Lesson 2: The Choices We Make

Sabbath School Today
With the 1888 Message Dynamic

Family Seasons
Lesson 2: The Choices We Make

 

Marriage and the seventh-day Sabbath are the two divinely appointed institutions that show us the character of our Creator God, Who both made us and redeemed us, and upon Whom we must learn to depend for our every need.

From the divorce rates in America, it appears that many people do not make the right choices when selecting the person who will become their life-partner. There are varied criteria that individuals use in forming their ideals of the perfect marriage partner, but the most important should be compatibility in spiritual matters. When two become one in marriage, their ideas about God and worship must be aligned for a successful life partnership. This is why Paul admonished us, "be not unequally yoked" (2 Cor. 6:14).

In marriage we become intimately "one" with our spouse, and through equal submission we gain a sense of what God intends for us to feel toward Him. When we see the "big picture" of the everlasting covenant, we discover that the Godhead, as a united entity, were willing to submit Themselfcompletely in Their "marriage" with the human race. This total commitment was made visible through the Son's becoming "one" with the human race in His incarnation. Only through Christ, our Kinsmen Redeemer, is there salvation from sin, and that salvation came at a very high cost.

God was willing to lay down His own existence in order to save us from eternal destruction. No human being has ever shown equal or greater love toward their spouse. "Think about it; God swore by Himself! That is, He pledged Himself, and His own existence, to our salvation in Jesus Christ. He put Himself in pawn. His life for ours, if we are lost while trusting Him. His honour is at stake. ... Think of what would be involved in the breaking of that promise and that oath. The word of God, which brings the promise, is the word which created the heavens and the earth, and which upholds them." [1]

"The oath of God is really a pledging of His own existence. He swore by Himself. He has thereby declared that His life would be forfeited if His promise should fail. ... Upon the existence of God depends the existence of the heavens and the earth. But He has pledged His own existence to the fulfillment of His promises. Therefore the existence of the heavens, yea, of the entire universe, depends upon the fulfillment of the promises of God to the believing sinner. If a single sinner, no matter how unworthy, or insignificant, or obscure, should come to the Lord sincerely asking for pardon and holiness, and should fail to receive it, that instant the whole universe would become chaos, and vanish out of existence. But the sun, moon, and stars still hold their places in heavens, as a proof that God has never failed a single soul that put his trust in Him, and as a pledge that His mercies fail not." [2]

True Sabbath-keeping is a major part of the everlasting covenant promise. We learn to submit to God, and rest completely upon His promise to us to save us from our sin. God said that we "must enter into to His rest" for "he that is entered into His rest, he has also ceased from his own works, as God did from His" (see Heb. 4:9-11). "God has pledged Himself. God is under obligations, not to man, but to Himself; because He swore by Himself [see Heb. 6:13]. Some must come and enter that rest, in order to save His word in order to save God from breaking His oath. It must be so." [3]

The whole Gospel message is focused on the consummation of the "marriage of the Lamb." The message from that Lamb to the Laodicean church, is "I know your nakedness, and I have the remedy; return unto your Husband, and receive the wedding garment from Me." When the bride finally heeds this message then will be heard "the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready" (Rev. 19:6, 7).

That wedding garment is Christ's robe of righteousness. "The guests at the marriage feast were inspected by the king. Only those were accepted who had obeyed his requirements and put on the wedding garment. So it is with the guests at the gospel feast. All must pass the scrutiny of the great King, and only those are received who have put on the robe of Christ's righteousness." [4]

"Nothing can man devise to supply the place of his lost robe of innocence. No fig-leaf garment, no worldly citizen dress, can be worn by those who sit down with Christ and angels at the marriage supper of the Lamb. 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. 'I counsel thee,' He says, 'to buy of Me ... white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear.' Revelation 3:18. This robe, woven in the loom of heaven, has in it not one thread of human devising." [5]

"And we have it further, 'Buy of Me gold tried in the fire, and white raiment that thou mayest be clothed.' And you remember the description that we have already had of that raiment. The figure is, it is, 'that garment that is woven in the loom of heaven, in which there is not a single thread of human making.' Brethren, that garment was woven in a human body. The human body--the flesh of Christ--was the loom, was it not? That garment was woven in Jesus; in the same flesh that you and I have, for He took part of the same flesh and blood that we have. That flesh that is yours and mine, that Christ bore in this world--that was the loom in which God wove that garment for you and me to wear in the flesh, and He wants us to wear it now, as well as when the flesh is made immortal in the end! What was the loom? Christ in His human flesh. What was it that was made there? [Voice: The garment of righteousness.] And it is for all of us. The righteousness of Christ--the life that He lived--for you and for me that we are considering tonight, that is the garment." [6]

The choices we make every day determine whether we will have the necessary wedding garment. It cannot be purchased with any amount of "good works," positive thinking, or mindless meditation. No human devising can fashion the garment that will cover our sins. The wedding garment is a gift from the King Himself.

"Now then, He wants that garment to be ours, but does not want us to forget who is the Weaver. It is not ourselves, but it is He who is with us. It was God in Christ. Christ is to be in us, just as God was in Him, and His character is to be in us, just as God was in Him, and His character is to be woven and transformed into us through these sufferings and temptations and trials which we meet. And God is the weaver, but not without us. It is the cooperation of the divine and the human--the mystery of God in you and me--the same mystery that was in the gospel and that is the third angel's message. This is the word of the Wonderful Counselor." [7]

Here Jones described how the marriage of the Lamb is to take place. The Lamb will be "one" with His bride. Her character is to be transformed into the Lamb's character. The Lamb will dwell with and in His bride, thus fitting her for her place in the heavenly court. God is doing the transforming. It is His work, not ours. We are to cooperate with Him, submit to His divine weaving. Choose to let Him complete His work in us.

"Many times, brethren, the threads seem all tangled when we look at them. The meshes seem all out of shape, and there is no symmetry at all to the figure; there is no beauty at all to the pattern as we see it. But the pattern is not of our making. We are not the weaver. Although the threads become tangled and the shuttle as it goes through gets all clogged and we do know how it is all coming out, who is sending the shuttle? God sends the shuttle, and it will go through. You need never mind, if the threads get tangled and you can see nothing beautiful in it. God is the weaver; can He untangle the threads? Assuredly He will untangle them." [8]

"Brethren, let Him weave away. Let Him carry on His blessed plan of weaving through all our life and experience the precious pattern of Jesus Christ. The day is coming and is not far off when the last shuttle will be shot through, the last thread will be laid on, the last point in the figure will be met completely and sealed with the seal of the living God. There we shall wait only for Him that we may be like Him because we shall see Him as he is." [9]

Then the cry will go up from the heavenly choir, "Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready."

It is our choice whether we will be faithful in our marriage to the Lamb and demonstrate that faith through true Sabbath-keeping, resting completely in His power and love.

--Ann Walper

Endnotes:
[1] E. J. Waggoner, The Everlasting Covenant, p. 87, 88 (2002 ed.); The Present Truth, July 9, 1896.
[2] E. J. Waggoner, The Gospel In Creation, pp. 114-116.
[3] E. J. Waggoner, General Conference Bulletin, March 1, 1897, p. 7.
[4] Ellen G. White, Christ's Object Lessons, p. 312.
[5] Ibid., p. 311.
[6] A. T. Jones, General Conference Bulletin, February 9, 1893, p. 207.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid., p. 208.
[9] Ibid.

Notes:
Pastor Paul Penno's video of this lesson is on the Internet at: https://youtu.be/kU6aEW3DLk0

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

RR

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

Lesson 1: "The Rhythms of Life"

Lesson 1: "The Rhythms of Life"

 

I'm glad God changes the times and the seasons, aren't you? Just think how dull things would become if He didn't.

Each of the seasons of life offers fresh and vital insights for those who take time to look and to think. Hidden beneath the surface are colorful yet silent truths that touch most every area across the landscape of our lives. The Master is neither mute nor careless as He alters our times and changes our seasons. How wrong to trudge blindly and routinely through a lifetime of changing seasons without discovering answers to the new mysteries and learning to sing the new melodies. Seasons are designed to deepen us, to instruct us in the wisdom and ways of our God, to help our character grow strong like a tree planted by the rivers of water.

Our hope is to grow stronger and taller as our roots dig deeper in the soft soil along the banks of the river of life. And let's not fear the winds of adversity. The gnarled old twisted trees, beaten and buffeted by wind and weather along the ocean shores, tell their own stories of consistent courage. God will make us strong as the winds whip against us.

We're talking about growing a Christian character through the "rhythms of life" this quarter; not just individual character, but family character, church families' character, and denominational character as the people of God made in His image. Genesis 1:27, 28 describes the beginnings of the family like this: "So God created man in His own image; in the imageof God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.'"

The Bible shares in the first chapter of the first book that God created the family, emphasizing the high importance this basic unit in society has for God, and us.

Despite God's plan for the happiness of the family, we all know things have not always worked as well as they were supposed to. Husbands and wives often do not get along. Parents and children are often angry at each other. Church families have issues and our denomination is certainly struggling now with immense challenges. These experiences are often confusing because what we anticipated would bring a sense of happiness, warm feelings, and security has been the opposite for many people in our world today.

In Monday's lesson "The Rhythms of Life" we reference Ellen White, writing of God's providential ordering of our lives: "Our plans are not always God's plans. ..."

"In His loving care and interest for us, often He who understands us better than we understand ourselves refuses to permit us selfishly to seek the gratification of our own ambition. ... Often our plans fail that God's plans for us may succeed. ...

"In the future life the mysteries that here have annoyed and disappointed us will be made plain. We shall see that our seemingly unanswered prayers and disappointed hopes have been among our greatest blessings." [1]

Temptations are "the unexpected" (Tuesday) "bumps" in the road of life. Ellen White says in line with the 1888 message, that "the correct understanding of the ministration in the heavenly sanctuary is the foundation of our faith," [2] "the central pillar that sustains the structure of our position at the present time." [3] Unless we understand it clearly, "it will be impossible ... to exercise the faith which is essential at this time." [4] The only true deterrent to sin is that "faith"--in the ministry of Christ in His sanctuary.

The Good News is that the Gospel of Jesus Christ brings to view the possibility of character perfection in one's life. Commenting on the parable of the talents in Matthew 25, Ellen White wrote, "A character formed according to the divine likeness is the only treasure that we can take from this world to the next. ... The heavenly intelligences will work with the human agent who seeks with determined faith that perfection of character which will reach out to perfection in action." [5] In fact, that perfection of character is a reflection of the loving character of God.

As servants of God become more and more like Christ, they receive "the Spirit of Christ--the Spirit of unselfish love and labor for others." As a result, she concluded, "your love [will] be made perfect. More and more you will reflect the likeness of Christ in all that is pure, noble, and lovely." [6] 

Yes, Christ gives His perfection in order to overcome sin. While recognizing that human nature will remain affected by sinful inclinations until the moment of glorification, Ellen White nonetheless affirmed the possibility of victory over sin. "We can overcome. Yes; fully, entirely. Jesus died to make a way of escape for us, that we might overcome every evil temper, every sin, every temptation." [7] 

No one can claim freedom from temptation and sin in this life since this is what sinful human nature entails, yet the goal of the Christian life remains the same: to reflect Christ's character. This aspect of the 1888 message connects the High Priestly ministry of Christ with the power to "transform one into a perfect Christian." Writes E. J. Waggoner, "... consider the Apostle and High Priest ... Christ Jesus. ... to consider Christ continually and intelligently, just as He is, will transform one into a perfect Christian." [8]

Alonzo T. Jones agrees, "Perfection, perfection of character, is the Christian goal--perfection attained in [not of!] human flesh in this world." Christ "having attained it, has become our great High Priest, by His priestly ministry in the true sanctuary to enable us to attain it." [9]

This becomes all the more important for Ellen White when discussing last-day events and a vital aspect of the 1888 message. She connects perfection with Christ's High Priestly ministry. "Now, while our great High Priest is making the atonement for us, we should seek to become perfect in Christ. Not even by a thought could our Savior be brought to yield to the power of temptation. ... He had kept His Father's commandments, and there was no sin in Him that Satan could use to his advantage. This is the condition in which those must be found who shall stand in the time of trouble." [10]

Fear of sickness or accidents or of "the time of trouble," even of death and hell itself, is not a strong enough motivation for enduring "faith." We can drum away with the fear motivation endlessly, but it will not hold our young or old in times of temptation: "We may dwell upon the punishing of every sin, and the awfulness of the punishment inflicted on the guilty, but this will not melt and subdue the soul." [11]

Christian character perfection is a deepening appreciation of the love of God, through "The Rhythms of Life", revealed in Christ's ministry and particularly in His death on the cross to put us right before God. Faith motivated by Divine love hates sin and appropriates the sinless life of Christ.

--Paul E. Penno

Endnotes:
[1] Ellen G. White, Ministry of Healing, p. 473, 474.
[2] Ellen G. White, Evangelism, p. 221.
[3] Ellen G. White, Manuscript Releases, vol. 4, p. 244.
[4] Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 488.
[5] Ellen G. White, Christ's Object Lessons, p. 332.
[6] Ibid., 68.
[7] Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 144.
[8] Ellet J. Waggoner, Christ and His Righteousness, p. 7 (Glad Tidings ed.). Quoted in Robert J. Wieland, Ten Great Gospel Truths that Make the1888 Message Unique(The 1888 Message Study Committee, 1998), p. 25.
[9] Alonzo T. Jones, The Consecrated Way, pp. 88, 89 (Glad Tidings ed.). Quoted in Robert J. Wieland, Ten Great Gospel Truths that Make the1888 Message Unique, p. 26.
[10] Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 623.
[11] Ellen G. White, "Peril of Trusting in the Wisdom of Men," The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, p. 844.
 

Notes:
Pastor Paul Penno's video of this lesson is on the Internet at: https://youtu.be/6tRpOgz8w1Y

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

RR

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

Lesson 13: "I Make All Things New

Sabbath School Today
With the 1888 Message Dynamic

The Book of Revelation
Lesson 13: "I Make All Things New"

 

What is the mind of Christ today toward the organized denomination known as Seventh-day Adventists?

The last book of the Bible is the "revelation of Jesus Christ." There we can trace His "mind" toward His church and its destiny from the time of the apostles down to the end of the world. In chapter 12 He pictures the church as "a woman" opposed by Satan through all the ages of the Christian era. Finally she emerges in the last act of the drama as "the remnant of her seed" (King James Version) which "keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ" (Rev. 12:17). She is to become the bride of Christ because the time must come when "the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready" (Rev. 19:7).

The outstanding demonstration of two thousand years of history is the public display of a church that is as completely loyal to Christ as a faithful bride is loyal to her husband. Seventh-day Adventists have always seen their destiny pictured in these end-time symbols.

Since the true Head of this church is Christ Himself, His honor and vindication are involved in the victory of this "woman" over her archenemy. He knows a way to bring healing and unity to His "body."

Ellen White identifies the organized Seventh-day Adventist Church as this "remnant": "In a special sense Seventh-day Adventists have been set in the world as watchmen and light bearers. To them has been entrusted the last warning for a perishing world. ... the proclamation of the first, second, and third angels' messages. ... The most solemn truths ever entrusted to mortals have been given us to proclaim to the world." [1]

"Let us have faith that God is going to carry the noble ship which bears the people of God safely into port." [2]

"The church may appear as about to fall, but it does not fall. It remains, while the sinners in Zion will be sifted out--the chaff separated from the precious wheat. This is a terrible ordeal, but nevertheless it must take place." [3]

"I am instructed to say to Seventh-day Adventists the world over, God has called us as a people to be a peculiar treasure unto Himself. He has appointed that His church on earth shall stand perfectly united in the Spirit and counsel of the Lord of hosts to the end of time." [4]

Some of these and other similar statements were made decades after the 1888 experience, indicating that Ellen White still regarded the organized church as the body of Christ, enfeebled and defective as it was. But it must experience repentance and spiritual reformation. As Christ called Abraham's family to witness to His truth in a world of paganism, so He has called Seventh-day Adventists to call the apostate Christian churches and the entire world, including Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and paganism, to repentance.

The fundamental issue to be settled is its true identity: if it is a fallible hierarchy of men and women, there is no hope for its future, and there is likewise no hope for any offshoot from it to succeed any better; but if we have a firm faith that the Lord Jesus is the true Leader of this church, then we can have confidence that He will cleanse and purify it as He has promised to do. If it was the Lord Jesus who initiated this church's calling, we can be sure that He knows how to finalize it.

There are several grand truths about Christ's second coming that we need to consider: His character has not changed from what it was 2000 years ago. "This same Jesus ... will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11). But Paul says that "in flaming fire" He will "take vengeance" on His enemies (2 Thess. 1:8). Will He be a bloodthirsty tyrant with a laser gun to mow down His enemies in hateful revenge? If "God is love" (1 John 4:8), Christ must still be love when He returns. James and John wanted to call down that same "fire ... from heaven" to wipe out the unbelieving Samaritans, but Jesus said, No, "the Son of man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them" (Luke 9:54, 56). Why the apparent change at the second coming?

The reason is that God's personal presence is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29). Have you ever put a dish with a plastic spoon in the microwave? No problem. But if you leave in a metal spoon, the microwaves attack it. The personal presence of God is not destruction to His people who have overcome sin, for He loves them; but it has to be destruction to sin itself. Those who have made a final choice to cling to it are like the spoon in the microwave--the personal presence of agapehas to destroy them because they have clung to sin like a vine to a tree until both are one. They simply cannot endure to look into the face of Christ. The point is doesn't it make sense to get rid of the sin now?

But someone may say, "Yes, I'd like to, but it is too deep within me. I don't see how I can ever overcome it." That problem is the reason why Jesus Christ is now serving as great High Priest in His final work in the heavenly sanctuary (Heb. 2:17, 18; 4:14-16; 7:25; Titus 2:11). Heaven's total resources are ours for overcoming sin in this Day of Atonement. Sin can be removed from the heart, from the character, no matter how deeply we have sinned against the Lord. A mere forgiveness that excuses or pardons it but leaves it intact is not good enough. When the Lord truly forgives a sin, He takes it away. Clearly this is an 1888 idea. Writes E. J. Waggoner, "The cleansing of the sanctuary is the blotting out of the sins of God's people." [5] The essence of Adventism insists that there is a difference between the forgiveness of sin and the blotting out of sin, and the good news is that He will blot it out if we let Him do so.

Therefore the only reason why the second coming has been delayed is because God's people are not ready to face His personal presence. Sin in the heart would result in their destruction. The Lord loves them too much to subject them to such a test unless they are ready. Thus Peter says that Christ delays, "not willing that any should perish" (2 Peter 3:9).

Jesus Christ is a disappointed Bridegroom. Rightly understood, the entire Bible becomes a love story, with the climax near the end in Revelation 19. A wedding takes place because at last the bride "has made herself ready" (vs. 7). Christ has long desired that day to come, because His love for His church is likened to that of a bridegroom for his bride (Eph. 5:22-32). He placed the Song of Solomon in the Bible for a purpose--to arouse our hearts to sense the full meaning of His love for His church. The second coming will be to take His bride to Himself.

The Father therefore has not predetermined the time for Christ's second coming. In His infinite foreknowledge He knows the time, but for Him to know is not the same as to predetermine. For example, He knows who will eventually be saved and who will be lost, but He does not predetermine salvation or damnation for anyone. And Jesus expressly says He does not know the time of His coming (Mark 13:32).

The timing of the second coming is a different matter than for the first. To confuse the two is to repeat the mistake of the ancient Jews who assumed that the prophecies of the two advents were the same. Daniel indeed foretold exactly when Christ should appear as Messiah, and "like the stars in the vast circuit of their appointed path, God's purposes know no haste and no delay." [6] But the love of God requires that the timing for the second coming must be dependent on a people getting ready.

--Paul E. Penno

Endnotes:
[1] Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9, p. 19.
[2] Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, book two, p. 390.
[3] Ibid., p. 380.
[4] Ibid., p. 397.
[5] E. J. Waggoner, "Cleansing of the Sanctuary," Signs of the Times, May 13, 1886, p. 279.10.
[6] See Daniel 9:24-27; Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 32.

Notes:
Pastor Paul Penno's video of this lesson is on the Internet at: https://youtu.be/Npu9666gH3w

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

--

RR

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

Lesson 11: The Seven Last Plagues

Sabbath School Today
With the 1888 Message Dynamic

The Book of Revelation
Lesson 11: The Seven Last Plagues

 

Revelation 16:1, 2: Then I heard a voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, "Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth." So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image.

Never has the Lord been forced to give a command that He dislikes so much to give as this one! He "is longsuffering toward us not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). He said long ago, "I have no pleasure in the death of the one who dies, says the Lord God. Therefore turn and live" (Ezek. 18:32).

If He could have His way He would save everybody: "God our Savior ... desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (2 Tim. 2:3, 4). "He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world" (1 John 2:2). The only reason anyone will ever suffer the seven last plagues is that he has resisted and rejected the salvation that the Lord has already given him, because "God has dealt to each one a measure of faith" (Rom. 12:3).

But painful as this work is to God, He has no choice but to let it come. "The winepress is full, the vats overflow--for their wickedness is great" (Joel 3:13).

It will not be "the blood of the grape" that flows from this great winepress, but the blood of wickedness. Such a terrible sight has not yet been seen on this earth. These literal plagues have not yet fallen, because they are declared to be the "last plagues." They cannot fall until the world has been warned, and the work of salvation has closed. And that work cannot close so long as there is one human soul somewhere who will yet respond to the Good News of the grace of Christ.

So long as the Holy Spirit has been working in the earth, judgments and disasters have brought many people to think and to repent. It has been true up until this time, as Isaiah says, that "when Your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness" (Isa. 26:9). But before the last plagues can be poured out, the Holy Spirit will have been driven finally from the earth by the rejection of the wicked. It will then be demonstrated that troubles will not bring to repentance those who have rejected God's goodness, for only "the goodness of God leads you to repentance" (Rom. 2:4). Revelation says that Satan will then have full control over the inhabitants of the earth. "They did not repent" (Rev. 16:9).

It is during the pouring outof these plagues that the warnings against worshiping the beast and his image and receiving his mark will be fulfilled, and the rejectors of God's grace will "have no rest day or night" (Rev.14:10, 11). These plagues will bring the downfall of Babylon in "one day," which in harmony with the year-day principle of interpreting Bible prophecy, could mean one year of literal time.

What would this world be like if it were not for the restraining power of the Holy Spirit? Multitudes do not realize that they owe all their security and happiness under what measure of law and order prevails, to the blessed ministry of God's Spirit in the earth. During the time of the plagues, all will see clearly that when men give themselves up to the control of Satan, they will themselves produce a hell here on earth.

The plague of grievous sores falls on those who have yielded to pressure to receive the "mark of the beast," either sincerely by having the mark in their foreheads, or insincerely by having it in their hands. But to His loyal people, the Lord gives this assurance: "You shall not be afraid of the ... pestilence that walks in darkness. ... A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you ... neither shall any plague come near your dwelling" (Psalm 91:5-10).

How does the 1888 message fit into the meaning of the seven last plagues? The first three sentences that Ellet J. Waggoner published in book form soon after the 1888 Conference summarizes in miniature the "most precious message." As the oak is in the acorn, the essential elements of the view of Waggoner and A. T. Jones on the nature of Christ, sinless living, and the cleansing of the sanctuary are here in a nutshell:

"In the first verse of the third chapter of Hebrews we have an exhortation which comprehends all the injunctions given to the Christian. It is this: 'Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus.' To do this as the Bible enjoins, to consider Christ continually and intelligently, just as He is, will transform one into a perfect Christian, for 'by beholding we become changed.'"[1]

We are either hastening the finishing of the gospel commission, or we are continuing our history of over 130 years in postponing the glorious "marriage of the Lamb" (Rev. 19:7, 8). It was 130 years ago that the Lord Jesus wanted to propose to the corporate "woman" whom He loves, "Let's get married!" All heaven had been waiting to rejoice because "the marriage of the Lamb is come, for His wife has made herself ready" (Rev. 19:7). But no, not yet.

And today's question is: "What good does it do if the folks we baptize become just more Laodicean lukewarm adherents? What progress have we made?"

We as a world church are in fact writing a "book" about "discipleship." The last chapter is about a "discipleship" so mature, so complete that it prepares the "disciples" around the world to be ready for the close of human probation, prepares them to stand during the pouring out of the seven last plagues, prepares them to face the final test of the close of probation. That will be ultimate "discipleship."

And here we come face to face with the reality of our church story. The "let your light shine" idea was "present truth" 130 years ago when the Lord was ready to shine "our" light upon a dark world, lighting the earth with the glory of that fourth angel of Revelation 18:1-4. (Remember, when Revelation speaks of angels with a message, it's the people of God who actually give the message.)

The idea is clear as sunlight: (1) See Jesus as He truly is; (2) consider His work as High Priest; and (3) faith in Him will transform the believer into "a perfect Christian." Here was the "beginning" fulfillment of the promise of Early Writings of a "refreshing" which will "give power ... and prepare the saints to stand ... when the seven last plagues shall be poured out." [2]

--From the writings of Robert J. Wieland

Endnotes:
[1] Ellet J. Waggoner, Christ and His Righteousness, p. 7, Glad Tidings ed. (1999).
[2] Ellen G. White, Early Writings, p. 86.

Notes:
Pastor Paul Penno's video of this lesson is on the Internet at: 
https://youtu.be/0Z6gK-4SHK8

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

RR

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

Lesson 10: God's Everlasting Gospel

Sabbath School Today
With the 1888 Message Dynamic

The Book of Revelation
Lesson 10: God's Everlasting Gospel

 

Three things make the Seventh-day Adventist Church the most unique denomination on planet earth. Two of three things are the cleansing of the sanctuary truth and the three angels' messages. The combination of these two is summarized as Christ and His righteousness, found in the 1888message. No other church in the world is teaching these messages. If we lose sight of them, then we lose our God-given purpose for existence. In 1844 God called out a remnant from the Protestant churches that were on their march back to Rome--yes, even in the early 1800s this was taking place--and He filled that remnant with a zeal for Bible study and sharing the messages of the three angels.

William Miller's movement was not the only group in the world that was agitating for a deeper Bible study. Satan had his counterfeits, too. Prophecy Bible study groups in England and Scotland were developing their own views on the fulfillment of prophecy and end-time events. Notably, through the preaching of John Nelson Darby, who came to America in 1859, the second coming of Christ was also anticipated among some evangelical and Pentecostal churches. This was just 4 years before the Adventist Church was formally organized. 
However, Darby's ideas were not according to the Bible, but originated in the mind of a Catholic priest during the Council of Trent (1545-1563), as a means of deflecting the Protestant claim that the papacy was the beast of Revelation 13. Darby's dispensational premillennialism teachings were originally accepted by C. I. Scofield, and in some form, is now the prophetic view of most modern fundamentalist and conservative evangelical churches.

It makes a great deal of difference how we interpret the prophecies of Daniel chapters 7 through 9, and the entire Book of Revelation. The end result of this difference is eternal life or destruction in the lake of fire. Correctly interpreting the prophecies, especially of the three angels' messages, will shield the believer from Satan's final deception called the mark of the beast, when "all the world will wonder after the beast" completely deluded by the sophistries of spiritualism combined with a misinterpretation of end-time events (sadly, this will include some persons in the Seventh-day Adventist church, too; Rev. 13:14; 16:13, 14). "All" will follow the beast power, except that remnant who will be proclaiming the message of repentance and the faith of Jesus known as "the everlasting Gospel."

Those messages are: (1) A call to repentance and reverent, committed worship of the Creator God who is judging the world in righteousness, by the Standard of righteousness, Jesus Christ. The first angel's message calls for a deep loyalty that includes keeping the seventh-day Sabbath given by God at creation as the sign and seal of the faith that finds complete rest in His power to save from sin. "Come unto Me, all ye that labour, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28), which is in direct contrast to those who accept the beast's claims. Those find "no rest, day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receives the mark of his name" (Rev. 14:11).

(2) "Babylon" as the word-symbol of all apostate religions that preach a false "gospel" about God, His character, and His method of salvation. Apostate religions all claim that works are necessary to appease an angry God (paganism) or earn merit in payment for our transgressions (papalism). Papalism is paganism exalted, as Daniel saw in his vision (Daniel 8:12, "the daily" is continual transgression exalted as the "gospel" of Jesus Christ).

(3) The third angel's message warns the world against willingly or unwittingly accepting the lies of the apostate religious system that has united church and state while counterfeiting the pure Gospel of Jesus Christ. The true Gospel, when believed with all the heart, will transform the unbeliever into a loyal servant of God (see Rom. 6:17, 18). It will produce such deep fidelity and allegiance to God that the believer, through the power of the faith of Jesus working in their lives, will remain steadfast even as the world falls rapidly to total destruction and all seems hopeless just prior to the second coming.

The time is fast approaching when "by the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation [every nation, but principally America] will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism [Rev. 13:12-15], when, under the influence of this threefold union [Rev. 16:13, 14], our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions [Sunday-keeping and the "natural" immortality of the "soul"], then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near." [1]

The first angel calls all persons in the world to honor the God who created all things. To honor God means that, through the faith of Jesus working in our hearts, we keep His Commandments. Keeping God's Commandments is not "perfectionism" as many are complaining today. There will bea remnant of people at the end of time who fully surrender their will though faith in God's power to prevent them from falling under the bewitching lies of Satan (Rev. 14:12). This remnant will be "presented faultless before the throne of God" (Jude 24). It is this "perfect" remnant that will be sealed with "the Father's name written in their foreheads," who have "gotten the victory over the beast and his image and over his mark," and who stand on the "sea of glass mingled with fire," singing a "new song" of victory over sin, called "the Song of Moses and the Lamb" (Rev. 7:3; 14:1; 15:2, 3).

To have this experience, God's people must be prepared through the faith of Jesus that produced righteousness in Him. The very faith that accomplished overcoming in Jesus has been given to "every man" (Rom. 12:1-3). This faith works in us to transform our characters, fitting us for heaven. It is "the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you the hope of glory" (Col. 1:27). It is the finishing of "the mystery of God" in the characters of His people (Rev. 10:7).

"And the finishing of this mystery is the perfecting of the believers, even unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. The mystery of godliness is 'God ... manifest in the flesh' (1 Tim. 3:16). And the finishing of this mystery signifies not only the finishing of the work of God in the believer, so that the believer reflects only Christ,--all of God and none of self,--but it signifies also that this manifestation of God in the flesh will be finished, and that He will be manifest only in the spirit: and this signifies the changing of the believers from flesh to spirit; and this signifies translation. Thank the Lord! And now is the time." [2]

"Of all the denominations and religions on earth, God acknowledges as His 'saints' only those people who keep His commandments through the genuine faith of Jesus. But they are not seeking to keep the commandments in their own strength, neither are they trusting in their obedience to gain for them a place in the kingdom of God. The faith of Jesus is their sole motivation. He is their pattern and example. They are a Christ-centered people. They rejoice in salvation by His grace. They know that 'love is the fulfillment of the law' (Rom. 13:10). Christ is both their Substitute and Example." [3]

"The proud heart strives to earn salvation [i.e., "perfectionism"]; but both our title to heaven and our fitness for it are found in the righteousness of Christ [the fullness of the "1888 message"]. The Lord can do nothing toward the recovery of man until, convinced of his own weakness, and stripped of all self-sufficiency, he yields himself to the control of God. Then he can receive the gift that God is waiting to bestow. From the soul that feels his need, nothing is withheld." [4]"I saw that the third angel is leading out a people and fitting them for translation. They are to be purified through obeying the truth. ... The truth is to elevate, to cleanse, to purify, to sanctify, to fit us for translation, prepare us for the company of holy angels, sinless beings in the kingdom of God." [5]

"We are to walk by faith, not by sight. Through faith and obedience we obtain every advantage. Through faith 'we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.' I can testify that the righteousness of Christ entitles us to the blessings of the covenant of grace." [6]

--Ann Walper

Ennotes:
[1] Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 451.
[2] A. T. Jones, Review and Herald, Dec. 13, 1898.
[3] Robert J. Wieland, The Gospel in Revelation, p. 114.
[4] Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 300.
[5] Ellen G. White, Manuscript Releases, vol. 5, p. 291.
[6] The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, p. 1793.

Notes:
Pastor Paul Penno's video of this lesson is on the Internet at: 
https://youtu.be/hqZFxX5slUU

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

RR

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

Lesson 8: Satan's a Defeated Enemy

Sabbath School Today
With the 1888 Message Dynamic

The Book of Revelation
Lesson 8: Satan's a Defeated Enemy

 

The title of this lesson, "Satan's a Defeated Enemy," almost seems like the Great Controversy was wrapped up at the cross. But, of course, the "Quarterly" doesn't leave us there. It gives "hope" and assurance, without any thought to Christ's need to reconcile His alienated Remnant Bride to Himself--The Atonement--the heart of the 1888 message. In many quarters of the church the remnant is no longer an issue. It is just a "remnant" appendage of our curious 19th century history.

There are many religions in the world. Only one claims relevance for the entire world and embodies a built-in compulsion for its proclamation to the world: "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son" (John 3:16). "This is indeed ... the Saviour of the world" (John 4:42). "The bread of God is He which ... giveth life unto the world"; "the bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world" (John 6:33, 51). "There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek" (Rom. 1:16). "God our Saviour ... will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim. 2:3, 4). He "is the Saviour of all men, especially of those that believe" (1 Tim. 4:10). "He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:2). "The everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people" (Rev. 14:6).

Suppose any Christian denomination claims to be the onetrue church described in the Bible: would such a claim be necessarily arrogant? Is there is no one truechurch on earth? And suppose somewhere on earth onetrue church does meet the doctrinal criteria in the Bible, but it is so plagued with internal confusion and apostasy and backsliding that it can make no credible claim before the world, does that mean that it will never be healed and purified?

Bible teaching may seem at present unattained, but that does not mean that it is unattainable, given the leading and ministry of the Holy Spirit of God plus that there are at least some people on earth who are honest at heart who will respond to His leading. If the latter is not true, then it must be obvious that Christ died for nothing!

Is there such a Remnant body whom the Heavenly Bridegroom can draw to Himself? The 1888 message centers on the end-time Day of Atonement work of Christ our High Priest who accomplishes this union with His bride.Scripture speaks of "one body, and one Spirit, ... one Lord, one faith, one baptism" (Eph. 4:4, 5). It speaks of a people who "keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus" (Rev. 14:12), a "remnant ... seed" emerging after centuries of the Dark Ages as those distinguished who "keep the commandments of God, and [who] have the testimony of Jesus" (Rev. 12:17). They are distinct from "Babylon," a false system of worship that will deceive "all that dwell upon the earth" except those "whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life" (Rev. 13:8). They will bear a witness to earth and heaven that it is possible for an organized, corporate "body" of believers in Christ to "follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth" who stand displayed before the universe as a corporate body "in [whose] mouth is found no guile, for they are without fault before the throne of God" (Rev. 14:4, 5). They will eventually be the fulfillment of Paul's vision of a "glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but ... holy and without blemish" (Eph. 5:27). In all honesty, one must admit that there is no such "spotless church" on earth today, but if the Bible is true, someday there will be.

What will accomplish such a transformation? There's a hint in Ephesians 5:2: the proclamation of agape, which will result in the experience of justification by faith (Rom. 5:8-11). If such a "church" is reconciled to God, it will also be reconciled to God's holy law.

God has entrusted to His people on earth, His "remnant" of Revelation 12:17 and 14:12 the work of proclaiming the "sealing message." If they will be faithful in proclaiming "the everlasting gospel" in a way that the message can prepare a people for translation, then the Lord says He will do His part and "hold" or restrain those terrible "four winds" of war. The "sealing" truth is not a watered down message borrowed from Babylon, but the authentic gospel that Paul says "is the power of God unto salvation," the message of Christ's righteousness (Rom. 1:16).

Daniel and Revelation clearly teach that the hour of this great Day of Atonement is now. "What is this great 'Day of Atonement' when God calls for a special repentance from His people?" It is His final work in the Most Holy Apartment of the heavenly sanctuary. Christ Himself as great High Priest in His sanctuary is totally dedicated to bringing an end to the sin and suffering on this earth. Are we not called to understand, to be in full sympathy with Him?

The cosmic Day of Atonement is just what its name says--the Day of final reconciliation ("atonement" means at-one-with). It is not a difficult idea to grasp.

It's when the alienated heart of humanity is at last fully reconciled to God and His holy law. Not that every human will submit to this work of "at-one-with"; many will refuse to their bitter end. But the Lord will succeed in winning a "remnant" to full oneness with Himself.

They will demonstrate what "all men" could experience if only they would. This "remnant" will at last fully appreciate Christ for what He is. They will "grow up" out of the immaturity of "children" "unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ," "speaking the truth in love [agape]" (Eph. 4:13-15). Thus as their peers, in principle, they will "judge" all humanity.

Opposed and ridiculed, they will "follow the Lamb [the crucified Christ] whithersoever He goeth. ... In their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God" (Rev. 14:1-5). This is generally thought of as an impossible dream. But if it doesn't happen, Christ will forever remain embarrassed and discredited. He died specifically to achieve this goal.

But this "remnant" will never be conscious that they honor Christ. The more like Him they grow to be through sanctification of the Spirit, the more unworthy will they feel themselves to be. In the final Judgment they will not assume that Christ is inviting them, "Come, ye blessed of My Father." They will look around expecting Him to call others, not themselves (see Matt. 25:31-40).

Fully at-one with Him, a group will "overcome even as [He] overcame" (Rev. 3:21). His Bride will have "made herself ready" for "the marriage of the Lamb" (Rev. 19:1-8). Finally it is His triumph!

Then at last the sacrifice of Christ will have been fully vindicated--He, not they, glorified.

--Paul E. Penno

Notes:
Pastor Paul Penno's video of this lesson is on the Internet at: https://youtu.be/BxrDK5anYW8

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

RR

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

Lesson 7: The Seven Trumpets

Sabbath School Today
With the 1888 Message Dynamic

The Book of Revelation
Lesson 7: The Seven Trumpets

 

The 1888 message and its history have a direct bearing on the truth of the seven trumpets of Revelation 8-11. Ellen White clearly identified the 1888 message as "the beginning" of the loud cry of Revelation 18, and the beginning also of the latter rain:

"The time of test is just upon us, for the loud cry of the third angel has already begun in the revelation of the righteousness of Christ, the sin-pardoning Redeemer. This is the beginning of the light of the angel whose glory shall fill the whole earth [Rev. 18:1-4]." [1]

"[If it had been accepted] then the strong, clear light of that other angel who comes down from heaven having great power, would have filled the earth with his glory. ... The very message that God meant should go forth from the Minneapolis meeting." [2]

"[It was] showers of the latter rain from heaven." [3]

The seven trumpets occupy four chapters of Revelation--nearly a fifth of the book. We know that Revelation 2 and 3 describe God's true church throughout seven periods of world history from the time of the apostles down to the end of the world. It's the story of God's true people in relation to Him:

"The names of the seven churches are symbolic of the church in different periods of the Christian Era. The number 7 indicates completeness, and is symbolic of the fact that the messages extend to the end of time, while the symbols used reveal the condition of the church at different periods in the history of the world." [4]

Likewise, chapter 6 of Revelation describes the seven seals, which also cover "different periods in the history of the world" "to the end of time," describing God's true people in relation to the world:

Then comes an interlude during which a great final world storm threatens to break out continually, but is held in check by "four angels" who "hold" the tornado back. During this time, God "seals" His people to be ready for the second coming (chapter 7): The seventh trumpet is the end of the world, and "silence in heaven." Again, the cycle of world history is complete.

Four entire chapters devoted again to world history! The seven trumpets describe world events as they relate to God's true church. This is the view that Seventh-day Adventists have held ever since the time of the early pioneers, all through the decades of Ellen White's ministry. She never said a word to disparage the prophetic understandings of those pioneers, or of church leaders in the 1888 era. There was nothing wrong with their main prophetic understandings; their problem was in misunderstanding the message of Christ's righteousness. The seven trumpets are the seven main periods of world history since the time of Christ, and include:

(1) The high priestly ministry of Christ for the world (8:2-5).
(2) The abysmal fall of the world civilization that prevailed in the time of Christ (8:6-13).
(3) The rise of Islam as a protest against apostasy, and the reasons for its world-shaking philosophy (9:1-21).
(4) The rise of the Great Second Advent Movement and its impact on the world including the story of the Great Disappointment of 1844 (chapter 10).
(5) The end of the persecution of the saints during the Dark Ages (11:1-3).
(6) The care of God for His people and their nurture in persecution (11:4-6).
(7) The French Revolution and the beginnings of world Communism (11:4-7).
(8) The persecution of God's people in France and papal rejoicing over it (11:9, 10).
(9) The growth and ministry of the great world Bible Societies (11:11, 12).
(10) The French Revolution history (11:11).
(11) The inauguration of Christ's Most Holy Apartment ministry (11:15-17).
(12) The beginnings of the final great time of trouble for the world (11:18).
(13) The work of Christ's final atonement performed in the Most Holy Apartment (11:19).

