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.

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Ever learning the mysteries

Babylon was the great mother of deep mysteries. “And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT.” (Rev. 17:5). Deeply did the sorcerers search for new knowledge. And she trained the whole world to do the same.

“All the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.” (Acts 17:21). To them truth was an ocean that we sit before like a child playing at the beach. And it is true that the knowledge of God is like an ocean. But the library of error is also like an ocean.

If the fallen mind doesn’t love the truth of God and His ten commandments; if it doesn’t love Him, but wants to flee from His presence; if it hates to see Him in His world which is full of His glory, then the mind can ingeniously manipulate the glory from creation’s Creator that floods its soul and apply the glory to some blind force, such as the theory of Evolution. Or the mind can make creation’s beginning an imaginary event, such as the Big Bang (or the Big Boing) theory, which allegedly took place in the past, infinitely beyond the remotest possibility of human conceptualizing, or true scientific investigation. With Satan’s help, the mind can take the natural evidences of the truth and create its own theory of origins that excludes the God that it hates. Under the influence of the devil, the mind can lead itself to change “the truth of God into a lie, and [worship] and [serve] the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.” (Rom. 1:25).

The rebelling mind can recreate the truth and call it truth. It can remodel the truth, and then drum up many arguments to prove its new truth. The unregenerate mind will study and study and study nature and revelation to hopefully stumble upon some evidence until it finds the missing link. Does not the Bible call us to “light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till [we] find it?” (Luke 15:8). Yes, but from the context of only true God.

This is nothing new. It is what the Gnostics were about—the search for hidden knowledge. The church had lost their simple “first love” (Rev. 2:4) for the presence of their Friend Jesus, the love for Jesus that David had, a man after God’s own heart. “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” (Ps. 16:11). Therefore, the Christians who imbibed Gnosticism continued in a vain search for something intellectual to fill up the deep chasm of the soul caused by the lack of submission to God’s Law and by the loss of the presence of Jesus’ Spirit. What is better to the heart and soul, and healthier for the body and the mind than the simple pleasures of studying and knowing Jesus?

The flight from health of body, mind, and soul is exactly what happened at the beginning of the post-flood world, which spawned the apostasy of Ham, Cush, and Nimrod. It didn’t take much time. For any of us to leave the One who embodied the truth and the life of God, and access to God, and dive headlong into ignorance and spiritualism never takes much time; likewise the rejection of the Truth in person was a quick response by the Jews.

“Jesus had now given three years of public labor to the world. His example of self-denial and disinterested benevolence was before them. His life of purity, of suffering and devotion, was known to all. Yet this short period of three years was as long as the world could endure the presence of its Redeemer.” Desire of Ages, p. 541.

Divine truth is seen in the fruits of the Spirit as much as in the mechanics of the physical world. Spirituality, the character of God, reveals the natural world as much as science does. But, a glimpse of God’s holy character automatically implies condemnation on a sinful character. The image of God in the human conscience always recognizes its obligation to copy the beauty of holiness that it sees in its Creator. But, the soul in rebellion seeks to avoid God at all cost.

And the disdain of obedience to God and His holy Law, yet the continued drawing of the mysterious law of cause and effect seen throughout nature, leads the unregenerate soul to search nature for truth that excludes the laws of holiness and the purposes of God for making creation—that is, to always and forever keep Adam and his family learning of Him and loving Him.

That new mindset of searching nature without a yearning for divine acceptance creates an unholy curiosity which Satan encourages and develops. Hence, the godless scientific world of today in the National Academy of Sciences in the U.S. and similar organizations in other countries’ governments. They look for the “missing link”  of evolution, and have never found it. Many scientists have admitted the falsehood of evolution, but are still busy looking for another “truth” of origins while they dispense with all evidence that favors the biblical account. The unregenerate theologian can even search for an understanding of the Bible or of God. But having a mind of curiosity or an ambition to receive recognition for his scholarship or for applause from the Christian community leaves the church with a skewed truth.

“The wisdom of the divine purpose has shrouded in mystery the history of the early period of the life of Christ. Of the humble home at Nazareth, God has withheld all knowledge that would merely gratify a profitless curiosity. During the years of childhood, youth, and manhood, Jesus shared the common lot of humanity in all things except sin. For thirty years before he began his public ministry, he was unknown to the world. All this time he kept within his own heart the secret of his work and the character of his mission. His life was that of a servant, a toiler at the common duties of life; he was the least among the sons of men.  
     Jesus did not become a student in the schools of the rabbis; for this channel was corrupted with error, with false doctrines, with the maxims and traditions of men. This cost the Son of God much pain and sorrow; but by this very means he was learning the hard lessons of silence and patient waiting. His life was not one of indolence; these early years were spent in preparation for the life upon which he was to enter.
     Words cannot express the greatness of the love of God for man; but Christ has revealed it in his life in humanity. Only by himself assuming human nature, and reaching down to the very depths of human misery, could he lift the race from its darkness and despair. The cross of Calvary, the offering of himself upon the altar of sacrifice, reveals the humiliation to which the Son of God submitted.” Youth Instructor, August 5, 1897 par. 7-9.

Only the truth that springs from faith in the Creator and the self-sacrificing Redeemer will end with the truth. The unregenerate heart and mind will filter out all that convicts its conscience, and will end with a “truth” which is falsehood, a lifeless falsehood which brings a living death, a bewitching “light” which in reality is darkness.

This corrupted truth and light and life is the knowledge of good and evil. And it never arrives at pure truth and light from heaven. Neither does it possess life and strength to overcome sin. Such scholars are “ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (2Tim. 3:7). Examples af this are the doctrines of Transubstantiation and the Trinity. These were invented not to arrive at truth, but to only appear to do so. The real intent was to involve the intellect or soul in feeble pursuits that would only burn up mental or emotional vitality while trudging on to imaginary heights of wisdom and spiritual bliss.

The Lord, speaking to this sin and its wages of death coming to Babylon and her votives, said,

“Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail. Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee.” (Isa. 47:12,13).

Ever learning error simply used intellectual stimulation by doctrines of devils to fill the gaping hole in the heart made by the loss of the whole-being stimulation—body, mind, and spirit—by the Spirit of truth. It was a diversion from their Creator’s whole person redemption to self-stimulating one of the three components that make up a human being. But it never ended in life, but rather unending work and exhaustion.

It is so much easier to arrive at truth when we start with truth. The only sure way to find a solution to a problem or to find the truth of a mystery is to study a resource that is proven true. When Dr. John Harvey Kellogg was approached by his contemporaries about his almost 100% success rate for his health inventions as opposed to their utter failures, he answered that he read what Ellen White had to say about the body and health and then he worked in the direction that she pointed.

Contrariwise, to attempt to remake the laws of reality will end in failure. It may give a person a long career of never-ending work, but it will never arrive at a solution. It will not create his proposed new reality, except maybe in the perverted imagination of the bender of reality, maybe in the bender’s crooked financiers, and most probably in the populace who are bewitched by listening to the financiers’ multimedia monopoly.

Babylon’s ancient alchemy of warping reality, which was later brought into the church during the Dark Ages, can no more change pagan concepts into Christianity, or error into truth, than the alchemists could change lead into gold, their rods into serpents, or coal into diamonds. Yet, they tried over and over again. But, never arriving at a conclusive answer while eluding the evidences God has provided in the natural and biblical world. But, this is all right with Babylon’s scholars and scientists, so long as it doesn’t affect their careers, or end their nice incomes and comfortable standard of living. The enslavement of the masses has always existed in order to fund the mountainous financial burden of highly paid ever-learners at the fountain of less than nothingness. Then the highly learned establishment can keep the masses ignorant of truth. This is Satan’s plan perfected over many millennia.

The unconverted mind’s conclusions never square with all that the Bible teaches or the whole evidence that nature presents. The scientific community casts out all the evidences that dispute and overthrow their erroneous deductions. If an honest scientist cries out against the Big Bang and Evolution, he loses his job. The true theologian is called a heretic and disfellowshiped. Even though a child can see the fraudulent conclusions; even though the new Christian who has set his love on Jesus recognizes the overstepping of biblical evidences; nevertheless, the miscarriage of justice continues forever in the inadequate theories that men concoct.

“Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.
But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.” (1Cor. 2:6-10).

Whether or not individual hearts respond to the love of God is the criteria that Jesus has always used to separate honest souls from the dishonest, worthy candidates of His coming kingdom from the unworthy. Though nobodies, they are lively stones with lively hearts and minds. They are anointed by Jesus and can discern the rejection of total evidence available. The Spirit of Christ will make it known to these nobodies.

“The foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
That no flesh should glory in his presence.
But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.” (1Cor. 1:25-31).

Jesus inspired the Bible, and He created the world as it is. His voice comes through loud and clear to the soul from these means of truth. Through nature and revelation alike He would make the children of light distinct from the children of darkness. “For the Father…hath committed all judgment unto the Son…. And hath given Him authority to execute judgment.” (John 5:22,27).

“And when He putteth forth His own sheep, He goeth before them, and the sheep follow Him: for they know His voice.
And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers….
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me:
And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.” (John 10:4,5,27,28).

“My kingdom is not of this world…. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth My voice.” (John 18:36).

Are we following the voice of Jesus? Have we set our love on Him?

“Because he hath set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known My name.
He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him My salvation.” (Ps. 91:14-16).

Do we love the truth of the Bible as the natural world reveals it? Do we love the truth of the natural world as the Bible reveals it? Do we love the principles of self-sacrifice and obedience to law that they both teach?

Or do we secretly love the pleasures of this life and trust in the teachings of men?

“For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming:
Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (2Thess. 2:7-12).

All who cling to sin and war against the voice of Christ until the Spirit of conviction grows silent will ever be searching for meaning and purpose, and never be able to find it. They will never have Jesus’ Spirit of consolation or hear a word of grace from above; they will never have certainty of salvation. They will ever search for it, and never find it.

“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: and they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.” (Amos 8:11,12).

The Lord God of the Old Testament is Jesus; and through His everlasting words, He is pleading to us today, “Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it. Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast laboured, even thy merchants, from thy youth: they shall wander every one to his quarter; none shall save thee.” (Isa. 47:14,15).

Bewitching, intoxicating, mysteries of Babylon are alive a well today. But soon Babylon’s high walls of confusion and captivity will fall before the simple, clear cutting truth of our Creator and Redeemer.

“Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from Me shall spoilers come unto her, saith the LORD.
A sound of a cry cometh from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans:
Because the LORD hath spoiled Babylon, and destroyed out of her the great voice; when her waves do roar like great waters, a noise of their voice is uttered:
Because the spoiler is come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, every one of their bows is broken: for the LORD God of recompences shall surely requite.
And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts.
Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labour in vain, and the folk in the fire, and they shall be weary.” (Jer. 51:53-58). 

“Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.” (Rev. 14:7-11).

While the Babylonians have opportunity to have rest by entering the school of Christ to learn the heavy subjects of Edenic simplicity and heart righteousness, and leaving their unending search for imaginary truth, most remain in Babylon. But, it is there that the mark of the Beast is given because they do not stop working enough to allow the still, small voice of the Good Shepherd to make His way into the center of their thoughts. They will ever be learning until the high schoolhouse of the mysteries ends their temporal life and they are unprepared for the eternal life that is based on simplicity and love and faith—the essence of truth, as it had been in the Garden of Eden.

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