TruthInvestigate

“Oh, the unspeakable greatness of that exchange,—the Sinless One is condemned, and he who is guilty goes free; the Blessing bears the curse, and the cursed is brought into blessing; the Life dies, and the dead live; the Glory is whelmed in darkness, and he who knew nothing but confusion of face is clothed with glory.”

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Location: Kingsland, Georgia, United States

A person God turned around many times.

Thursday, March 07, 2013

The evil to come

“To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against Him;
Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets.
Yea, all Israel have transgressed Thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey Thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against Him.
And He hath confirmed His words, which He spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.
As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand Thy truth.
Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all His works which He doeth: for we obeyed not His voice.” (Dan. 9:9-14).

An evil is coming, a great evil, a powerful army of evil. The atrocities of Hitler and his determination to dominate the world for Satan should have given us a foretaste of the final evil. Rather, that celebrate his failure, we should have trembled, knowing that Satan is an indefatigable enemy of freedom and of a human race that yet bears some of the image of God’s character. We should have bowed before the holy and righteous God and pled for His protection from Satan’s sure return to accomplish what he failed at 68 years ago.

But, what did we do? What did Protestant America do? They immediately took the glory to themselves for winning the war and forgot the mighty deliverance God gave His people. As a nation, America had completely lost all acknowledgement of the God of its Reformation fathers; and that was the last straw. Their hearts were not turned wholly to Him. And neither were those who especially had a knowledge of Him, of His requirements, and of their special work in these last days. They, of all people, should have redoubled their concentration on the Spirit of Prophecy and obtained Christ’s robe of righteousness in order to be prepared for the Latter Rain and His second coming.

Did we not know that we are under special obligation to strive for Christ's character? If we had read the Great Controversy we would have learned that:

Says the prophet: “Who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: and He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.” Malachi 3:2, 3. Those who are living upon the earth when the intercession of Christ shall cease in the sanctuary above are to stand in the sight of a holy God without a mediator. Their robes must be spotless, their characters must be purified from sin by the blood of sprinkling. Through the grace of God and their own diligent effort they must be conquerors in the battle with evil. While the investigative judgment is going forward in heaven, while the sins of penitent believers are being removed from the sanctuary, there is to be a special work of purification, of putting away of sin, among God’s people upon earth. This work is more clearly presented in the messages of Revelation 14.

     When this work shall have been accomplished, the followers of Christ will be ready for His appearing. “Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years.” Malachi 3:4. Then the church which our Lord at His coming is to receive to Himself will be a “glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.” Ephesians 5:27. Then she will look “forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners.” Song of Solomon 6:10. Great Controversy, p. 425.

Have the remnant worked out their salvation with fear and trembling? Have they not rather done as the Protestants? Have they not sought to be just like those whose organizations which have followed the wicked one? Now, today the majority of Protestants are far from faith in the Lord, whether in the churches or out in the secular world.

The remnant of Protestantism have made a token effort to study God’s word, to seek God with all their heart for the power of His Holy Spirit to obtain a Christlike character. They quickly forgot about the desolations of the earthly power pointed out by prophecy, which backed Hitler and has vowed its revenge on Protestantism and Protestantism’s host nation and refuge, the United States. The Advent people forgot the work of Rome to destroy America since its birth. Despite all that Jesus sent us through His servant, Ellen White, who made plain to us the wicked history of the apostate church, we lost sight of it as the enemy of righteousness, and we focused on this world and the good life it promised. We also forgot that the Protestant denominations had left God and were under the powerful influence of His foe; and we made them our example and copied their forbidden practices and spirit, which they received from Rome.
 
We would do well to pray the prayer of Ezra.

“O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to Thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens.
Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day.
And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in His holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage.
For we were bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.
And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken Thy commandments,
Which Thou hast commanded by Thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, unto which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their uncleanness.
Now therefore give not your daughters unto their sons, neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek their peace or their wealth for ever: that ye may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children for ever.
And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that Thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this;
Should we again break Thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest not Thou be angry with us till Thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping?
O LORD God of Israel, Thou art righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before Thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before Thee because of this.” (Ezra 9:6-15).

Those who joined with Ezra “trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away.” (Ezek. 9:4). Do we have the slightest concept of the trouble that is coming? Do we know how brutal God’s enemy and his earthly operatives are? Do we understand their ruthless intrigues and wiliness to root out all opposition and dissent from the Lord’s servants? Do we tremble before the words of God that “there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time.” (Dan. 12:1). We will soon see. All the fortifications are being set up around us already in preparation for that tribulation time. Are we observant of these things? Do they make us tremble?

Daniel 12:7 sits in the context of final events. Therefore, it is a last day act of God—a merciful act that alone will shake up His people and awaken some of them from the spells of Satan which they have imbibed. “I heard the Man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when He held up His right hand and His left hand unto heaven, and sware by Him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when He shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.” (Dan. 12:7). 1798 passed and now we can expect the finale of the “scattering”. Are you ready for this scattering of your power, your freedoms, your self-sufficiency?

The desolations to come will see scenes like happened in Germany when Hitler rose to power—strong men in brown shirts publically beating outspoken opponents of the Nazi regime, punching them to their death as though it were for the good of the country, killing with impunity. No one could stop these men because everyone had lost their Protestant courage. They also feared becoming the object of the brownshirts’ rage. So they stood around and watched. This paints a picture of what is coming to every country in the world, and don’t think America will be spared the scourge.

Riots will be violently overthrown by the nations’ militaries and police forces. Chaos and havoc will reign until Satan has his dictators ruling the world. No one will be able to defend himself because the new global regime removed the right to bear arms.

How could all this happen? God, where are you? These will be the questions on many minds.

“Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto My words, nor to My law, but rejected it.
To what purpose cometh there to Me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto Me.
Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will lay stumblingblocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them; the neighbour and his friend shall perish.
Thus saith the LORD, Behold, a people cometh from the north country, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth.
They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion.
We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail.
Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy and fear is on every side.
O daughter of My people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us.
I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among My people, that thou mayest know and try their way.
They are all grievous revolters, walking with slanders: they are brass and iron; they are all corrupters.
The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away.
Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the LORD hath rejected them.” (Jer. 6:19-30).

And God will answer with silence. His silence will loudly command His people to go back to the Bible and hear His written counsel given to them centuries ago.

Before the time of trouble, we wouldn’t “sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.” (Ezek. 9:4). But some will during it.

“But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.
They provoked Him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they Him to anger.
They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new Gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.
Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.
And when the LORD saw it, He abhorred them, because of the provoking of His sons, and of His daughters.
And He said, I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.
They have moved Me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked Me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
For a fire is kindled in Mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.
I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend Mine arrows upon them.
They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust.
The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs.
I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men:...
For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them.
O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!
How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up?
For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.
For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter:
Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps.
Is not this laid up in store with Me, and sealed up among My treasures?
To Me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.
For the LORD shall judge His people, and repent Himself for His servants, when He seeth that their power is gone, and there is none shut up, or left.
And He shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted,
Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offerings? let them rise up and help you, and be your protection.
See now that I, even I, am He, and there is no god with Me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of My hand.
For I lift up My hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever.
If I whet My glittering sword, and Mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to Mine enemies, and will reward them that hate Me.
I will make Mine arrows drunk with blood, and My sword shall devour flesh; and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy.
Rejoice, O ye nations, with His people: for He will avenge the blood of HIs servants, and will render vengeance to His adversaries, and will be merciful unto His land, and to His people.” (Deut. 32:15-43).

God will never destroy His holy people, those who have put their trust in Him with their whole heart and received His Spirit to keep His commandments and are sealed in the book of life.

“Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered?
But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.
And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.” (Isa. 49:24-26).

“At that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” (Dan. 12:1).

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