Lesson 9: Trials, Tribulations, and Lists
Unfortunately, God's people have an age-old problem of forgetting what He has previously done, what He is doing now, and what He will do in the future. The Levites lamented the disregard of God's interventions and guidance, leading to the downfall of the people. They declared, "They refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles you performed among them" (Neh. 9:17, New International Version).
Forgetting God's leading in the past is a sure path to sin. The people of God forgot how kind He was to them. Their faulty memory was not filled with His mighty acts, and they rebelled against Him. This is why Nehemiah admonished the people to not fear the enemy: "Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight" (Neh. 4:14, NIV).
Why do we need to go back in history to 1888 and devote time to what happened there? Is it not sufficient that we simply face the future?
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]
Two complimentary dates in Adventist history demand special attention: 1844 and 1888. The first marks the prophetic beginning of the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary, the Day of Atonement and the beginning of the sounding of the seventh angel's trumpet (Daniel 8:14; Revelation 11:15-19).
The second date 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 in a large measure resisted and rejected. [3]
This is the primaryreason for the long delay in the finishing of our gospel commission. The Lord has not delayed His return; wehave 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]
Again, "All the universe of heaven witnessed the disgraceful treatment of Jesus Christ, represented by the Holy Spirit. Had Christ been before them they would have treated him in a manner similar to that in which the Jews treated Christ." [5]
True, but what difference does this make to us in 2019? Does this terrible sin of 1888 have any appreciable effect on us now?
Yes, this sin does have a serious effect on our relationship to the Holy Spirit today. It has delayed the preparation of God's people for the coming of the Lord for nearly 130 years.
Sin and guilt are not passed on from our fathers genetically (Eze. 18:19-30). None of us were personally present in 1888 to join in that sin, but sin is passed on from generation to generation by the influence of mind on mind unless repentance takes place. For example, the sin of crucifying Christ involves a guilt that includes the "whole world ... all classes and sects who reveal the same spirit ... manifested by those who put to death the Son of God [6] unless they experience genuine repentance.
By nature we are not better than they. By nature we are not better than our fathers who insulted the Holy Spirit and showed enmity against Christ through His delegated messengers.
Until full understanding and full repentance bring full healing and reconciliation, the spiritual alienation will continue. The hard hearts and mind set of our forefathers are passed on to us through the influence of mind on mind. The Bible declares that this was also the experience of the ancient Jews: "… ye do always resist the Holy Ghost; as your fathers did, so do ye" (Acts 7:51).
Practically without exception, Seventh-day Adventists recognize our need of the Holy Spirit. Since Ellen White recognized in the 1888 message the beginning of the latter rain, there has been no further authenticated manifestation of the latter rain. The latter rain prepares the grain for the harvest; large numerical increases to the church do not necessarily indicate the reception of the latter rain.
Yes, God cares about His children. He cares about the details of their lives. He longs to be close. The joy of God's leading was the strength of Israel--and "the joy of the LORD is your strength" today (Neh. 8:10).
--Paul E. Penno
Endnotes:
[1] Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, book 2, p. 390.
[2] Ellen G. White, Life Sketches, p. 196.
[3] The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, p. 1043.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid, p. 1479.
[6] Ellen G. White, Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, p. 38.
Notes:
Pastor Paul Penno's video of this lesson is on the Internet at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3o21VNDr3o
"Sabbath School Today" is on the Internet at: http://1888message.org/sst.htm
| RR |