And there is where the 1888 message and its history figure prominently in chapter 10. It's the event which announces the completion of the great gospel commission which began long ago at Pentecost: "In the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as He hath declared to His servants the prophets" (10:7).

When the "seventh" of the angels who blow the "seven trumpets" shall "begin to sound," the message that God sends will not be a works message, but a faith message. It won't be clench your fists and grind your teeth and try harder, but it will be a revelation of the much more abounding grace of a complete Savior, whom we are to "behold." We are "to consider Christ ... intelligently, just as He is, [this] will transform one into a perfect Christian, for 'by beholding we become changed.'"[5]

Some ridicule this as the heresy of perfectionism, but it is not perfection of the flesh, but growing up into Christ, by faith in Him, to perfection ofcharacterwhile God's people are still in sinful flesh. In other words, it will simply be overcoming as He overcame, as Jesus Himself says: "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame" (Rev. 3:21). It will be the living out in the lives of His people who have fallen, sinful flesh, His overcoming life in our fallen sinful flesh which He "took."

There are two Greek words for righteousness that describe this marvelous accomplishment of Christ. To the reader who does not see "the third angel's message in verity" in this passage in Romans, it will help to make the distinction crystal clear. The unique 1888 message of Christ's righteousness is unfolded in the Greek of Romans, and once you see it, it will astonish you: "The righteousness of God [dikaiosune] ... is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe" (Rom. 3:22).

Now note what happens when God's people "believe"--there is a second Greek word used this time: "What the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law [dikaiomata] might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (Rom. 8:3, 4).

Now at last the dikaiosune(righteousness of Christ) is manifested in the lives of those who believe how good the Good News is, and it is now dikaiomatain them. We see it brought to view again when at the close of the blowing of the seventh trumpet in the Day of Atonement, this blessed living out process (by faith) has been completed:

"I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, ... 'Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready. And to her it was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints [dikaiomata]'" (Rev. 19:6-8).

This transition from "the righteousness of Christ" (dikaiosune) to "the righteousness of saints" (dikaiomata) was the theme of the 1888 message of Christ's righteousness all during those years when Ellen White was so happy to hear the message. She had never before heard it proclaimed publicly. This was what the seventh angel blows his trumpet to say: "In the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as He hath declared to His servants the prophets" (Rev. 10:7).

"When Brother Waggoner brought out these ideas in Minneapolis, it was the first clear teaching of this subject from any human lips I had heard, excepting the conversations between myself and my husband. ... And when another presented it, every fiber of my heart said, Amen." [6]

What glorious Good News! Note that the constant emphasis is something that is never seen in any of the "righteousness by faith," "gospel" messages of the Sunday-keeping Evangelical churches. Let us say they are sincere and faithful to the light as they have been permitted to see it. But they don't comprehend it. It's totally unique to the Seventh-day Adventist message that was "sent" to us in the 1888 era: this special ministry of Christ as High Priest is centered in the Most Holy Apartment of the heavenly sanctuary, where the "door" was "opened" for the "voice of the seventh angel," a message never before clearly heard in world history. It's the message of the final cosmic Day of Atonement, the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary that began in 1844.

Yes, that "most precious message" was not ashamed to speak this word: "Perfection, perfection of character, is the Christian goal--perfection attained in human flesh in this world [note, not of"human flesh"]. Christ attained it in human flesh in this world, and thus made and consecrated a way by which, in Him, every believer can attain it. He, having attained it, has become our great High Priest, by His priestly ministry in the true sanctuary to enable us to attain it." [7]

What made Ellen White so happy when she heard this was what she saw was a cutting of the Gordian Knot in Adventism: "This [1888] message was to bring more prominently before the world the uplifted Saviour, the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world." [8]

She perceived that deep inside the message was this grand truth of a universal legal justification for the sins of the whole world, for they were all "imputed" unto Christ. This glorious achievement for "all men" made it possible for God to treat every human being as though his or her debt of sin was paid, to send His rain on the just and on the unjust alike. "The sacrifice of the sins of the whole world" involved Christ coming to "taste death for every man" (Heb. 2:9), for: "The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, ... [for] the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isa. 53:5, 6).

"... the uplifted Saviour, [said Ellen White, is] the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. It presented justification through faith in the Surety; it invited the people to receive the righteousness [dikaiosune] of Christ, which is made manifest in obedience to all the commandments of God [dikaiomata]. ... It is the third angel's message, which is to be proclaimed with a loud voice, and attended with the outpouring of His Spirit in a large measure." [9]

Thank you, you "seventh angel," for the blowing of your seventh trumpet! You have brought us a message for the world to hear.

--From the writings of Robert J. Wieland

Endnotes:
[1] The Ellen G. White1888 Materials, p. 1073.
[2] Ibid., p. 1070.
[3] Ellen G. White, Special Testimonies, Series A, No. 6, p. 19.
[4] Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 585.
[5] Ellet J. Waggoner, Christ and His Righteousness, p. 7, Glad Tidings ed. (1999).
[6] 1888 Materials, p. 349.
[7] Ibid., pp. 88, 89.
[8] Ellen G. White, Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, p. 91.
[9] Testimonies to Ministers, pp. 91, 92 (1896).

Notes:
Pastor Paul Penno's video of this lesson is on the Internet at: 
https://youtu.be/RQMXd-JesZo

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

RR

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz