24:2). The family that Abraham and Sarah established was dysfunctional--Abraham had two wives, and if you want trouble, that's the way to have it. So Isaac grew up in a dysfunctional family, problems between Ishmael and himself. Then there was also trouble between Isaac and Rebekah, disagreement as to how to relate to Jacob and Esau, and Jacob grew up in a very dysfunctional family. And what about his twelve sons? Almost endless family problems. And these are what we call "the patriarchs."

But there is good news. When the long story began, the Lord promised Abraham when He called him to leave his idolatrous family, "In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed" (Gen. 12:3). Jesus specializes in blessing dysfunctional families. No matter how deep are the psychological scars you carry, in Him you will be blessed. The record says that when God promised Abraham rich blessings, "he believed in the Lord; and He counted it to him for righteousness" (Gen. 15:6).

If you have come from a dysfunctional family, do not despair. That's where many of God's true people have come from--even David, the man after God's own heart (yes, Jesse's family was dysfunctional). And something further: so was the family of "the son of David." John 7:5 tells how Jesus suffered the unbelief of His family. We are invited to "overcome" through faith in the One who has promised to bless our family (Rev. 3:20, 21).

God's solemn promise to "send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord" intrigues the people of God worldwide (Mal. 4:4, 5). What will "Elijah" specialize in? Beheading "prophets of Baal"? Undoubtedly, yes; but Malachi says no, "Elijah" will specialize in "turning" hearts that have been alienated from one another and from God. This is clearly stated in the original Elijah's prayer before all the people gathered at Mt. Carmel: "Hear me, O LORD[Jehovah, clearly distinguished from Baal], hear me, that this people may know that Thou art the LORDGod, and that Thou hast turned their heart back again" (1 Kings 18:37).

"Turning hearts" is reconciliation, and nothing but the proclamation of the love [agape] of Christ can "constrain" a modern alienated, worldly heart that is infatuated with the world's pleasures and cars and houses and dress and entertainment, yet wants to get ready for the second coming of Christ. All the dire warnings of beheadings to come cannot "turn the heart." The new "Elijah's" message must therefore be "Christ and Him crucified" (1 Çor. 2:1, 2). Unthinkable as it may be, this will anger the new "Ahab and Jezebel." But "Elijah" will again demand that everyone come out of the closet; the good news is now that those "7000" hiding in the closet will this time have the courage to take their stand with him (on Mt. Carmel not one dared say a word of support). And all together, God's numerous "Elijahs" will proclaim a message that will "lighten the earth with glory."

"He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to their fathers." That of course cannot be unless he also "turns the hearts" of husbands and wives, and love will be reawakened.

Elijah's work of "turning hearts" is what the word "atonement" means; here is God's prophecy of the greatest ministry of heart-reconciliation the world has ever known since the days of Jesus. Elijah's message is the solemn call of the great antitypical Day of Atonement that closes the work of Christ as the world's High Priest. It's the "Loud Cry" of the angel of Revelation 18.

--Paul E. Penno

Notes:
Pastor Paul Penno's video of this lesson is on the Internet at: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_JcrLMIZ9Y

"Sabbath School Today" is on the Internet at: http://1888message.org/sst.htm

RR

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

Lesson 12: What Have They Seen in Your House?

Sabbath School Today
With the 1888 Message Dynamic

Family Seasons
Lesson 12: What Have They Seen in Your House?

 

Home is the hardest place to be a Christian! Why? It's impossible to fool anybody where everybody knows you in and out. But if love (agape) prevails, happiness comes with it, and it will be easier for children to grow up as happy Christians. Sometimes, maybe too often, incipient adultery lies buried in the hearts of husband or wife and thus poisons the atmosphere for the children.

Therefore the supreme question we ask is—how can we know and receive the love (agape) of Christ into our marriages and homes? Many books address the problem. Some are helpful. But we begin by recognizing that the Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit of God, and there we read that the love of Christ (agape) is the ultimate answer to these problems (2 Cor. 5:14-19; Eph. 5:25).

We begin with Bible Good News: "God sets the solitary in families" (Psalm 68:6). In other words, marriage is His plan for "solitary" persons who are lonely (see 1 Corinthians chapter 7 where Paul says that marriage may not be the way of happiness for some special people who are equally loved by the Lord). The word "solitary" has an interesting meaning in Hebrew--to be lonely like an only child. All of us truly belong in that category. Apart from Christ, we were lonely and God did for us what He did for solitary Adam. And friends are part of the Lord's gift to us all.

This is a prelude to His giving the "solitary" a home in His New Jerusalem forever. Rightly understood, family life in this great antitypical Day of Atonement is a prelude to the social fellowship of meeting Jesus, the holy angels, and all the redeemed and unfallen ones of heaven. Sabbath-keeping is the special gift of God for family happiness, the one day in the week when we are completely delivered from this terrible addiction of ogling the papers, the magazines, the neighbors, being tempted to covet their possessions. (Such envy ruins our happiness!) Sabbath makes being poor more endurable, and church fellowship to be a joy to lonely people.

Families are to be centers for sharing Jesus: "Our work for Christ is to begin with the family in the home. ... There is no missionary field more important than this. By precept and example parents are to teach their children to labor for the unconverted."[1] "The mission of the home extends beyond its own members. The Christian home is to be an object lesson, illustrating the excellence of the true principles of life. Such an illustration will be a power for good in the world. ... Nobler principles of life are introduced into other households, and an uplifting influence works in the community." [2] Having learned and practiced mission and service at home, family members can then witness to others outside the home.

How did Jesus witness in His home-life? He was born into a family where His mother was a stepmother to four (probably difficult) boys whose names we have in Matthew 13:55-58, and there were at least also two stepsisters--all of whom were "older" than He and thus annoyed Him even into their maturity. This happened all during Jesus' stay at home before the age of 30. Even during his ministry, the older brothers tried to tell Him what to do, with disdain. His being "despised and rejected of men" included that at His earthly home! (cf. John 7:3-5; it was the Jewish custom for older siblings to "boss" the younger ones around).

Imagine what it was like for this Baby to begin His consciousness by finding Himself in such a home atmosphere! After the early trip to Egypt, stepfather Joseph decided to take Mary and the Baby up to Nazareth to join the half-siblings. Children, if your home is less than perfect, think of Jesus! He endured earthly life in an unhappy home so that you may enjoy life in happy homes!

Think of Jesus' love for His poor mother Mary, through whose soul was plunged that terrible sword that old Simeon had predicted in Luke 2:34, 35. No woman in all of earth's history has borne a heavier burden than she! Think of a mother being forced to watch the Roman soldiers strip her Son naked and sling Him up on a cross and hear those people and the leaders of her church revile Him and condemn Him to hell! This is what it cost her to be the mother of our Savior! A domestic, earthly home was the setting for the life and death of the Son of God! He endured every pain that any of us have had to endure.

Ellen White makes clear that the coming of the 1888 message divinely "sent" to the leadership of the Seventh-day Adventist Church was a fulfillment of God's promise to send us "Elijah before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord" (Mal. 4:5, 6). His primary mission? To bring reconciliation between estranged hearts!

The full truth is always upbeat, positive, encouraging. Pentecostal power for witnessing followed Pentecostal repentance. A repeat of this glorious phenomenon awaits our repentance and reconciliation with the Lord.

God's love for the world demands that His message of good news go everywhere with power. We know that it is not unfair of the Lord to withhold from us further showers of the latter rain until we repent in the same way that the Lord required ancient Israel to repent.

The sins of our spiritual fathers get ingrained into us, except for specific knowledge and repentance. Even though we were very few in number in1888, the character of that unbelieving impenitence has been propagated throughout the worldwide body like a spreading virus. The disease must run its course until repentance can eradicate it. Until then, each new generation absorbs the same lukewarmness. The reality is that sin has been propagated ever since Eden "through the medium of influence, taking advantage of the action of mind on mind, ... reaching from mind to mind." [3]

Now, whatever it may cost, let us take up our cross and follow Him all the way we find that He permits to lie before us.

--Paul E. Penno

Endnotes:
[1] Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, p. 429.
[2] Ellen G. White, The Adventist Home, p. 31.
[3] Ellen G. White, Review and Herald, April 16, 1901.

Notes:
Pastor Paul Penno's video of this lesson is on the Internet at: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oMMIJAOuYc

"Sabbath School Today" is on the Internet at: http://1888message.org/sst.htm

RR

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

Lesson 11: Families of Faith

Sabbath School Today
With the 1888 Message Dynamic

Family Seasons
Lesson 11: Families of Faith

 

"As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD" (Joshua 24:15).

"Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain" (Psalm 127:1).

Lot's separation from Abraham and Sarah is an early example of the decline in the multiple generation family unit. Abraham and Sarah were 75 and 65 years old (respectively), and barren when Lot chose to move away from the family into the nearby city of Sodom. Apparently heedless of the needs of his "elderly" aunt and uncle, Lot selfishly chose to live among evil rather than to remain with his righteous uncle in a family devoted to the worship of the one true God. The loss of his nephew to such an environment brought great heart distress to Abraham, but he did not try to prevent the move.

When Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were transported from Jerusalem to Babylon, they were already prepared for the trials they faced. The young men had been taught in their families and through the sanctuary service about God's covenant promise of the coming Messiah (made visual through the sanctuary service), had been raised in a knowledge of proper health practices, and were solidly grounded in the faith of their Saviour. If they had not been, then they would have fallen just as rapidly as the other young men who were deported at the same time.

Spiritual preparationbefore a crisis is essential.

In both of these situations, we can see a first generation faith. Abraham was the first generation called from Babylon (the city of Ur), and Daniel and his righteous companions were the first generation of the group that would later be brought forth from Babylon to rebuild Jerusalem. Abraham's descendants, through Judah, remained steadfast to the faith (more or less; all twelve tribes fell into paganism and that's why they went into captivity).

The generation that followed Daniel were in serious need of spiritual reformation when they returned from Babylon. In captivity they had become complacent and far removed from their confidence in God's covenant. Their seventy years in Babylon had not brought them closer to their Lord. The returning exiles were unprepared for the challenges they would face when trying to rebuild their city, the temple, and their faith.

At the time the message of Christ and His righteousness was first presented in 1888, God's remnant family faced multiple theological crises through John Harvey Kellogg's pantheism, and the resultant "holy flesh" movement. Another serious challenge came through an upheaval concerning the sanctuary doctrine. It has been said that after 1905, Ellen White went into a "damage control" mode in her writings, trying to handle the deviant teachings confronting the denomination.

It has been almost seventy years since Elders Wieland and Short recovered the message of Christ and His righteousness that was lost through these challenges and plain neglect of the "most precious message" of A. T. Jones and E. J. Waggoner, presented to the church in 1888. First generation enthusiasm for the recovery of the message was lost when these two men went to their graves.

In the original message given in 1888, the emphasis was on Christ, His faith, justification through His faith that has been given to every person on earth (Rom. 12:3), and other connected elements of the Gospel that are all related specifically to Christ and His righteousness (such as Christ's fallen human nature; Heb. 2:14-18). Man's "efforts" at sanctification were not forefront of the original message. It was all about Christ and His work for mankind.

As the years have passed and still Christ has not returned for His people, emphasis has changed from a "soon coming" idea to a "here for the long-run" plan. Emphasis has become evangelism of non-Adventists rather than preaching Christ and His righteousness to a church in need of repentance and reformation.

"Christ's death was for the sins of every human being everywhere. Many people simply do not know this great truth yet. To bring this news with an invitation to respond is the evangelism mission of Christians." Absolutely! So many people have never heard the "good news" of Christ and His righteousness, and are hungering and thirsting for this message. The best thing we can do is tell them!

However, the church "history sadly shows that compromise and accommodation to cultures has yielded a patchwork of pseudo-Christian beliefs posing as authentic Christianity." [1] The same can be said for the "1888 message"--many groups are claiming to preach this message, but through compromise with culture or to accommodate opposing theological views, the full message of A. T. Jones and E. J. Waggoner has never been fully presented under the second generation's work. Praying for the Latter Rain is not enough. We need a heart transformation before that blessing of heaven can be bestowed upon us.

The very high level of commitment and enthusiasm to the original message held by the first presenters has been lost in the "second generation." The "most precious message" as become a "tradition" with a "few peculiar aspects," which must be spoken of in a way so as not to give opportunity for Satan to exploit disruption caused by the presentation of those "peculiar" aspects.

"Jesus is trulythe message still needed by the world today." Yes, and He is waiting for a "generation" that will accept His message with a wholehearted enthusiasm, that will then go forth and "lighten the earth with His glory."

"Clad in the armor of Christ's righteousness, the church is to enter upon her final conflict. 'Fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners,' she is to go forth into all the world, conquering and to conquer. Only the covering which Christ Himself has provided can make us meet to appear in God's presence. This covering, the robe of His own righteousness, Christ will put upon every repenting, believing soul." "When we submit ourselves to Christ ... we live His life. This is what it means to be clothed with the garment of His righteousness." [2]

Christ is waiting with longing desire to see this happen in His remnant family, so that He can proclaim to the world and watching universe: "Here are they that keep the Commandments of God and the faith of Jesus!" (Rev. 14:12).

--Ann Walper

Endnotes:
[1] Sabbath School Bible Study Guide, Sunday's lesson, p. 89.
[2] Ellen G. White, "The Breastplate of Righteousness,"My Life Today, p. 311.

Notes:
Pastor Paul Penno's video of this lesson is on the Internet at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTMo8fmQVEo

"Sabbath School Today" is on the Internet at: http://1888message.org/sst.htm

RR

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz