120 years - A parallel to the past Part #3

-- The Days of Noah -- As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all way; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” {ST April 10, 1901, par. 1} -- Instead of showing gratitude to God for His blessings, the antediluvians used His blessings as a means of separation from Him. They did not seek to honor and glorify their Creator. The gold and silver which He entrusted to them they used for self-gratification. Violence filled the land. Appetite and passion bore sway. Men spent their time in dissipation and amusement and in enriching themselves. The earth was polluted under the inhabitants thereof, and God said, “The end of all flesh is come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence thru them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.” He declared that by a flood He would cleanse the earth from its pollution. {ST April 10, 1901, par. 2} -- To Noah was given the work of warning the people of the coming flood. For one hundred and twenty years the faithful preacher of righteousness sounded the warning. In obedience to God’s command he built an ark, that in the day of destruction those who believed his message might find a refuge. By his works as well as by his words, he warned the world. Every blow struck on the ark was a note of warning. {ST April 10, 1901, par. 3} -- At that time the world showed scarcely the first signs of decay. Everything in nature was beautiful and lovely. The lofty trees, the towering mountains, the signs that God had hung in the heavens, appeared so great and grand to the people that they refused to believe that the earth was to be destroyed. {ST April 10, 1901, par. 4} -- The antediluvians had abundant opportunity to learn in regard to the flood, but they would not learn. The warning was given; but they closed their eyes that they should not see, and their ears that they should not hear, the evidence of coming doom. Deception, violence, pride, and iniquity prevailed. The people went on as before, eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage. These things are not in themselves unlawful, but they were carried to excess. The minds of the people were so engrossed by them that they forgot their God. {ST April 10, 1901, par. 5} -- Does not a similar state of things exist today? Are not our daily papers filled with records of crime, murder, and iniquity of every kind? Do they not testify that as it was in the days of Noah, so it is today? {ST April 10, 1901, par. 6} -- The antediluvians were warned, but the record states that they knew not until the flood came and took them all away. “We can not believe your message,” they said to Noah. “Everything about us is so firm, so enduring. Look at the beautiful earth. It knows nothing of decay, neither will it for thousands of years.” {ST April 10, 1901, par. 7} -- To the people Noah’s course seemed inconsistent. Together they talked about the foolishness of building an ark on dry ground, and the unbelief of one was strengthened by the unbelief of another. {ST April 10, 1901, par. 8} -- But Noah believed that God would do as He had said, and he acted in accordance with his belief. While the people laughed and mocked and jeered, he kept steadily on with his work, teaching and building. He did not stop to listen to the false reports, to contradict the slander thrown at him. To him had been committed the work of warning the world and preparing a refuge for those who would receive his word, and he allowed nothing to turn him from this work. {ST April 10, 1901, par. 9} -- The time came for the Word of God to be fulfilled. Still the people went on in their own way, irrespective of the warning. Still they allowed their minds to be engrossed by the things of the world. {ST April 10, 1901, par. 10} -- The ark is finished, and the people see animals coming from the forest, and of their own accord entering the ark. Soon they see that the heavens are black with birds, and the inquiry is made, “Where can they be going?” Lo, they are flying toward the ark, and two by two they pass into it. With curious interest the people watch the strange sight. They can not understand what it means. They are alarmed; but they try to find some reason for the occurrence, and soon make light of it. {ST April 10, 1901, par. 11} -- Could not the people see from this that the building of the ark was the work of God? Did they not know that animals and birds would not enter the ark in perfect order and of their own accord without the guidance of a divine hand? They might have known; but for a hundred and twenty years they had been hardening their hearts. For a hundred and twenty years they had been training themselves to reject the message of truth. Now, when unmistakable evidence was given them, their hearts were so hard that they laughed it away. {ST April 10, 1901, par. 12} -- Presently they saw Noah and his wife and their sons and their wives passing into the ark; and the door was closed upon them. Only eight persons entered that refuge from the storm, and for a week they waited for the rain to come. Can we imagine the trial that this waiting brought to Noah’s faith? During this time the enemy suggested doubts, while outside the people laughed at the crazy old man who with his family had shut himself in an ark. Daily the sun rose and set in a clear sky, and daily there came to Noah the temptation to doubt. But the Lord had said that the flood was coming, and Noah rested in this word. {ST April 10, 1901, par. 13} -- At the end of seven days clouds began to gather. This was a new sight; for the people had never seen clouds. Previous to this time no rain had fallen; the earth had been watered by a mist. Thicker and thicker gathered the clouds, and soon rain began to fall. Still the people tried to think that this was nothing very alarming. But soon it seemed as if the windows of heaven had been opened; for the rain poured down in torrents. For a time the ground drank up the rain; but soon the water began to rise, and day by day it rose higher and higher. Each morning as the people found the rain still falling they looked at one another in despair, and each night they repeated the words, “Raining still!” Thus it was, morning and evening. {ST April 10, 1901, par. 14} For forty days and forty nights the rain poured down. The water entered the houses and drove the people to the temples which they had erected for their idolatrous worship. But the temples were swept away. The crust of the earth was broken, and the water that had been concealed in its bowels burst forth. Large stones were thrown into the air. {ST April 10, 1901, par. 15} -- Everywhere could be seen human beings fleeing in search of a refuge. The time had come when they would have been only too glad to accept an invitation to enter the ark. Filled with anguish they cried, “O for a place of safety!” Some shrieked to Noah, pleading for admission into the ark. But amid the furious blast of the tempest their voices were unheard. Some clung to the ark till they were washed away by the dashing waves. God had shut in those who believed His word, and no others could enter. {ST April 10, 1901, par. 16} -- Parents with their children sought the highest branches of the trees yet standing; but no sooner had they reached this refuge than the wind flung tree and people into the foaming, seething water. Terrified animals and terrified human beings climbed the highest mountains, only to be swept together into the angry flood. {ST April 10, 1901, par. 17} -- Where was now the ark and those at whom the people had jeered and mocked?—Preserved by the power of God, the immense boat was riding safely upon the waters, and Noah and his family were safe inside. {ST April 10, 1901, par. 18} -- Mrs. E. G. White -- April 17, 1901 -- The Days of the Son of Man -- The Inspired Record says, “As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” {ST April 17, 1901, par. 1} -- To us has been given the message of Christ’s second coming. At the ascension of our Lord, angels stood beside the disciples, and with them watched the Saviour as He passed into the heavens. Then they turned to the disciples with the words, “This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.” This message was given to the disciples to give to us, and God designs that it shall sound till the end of time. We are to wait and watch for Christ to come in His own appointed time, without sin unto salvation. {ST April 17, 1901, par. 2} -- Those in the world fail to realize that the judgments of God are about to fall upon the earth. Their minds are filled with thoughts of eating and drinking and getting gain. They have allowed these subjects to take their whole attention, and as a result violence fills the world. Sin is on the increase. Iniquity prevails. {ST April 17, 1901, par. 3} -- How is the message of warning received?—Just as it was in Noah’s day. “All things continue as they were from the beginning,” men say. {ST April 17, 1901, par. 4} -- Christ declares, “If that evil servant shall say in his heart, My Lord delayeth His coming; and shall begin to smite his fellow-servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken, the Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for Him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites.” {ST April 17, 1901, par. 5} -- Man was created to glorify his Maker. But iniquity has so increased that at the present time men and women do not appreciate the goodness of God. They do not believe His Word. Self is the god they worship. {ST April 17, 1901, par. 6} -- Ever since his fall, Satan has been working at cross-purposes with God, seeking to obliterate all trace of the divine likeness in man. He has led human beings to indulge an appetite for liquor and tobacco. He knows that those who give themselves up to indulgence of these appetites can not stand in their God-given manhood. They are slaves. Their reason is beclouded, their intellect dulled. {ST April 17, 1901, par. 7} -- All over the world, pride, vanity, and self-indulgence are crippling men and women, so that they dishonor God as their Creator. The wrath of Jehovah is soon to fall upon the ungodly; but human beings are so controlled by the enemy that they see not what is coming. So deeply engrossed are they in the things of this world that they have no time to study God’s Word, no time to think seriously of their spiritual welfare. Their one thought is to gain wealth, to make a display; and tho they make mistakes, they have no time to remedy them, but hurry on, scarcely thinking that soon they must give an account of their life-work. {ST April 17, 1901, par. 8} -- Satan comes to men and women with his specious temptations. Offering them riches and power, he says, “All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.” And thousands upon thousands listen to his words, and worship him by becoming wholly engrossed in a search for wealth or in following the fashions of this degenerate age. Thus the world is being led captive. The beings whom God created in His own image are entirely neglecting to prepare for the Judgment. {ST April 17, 1901, par. 9} -- As the waters of the flood cleansed the earth in the days of Noah, so will the fire of God purify it in the last great day. Then the water from the heavens united with the water in the bowels of the earth; and in the destruction that is coming, fire from heaven will unite with the fire that is stored up in the earth. {ST April 17, 1901, par. 10} -- Are we preparing for what is coming upon the earth? Have we thought seriously of these things? You who are giving yourselves up to pride and vanity, have you thought of the day when you must give an account for the time and money you have wasted? {ST April 17, 1901, par. 11} -- Christ said to His disciples, “Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of Me.” They tell us that Christ is soon coming, to take to Himself those who have loved Him and have waited for His appearing; and for those who have devoted time to pleasure-seeking and display, to a search for the riches that perish with the using, they bring the message: “I never knew you; depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.” {ST April 17, 1901, par. 12} -- As Noah warned the people of the coming flood, so God desires His people today to give the warning message of Christ’s soon coming. There is no time to lose. Christ’s coming is near at hand, and instead of spending our lives in inactivity, instead of investing our means in the things of this world, we should use our talents to the glory of God. Let us put out our money to the exchangers, that at His coming Christ may receive His own with usury. {ST April 17, 1901, par. 13} -- Those who serve God will meet with trials and temptations. They will have burdens to bear, and difficulties to encounter. Noah was ridiculed and scorned. His work was made a laughing-stock. But none of these things moved him from his purpose, and God’s people must not allow the trials they meet to lead them away from Him. All the difficulties we meet, all the burdens laid upon us, we are to take to the Lord in prayer, asking Him for help. Those who do this will surely gain the victory. {ST April 17, 1901, par. 14} -- Now is our time to prepare to meet Christ. God has given us this time, and if we use it in self-gratification instead of in crucifying self by sacrifice, we shall come up to the Judgment unprepared. In that day many will plead as an excuse, that they did not know that Christ’s coming was near. But this excuse will not be accepted. They did not know simply because they did not want to know. God gave them abundant opportunity for knowing, but they closed their eyes that they might not see, and stopped their ears that they might not hear. Their one thought was to enjoy the things of this world. Like the people of Noah’s day, they spent their lives in self-gratification. {ST April 17, 1901, par. 15} -- The cases of all are pending in the heavenly sanctuary. Day by day angels of God are watching the development of character, and weighing moral worth. In the Judgment the question will not be, “What profession did you make?” but, “What have you done for Me? What fruit have you borne to My glory?” Now is the time to prepare for the coming King. Cultivate the mind; for it is capable of the highest cultivation. Prepare to be among those who shall be saved with an everlasting salvation when the Master comes to gather out His jewels. “It doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.” {ST April 17, 1901, par. 16} -- All defects must be remedied. The character must be assimilated to the character of Christ. “Whosoever will come after Me,” the Saviour declared, “let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” Everything that is unlike Christ, all hatred, jealousy, folly, covetousness, must be put away. We must here be like the angels in spirit if we would join them in the kingdom of glory. {ST April 17, 1901, par. 17} -- As John saw the multitude standing around the throne of God, the question was asked, “What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?”—“These are they which came out of great tribulation,” the angel answered, “and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” At an infinite cost a fountain has been prepared for our cleansing. In the blood of the Son of God we may wash our garments of character, and make them white. If now we crucify self, and live for Christ, God will give us a place in the mansions He is preparing for those who love Him. {ST April 17, 1901, par. 18} -- Thank God that we have a time in which to get ready, a time in which to wash and iron our garments of character, that we may appear before Christ without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. {ST April 17, 1901, par. 19} -- In the day of Christ’s coming, many will cry, “Too late, too late.” Others will plead for mercy, but mercy will have folded her wings and taken her departure. Christ will have stepped down from the throne. Then will be heard the terrible cry to the rocks and mountains, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of His wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand?” {ST April 17, 1901, par. 20} -- Are we preparing to meet the Saviour in peace, or are we absorbed in worldly business and pleasure? Shall we not strive to be among the number who will welcome Christ with the words, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us; this is the Lord; ‘we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation”? {ST April 17, 1901, par. 21} -- Mrs. E. G. White

120 years! A parallel to the past - Part #2

-- April 10, 1901 -- The Days of Noah -- As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all way; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” {ST April 10, 1901, par. 1} -- Instead of showing gratitude to God for His blessings, the antediluvians used His blessings as a means of separation from Him. They did not seek to honor and glorify their Creator. The gold and silver which He entrusted to them they used for self-gratification. Violence filled the land. Appetite and passion bore sway. Men spent their time in dissipation and amusement and in enriching themselves. The earth was polluted under the inhabitants thereof, and God said, “The end of all flesh is come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence thru them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.” He declared that by a flood He would cleanse the earth from its pollution. {ST April 10, 1901, par. 2} To Noah was given the work of warning the people of the coming flood. For one hundred and twenty years the faithful preacher of righteousness sounded the warning. In obedience to God’s command he built an ark, that in the day of destruction those who believed his message might find a refuge. By his works as well as by his words, he warned the world. Every blow struck on the ark was a note of warning. {ST April 10, 1901, par. 3} At that time the world showed scarcely the first signs of decay. Everything in nature was beautiful and lovely. The lofty trees, the towering mountains, the signs that God had hung in the heavens, appeared so great and grand to the people that they refused to believe that the earth was to be destroyed. {ST April 10, 1901, par. 4} -- The antediluvians had abundant opportunity to learn in regard to the flood, but they would not learn. The warning was given; but they closed their eyes that they should not see, and their ears that they should not hear, the evidence of coming doom. Deception, violence, pride, and iniquity prevailed. The people went on as before, eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage. These things are not in themselves unlawful, but they were carried to excess. The minds of the people were so engrossed by them that they forgot their God. {ST April 10, 1901, par. 5} Does not a similar state of things exist today? Are not our daily papers filled with records of crime, murder, and iniquity of every kind? Do they not testify that as it was in the days of Noah, so it is today? {ST April 10, 1901, par. 6} The antediluvians were warned, but the record states that they knew not until the flood came and took them all away. “We can not believe your message,” they said to Noah. “Everything about us is so firm, so enduring. Look at the beautiful earth. It knows nothing of decay, neither will it for thousands of years.” {ST April 10, 1901, par. 7} -- To the people Noah’s course seemed inconsistent. Together they talked about the foolishness of building an ark on dry ground, and the unbelief of one was strengthened by the unbelief of another. {ST April 10, 1901, par. 8} But Noah believed that God would do as He had said, and he acted in accordance with his belief. While the people laughed and mocked and jeered, he kept steadily on with his work, teaching and building. He did not stop to listen to the false reports, to contradict the slander thrown at him. To him had been committed the work of warning the world and preparing a refuge for those who would receive his word, and he allowed nothing to turn him from this work. {ST April 10, 1901, par. 9} -- The time came for the Word of God to be fulfilled. Still the people went on in their own way, irrespective of the warning. Still they allowed their minds to be engrossed by the things of the world. {ST April 10, 1901, par. 10} -- The ark is finished, and the people see animals coming from the forest, and of their own accord entering the ark. Soon they see that the heavens are black with birds, and the inquiry is made, “Where can they be going?” Lo, they are flying toward the ark, and two by two they pass into it. With curious interest the people watch the strange sight. They can not understand what it means. They are alarmed; but they try to find some reason for the occurrence, and soon make light of it. {ST April 10, 1901, par. 11} -- Could not the people see from this that the building of the ark was the work of God? Did they not know that animals and birds would not enter the ark in perfect order and of their own accord without the guidance of a divine hand? They might have known; but for a hundred and twenty years they had been hardening their hearts. For a hundred and twenty years they had been training themselves to reject the message of truth. Now, when unmistakable evidence was given them, their hearts were so hard that they laughed it away. {ST April 10, 1901, par. 12} -- Presently they saw Noah and his wife and their sons and their wives passing into the ark; and the door was closed upon them. Only eight persons entered that refuge from the storm, and for a week they waited for the rain to come. Can we imagine the trial that this waiting brought to Noah’s faith? During this time the enemy suggested doubts, while outside the people laughed at the crazy old man who with his family had shut himself in an ark. Daily the sun rose and set in a clear sky, and daily there came to Noah the temptation to doubt. But the Lord had said that the flood was coming, and Noah rested in this word. {ST April 10, 1901, par. 13} -- At the end of seven days clouds began to gather. This was a new sight; for the people had never seen clouds. Previous to this time no rain had fallen; the earth had been watered by a mist. Thicker and thicker gathered the clouds, and soon rain began to fall. Still the people tried to think that this was nothing very alarming. But soon it seemed as if the windows of heaven had been opened; for the rain poured down in torrents. For a time the ground drank up the rain; but soon the water began to rise, and day by day it rose higher and higher. Each morning as the people found the rain still falling they looked at one another in despair, and each night they repeated the words, “Raining still!” Thus it was, morning and evening. {ST April 10, 1901, par. 14} For forty days and forty nights the rain poured down. The water entered the houses and drove the people to the temples which they had erected for their idolatrous worship. But the temples were swept away. The crust of the earth was broken, and the water that had been concealed in its bowels burst forth. Large stones were thrown into the air. {ST April 10, 1901, par. 15} -- Everywhere could be seen human beings fleeing in search of a refuge. The time had come when they would have been only too glad to accept an invitation to enter the ark. Filled with anguish they cried, “O for a place of safety!” Some shrieked to Noah, pleading for admission into the ark. But amid the furious blast of the tempest their voices were unheard. Some clung to the ark till they were washed away by the dashing waves. God had shut in those who believed His word, and no others could enter. {ST April 10, 1901, par. 16} -- Parents with their children sought the highest branches of the trees yet standing; but no sooner had they reached this refuge than the wind flung tree and people into the foaming, seething water. Terrified animals and terrified human beings climbed the highest mountains, only to be swept together into the angry flood. {ST April 10, 1901, par. 17} -- Where was now the ark and those at whom the people had jeered and mocked?—Preserved by the power of God, the immense boat was riding safely upon the waters, and Noah and his family were safe inside. {ST April 10, 1901, par. 18} -- Mrs. E. G. White -- April 17, 1901 -- The Days of the Son of Man -- The Inspired Record says, “As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” {ST April 17, 1901, par. 1} -- To us has been given the message of Christ’s second coming. At the ascension of our Lord, angels stood beside the disciples, and with them watched the Saviour as He passed into the heavens. Then they turned to the disciples with the words, “This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.” This message was given to the disciples to give to us, and God designs that it shall sound till the end of time. We are to wait and watch for Christ to come in His own appointed time, without sin unto salvation. {ST April 17, 1901, par. 2} -- Those in the world fail to realize that the judgments of God are about to fall upon the earth. Their minds are filled with thoughts of eating and drinking and getting gain. They have allowed these subjects to take their whole attention, and as a result violence fills the world. Sin is on the increase. Iniquity prevails. {ST April 17, 1901, par. 3} -- How is the message of warning received?—Just as it was in Noah’s day. “All things continue as they were from the beginning,” men say. {ST April 17, 1901, par. 4} -- Christ declares, “If that evil servant shall say in his heart, My Lord delayeth His coming; and shall begin to smite his fellow-servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken, the Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for Him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites.” {ST April 17, 1901, par. 5} -- Man was created to glorify his Maker. But iniquity has so increased that at the present time men and women do not appreciate the goodness of God. They do not believe His Word. Self is the god they worship. {ST April 17, 1901, par. 6} -- Ever since his fall, Satan has been working at cross-purposes with God, seeking to obliterate all trace of the divine likeness in man. He has led human beings to indulge an appetite for liquor and tobacco. He knows that those who give themselves up to indulgence of these appetites can not stand in their God-given manhood. They are slaves. Their reason is beclouded, their intellect dulled. {ST April 17, 1901, par. 7} -- All over the world, pride, vanity, and self-indulgence are crippling men and women, so that they dishonor God as their Creator. The wrath of Jehovah is soon to fall upon the ungodly; but human beings are so controlled by the enemy that they see not what is coming. So deeply engrossed are they in the things of this world that they have no time to study God’s Word, no time to think seriously of their spiritual welfare. Their one thought is to gain wealth, to make a display; and tho they make mistakes, they have no time to remedy them, but hurry on, scarcely thinking that soon they must give an account of their life-work. {ST April 17, 1901, par. 8} -- Satan comes to men and women with his specious temptations. Offering them riches and power, he says, “All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.” And thousands upon thousands listen to his words, and worship him by becoming wholly engrossed in a search for wealth or in following the fashions of this degenerate age. Thus the world is being led captive. The beings whom God created in His own image are entirely neglecting to prepare for the Judgment. {ST April 17, 1901, par. 9} -- As the waters of the flood cleansed the earth in the days of Noah, so will the fire of God purify it in the last great day. Then the water from the heavens united with the water in the bowels of the earth; and in the destruction that is coming, fire from heaven will unite with the fire that is stored up in the earth. {ST April 17, 1901, par. 10} -- Are we preparing for what is coming upon the earth? Have we thought seriously of these things? You who are giving yourselves up to pride and vanity, have you thought of the day when you must give an account for the time and money you have wasted? {ST April 17, 1901, par. 11} -- Christ said to His disciples, “Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of Me.” They tell us that Christ is soon coming, to take to Himself those who have loved Him and have waited for His appearing; and for those who have devoted time to pleasure-seeking and display, to a search for the riches that perish with the using, they bring the message: “I never knew you; depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.” {ST April 17, 1901, par. 12} -- As Noah warned the people of the coming flood, so God desires His people today to give the warning message of Christ’s soon coming. There is no time to lose. Christ’s coming is near at hand, and instead of spending our lives in inactivity, instead of investing our means in the things of this world, we should use our talents to the glory of God. Let us put out our money to the exchangers, that at His coming Christ may receive His own with usury. {ST April 17, 1901, par. 13} -- Those who serve God will meet with trials and temptations. They will have burdens to bear, and difficulties to encounter. Noah was ridiculed and scorned. His work was made a laughing-stock. But none of these things moved him from his purpose, and God’s people must not allow the trials they meet to lead them away from Him. All the difficulties we meet, all the burdens laid upon us, we are to take to the Lord in prayer, asking Him for help. Those who do this will surely gain the victory. {ST April 17, 1901, par. 14} -- Now is our time to prepare to meet Christ. God has given us this time, and if we use it in self-gratification instead of in crucifying self by sacrifice, we shall come up to the Judgment unprepared. In that day many will plead as an excuse, that they did not know that Christ’s coming was near. But this excuse will not be accepted. They did not know simply because they did not want to know. God gave them abundant opportunity for knowing, but they closed their eyes that they might not see, and stopped their ears that they might not hear. Their one thought was to enjoy the things of this world. Like the people of Noah’s day, they spent their lives in self-gratification. {ST April 17, 1901, par. 15} -- The cases of all are pending in the heavenly sanctuary. Day by day angels of God are watching the development of character, and weighing moral worth. In the Judgment the question will not be, “What profession did you make?” but, “What have you done for Me? What fruit have you borne to My glory?” Now is the time to prepare for the coming King. Cultivate the mind; for it is capable of the highest cultivation. Prepare to be among those who shall be saved with an everlasting salvation when the Master comes to gather out His jewels. “It doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.” {ST April 17, 1901, par. 16} -- All defects must be remedied. The character must be assimilated to the character of Christ. “Whosoever will come after Me,” the Saviour declared, “let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” Everything that is unlike Christ, all hatred, jealousy, folly, covetousness, must be put away. We must here be like the angels in spirit if we would join them in the kingdom of glory. {ST April 17, 1901, par. 17} -- As John saw the multitude standing around the throne of God, the question was asked, “What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?”—“These are they which came out of great tribulation,” the angel answered, “and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” At an infinite cost a fountain has been prepared for our cleansing. In the blood of the Son of God we may wash our garments of character, and make them white. If now we crucify self, and live for Christ, God will give us a place in the mansions He is preparing for those who love Him. {ST April 17, 1901, par. 18} -- Thank God that we have a time in which to get ready, a time in which to wash and iron our garments of character, that we may appear before Christ without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. {ST April 17, 1901, par. 19} -- In the day of Christ’s coming, many will cry, “Too late, too late.” Others will plead for mercy, but mercy will have folded her wings and taken her departure. Christ will have stepped down from the throne. Then will be heard the terrible cry to the rocks and mountains, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of His wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand?” {ST April 17, 1901, par. 20} -- Are we preparing to meet the Saviour in peace, or are we absorbed in worldly business and pleasure? Shall we not strive to be among the number who will welcome Christ with the words, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us; this is the Lord; ‘we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation”? {ST April 17, 1901, par. 21} -- Mrs. E. G. White --

120 years! A parallel to the past - Part #1

THE WARNING SIGN IS HERE! Nearly 120 years have passed since these warnings were given... Shall we wait till further crises to take action corresponding to the times we are now living and, the instructions given us to obey? "February 20, 1901 -- Words of Warning -- Christ foretold the destruction of Jerusalem, as well as of the temple. His words were spoken in the hearing of a large number of people; but when He was again alone, Peter, James, John, and Andrew came to Him, saying, “Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?” {ST February 20, 1901, par. 1} -- Jesus did not answer His disciples by taking up separately the destruction of Jerusalem, and the last great day of His coming. The city of Jerusalem represented the world, and the utterances regarding its destruction are to be connected with the world’s more terrible destruction. In speaking of Jerusalem, His prophetic words reached beyond that event to the conflagration that will take place in that day when the Lord shall rise “out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity.” The description of the two events is mingled, and the entire subject is a warning to those who shall live in the last scenes of earth’s history. {ST February 20, 1901, par. 2} -- “Take heed that no man deceive you,” Christ said. “For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” False messiahs will appear, claiming to work miracles, and declaring that the deliverance of the Jewish nation has come. These will mislead many. Christ’s words were fulfilled. Between His death and the siege of Jerusalem, many false messiahs appeared. But this warning is given to those also who live in this age of the world. The same deceptions practised prior to the destruction of Jerusalem will be practised again. The events that took place at the overthrow of Jerusalem will be repeated. {ST February 20, 1901, par. 3} -- “And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that ye be not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” Prior to the destruction of Jerusalem, there were rumors of wars. Men wrestled for the supremacy. Emperors were murdered. Those supposed to be standing next the throne were slain. “All these things must come to pass,” Christ said, “but the end is not yet. {ST February 20, 1901, par. 4} -- “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” The rabbis, Christ said, would declare that the signs that appeared were tokens of the advent of the Messiah. But be not deceived; they are the beginning of His judgments. The people have not repented, and been converted, that I should heal them. The signs that they argue are tokens of their release from bondage, are signs of their approaching destruction. {ST February 20, 1901, par. 5} -- “Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you; and ye shall be hated of all nations for My name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.” All this the Christians suffered. Mothers and fathers betrayed their children; children betrayed their parents. Friends delivered their friends up to the Sanhedrin. {ST February 20, 1901, par. 6} -- Thru the apostles God gave the Jewish people a last opportunity to repent. He manifested Himself thru His witnesses, in their arrest, in their trial, and in their imprisonment. He had told His disciples that they would be delivered up to councils; but He told them also that they were not to be anxious as to how they might vindicate the truth, for He would give them a wisdom that all their adversaries could not gainsay nor resist. Yet their persecutors wrought out their purpose in killing Stephen, Paul, Peter, and other Christians, men of whom the world was not worthy. In killing them the Jews crucified afresh the Son of God. {ST February 20, 1901, par. 7} -- On every occasion that persecution takes place, the witnesses make decisions, either for Christ or against Him. Those who show sympathy for the men wrongly condemned, and are not bitter against them, show their attachment to Christ. {ST February 20, 1901, par. 8} -- “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.” False prophets and false Christs did arise, deceiving the people, and leading great numbers into the desert. Magicians and sorcerers, claiming miraculous power, drew the people after them into the mountain solitudes. But this prophecy was spoken also for the last days. This sign is a sign of the second advent. Satanic agencies will be prepared to deceive and to delude. {ST February 20, 1901, par. 9} -- “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” In times of trial many will be offended because the principles of truth cut directly across their practise or their income. Many will stumble and fall. They have professed to love the truth; but they will then show that they had no vital union with the True Vine. They will be cut away, as branches that bear no fruit, and will be bound up with unbelievers. “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” {ST February 20, 1901, par. 10} -- “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place (whoso readeth, let him understand); then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains; let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house; neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.” This warning was given to be heeded forty years after, at the destruction of Jerusalem. The Christians obeyed, and not one of them perished in the destruction of the city. {ST February 20, 1901, par. 11} -- “But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day.” Christ, who made the Sabbath, did not abolish it, nailing it to His cross. The fourth commandment was not rendered null and void by His death. It was to be held sacred forty years after His death; even as long as the heavens and the earth remain, so long will it hold its claim upon the human family. {ST February 20, 1901, par. 12} -- “Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, He is in the desert; go not forth; behold, He is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Here, again, the warning concerning Jerusalem is blended with the warning of the second advent. {ST February 20, 1901, par. 13} -- The disciples heard Christ’s words; but they did not fully understand them. They did not know why He connected the perils at the overthrow of Jerusalem with the perils attending His second advent. The Holy Spirit must guide them into all truth, bringing to their remembrance all things that Christ had said to them. But those who live in this age may understand the general warning, and should appropriate it, applying it to the period where it belongs. {ST February 20, 1901, par. 14} -- “This Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” {ST February 20, 1901, par. 15} Mrs. E. G. White March 20, 1901 -- The Sabbath of the Lord -- The Sabbath is to be a sign between God and His people. “Verily My Sabbaths ye shall keep; for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.” This is Bible sanctification. {ST March 20, 1901, par. 1} -- Those who teach for doctrines the commandments of men make void the law of God thru their tradition. Said Christ: “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill can not be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Just as long as the heavens remain above us, and the earth is beneath our feet, there can be no semblance of excuse for any power in heaven or earth to change the law of God. “Whosoever therefore,” continued Christ, “shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” {ST March 20, 1901, par. 2} -- “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good; no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulcher; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips. Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace have they not known; there is no fear of God before their eyes.” The eye of Him who sees the present condition of things has portrayed the state of things existing in the world and the church today. Psalm 14:1-4. And what has brought about this terrible condition?—It is the making void of the law of God. {ST March 20, 1901, par. 3} -- The men who have the oracles of God not only break the law themselves but teach those who would investigate and obey the light to do the same. The men who claim to be teachers deceive the people, as did the leaders in Israel in Christ’s day. He, the great Teacher, was in the world; He was the light of the world; but Satan interposed his hellish shadow between Him and the souls whom Christ came to save. When accused by the Pharisees, He said, “Ye make void the law of God by your tradition.” “Ye teach for doctrines the commandments of men.” Again He said to those so-called teachers, “Ye are both ignorant of the Scriptures and the power of God.” {ST March 20, 1901, par. 4} -- Satan is continuing the work on earth that he commenced in heaven. He leads men to transgress the commandments of God. The plain “Thus saith the Lord” is put aside for the “thus saith” of men. The whole world needs to be instructed in the oracles of God, to understand the object of the atonement, the at-one-ment, with God. The object of this atonement was that the divine law and government might be maintained. The sinner is pardoned thru repentance toward God and faith in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. There is forgiveness of sin, and yet the law of God stands immutable, eternal as His throne. {ST March 20, 1901, par. 5} -- There is no such thing as weakening or strengthening the law of Jehovah. As it has always been, so it is. It can not be repealed or changed in one principle. It is eternal, immutable as God Himself. To “honor” or “dishonor” it is but the speech of men. The law is to awaken respect and honor in the minds of the human family. Christ honored the law of Jehovah by giving it His implicit obedience. The law of Jehovah was always holy, just, and good, and complete in itself. The law is altogether a different thing from what in their ignorance men have considered it. It is because of Satan’s falsehoods that such blindness exists in regard to the law. {ST March 20, 1901, par. 6} -- The law of God was given for the human family, and in punishing sin, Christ reveals His holiness, and His love even for those whom He has punished. Men did not obey the Word of God in this world; and because He loved them, He gave them a probation; He gave them His only-begotten Son to bear all the guilt of their transgression. If they refuse the expensive Offering of heaven, and will not obey His commandments in their lifetime, while wholly dependent upon God; if they show no gratitude and love by keeping His commandments, Christ can do no more for them. But if they will receive the Son of God, believe in Him, they will find their way back, thru Jesus Christ’s own merits, to the place of sons and daughters of God. {ST March 20, 1901, par. 7} -- Mrs. E. G. White April 10, 1901 -- https://youtu.be/wIUc4MxGEpU https://youtu.be/wIUc4MxGEpU

Sunday Law Warnings #9

Please read Revelation 13:11-18 -- Special news report on SUNDAY SACREDNESS MOVEMENT by Amazing Facts--https://youtu.be/KCJ9L5UFtdc "The same masterful spirit that plotted against the faithful in ages past is still seeking to rid the earth of those who fear God and obey his law. Satan will excite indignation against the humble minority who conscientiously refuse to accept popular customs and traditions. Men of position and reputation will join with the lawless and the vile to take counsel against the people of God. Wealth, genius, education, will combine to cover them with contempt. Persecuting rulers, ministers, and church-members will conspire against them. With voice and pen, by boasts, threats, and ridicule, they will seek to overthrow their faith. By false representations and angry appeals, they will stir up the passions of the people. Not having a “thus saith the Scriptures” to bring against the advocates of the Bible Sabbath, they will resort to oppressive enactments to supply the lack. To secure popularity and patronage, legislators will yield to the demand for Sunday laws." RH January 23, 1908, par. 22 "But notwithstanding all the efforts to establish Sunday sacredness, papists themselves publicly confessed the divine authority of the Sabbath and the human origin of the institution by which it had been supplanted. In the sixteenth century a papal council plainly declared: “Let all Christians remember that the seventh day was consecrated by God, and hath been received and observed, not only by the Jews, but by all others who pretend to worship God; though we Christians have changed their Sabbath into the Lord’s Day.”—The Great Controversy, 281, 282. -- "Royal edicts, general councils, and church ordinances sustained by secular power were the steps by which the pagan festival attained its position of honor in the Christian world. The first public measure enforcing Sunday observance was the law enacted by Constantine. (A.D. 321) This edict required townspeople to rest on “the venerable day of the sun,” but permitted countrymen to continue their agricultural pursuits. Though virtually a heathen statute, it was enforced by the emperor after his nominal acceptance of Christianity. - Darkness before Dawn, 25.2 -- The royal mandate not proving a sufficient substitute for divine authority, Eusebius, a bishop who sought the favor of princes, and who was the special friend and flatterer of Constantine, advanced the claim that Christ had transferred the Sabbath to Sunday. Not a single testimony of the Scriptures was produced in proof of the new doctrine. Eusebius himself unwittingly acknowledges its falsity and points to the real authors of the change. “All things,” he says, “whatever that it was duty to do on the Sabbath, these we have transferred to the Lord’s Day.”—Robert Cox, Sabbath Laws and Sabbath Duties, page 538. But the Sunday argument, groundless as it was, served to embolden men in trampling upon the Sabbath of the Lord. All who desired to be honored by the world accepted the popular festival." IBID, 25.3 -- "We as a people have not accomplished the work which God has committed to us. We are not ready for the issue to which the enforcement of the Sunday law will bring us. It is our duty, as we see the signs of approaching peril, to arouse to action. Let none sit in calm expectation of the evil, comforting themselves with the belief that this work must go on because prophecy has foretold it, and that the Lord will shelter His people. We are not doing the will of God if we sit in quietude, doing nothing to preserve liberty of conscience. Fervent, effectual prayer should be ascending to heaven that this calamity may be deferred until we can accomplish the work which has so long been neglected. Let there be most earnest prayer, and then let us work in harmony with our prayers. It may appear that Satan is triumphant and that truth is overborne with falsehood and error; the people over whom God has spread His shield, and the country which has been an asylum for the conscience-oppressed servants of God and defenders of His truth, may be placed in jeopardy. But God would have us recall His dealings with His people in the past to save them from their enemies. He has always chosen extremities, when there seemed no possible chance for deliverance from Satan’s workings, for the manifestation of His power. Man’s necessity is God’s opportunity. Counsels to the Church, 336.1 My brethren, do you realize that your own salvation, as well as the destiny of other souls, depends upon the preparation you now make for the trial before us? Have you that intensity of zeal, that piety and devotion, which will enable you to stand when opposition shall be brought against you? If God has ever spoken by me, the time will come when you will be brought before councils, and every position of truth which you hold will be severely criticized. The time that so many are now allowing to go to waste should be devoted to the charge that God has given us of preparing for the approaching crisis.598 IBID, 336.2 -- "We should now be doing our very best to defeat this Sunday law. The best way to do this will be to lift up the law of God and make it stand forth in all its sacredness. This must be done if the truth triumphs.—Letter 58, 1906. Counsels to Writers and Editors,98.1 -- "We are not to locate ourselves where we will be forced into close relations with those who do not honor God.... A crisis is soon to come in regard to the observance of Sunday.... Country Living, 20.2 The Sunday party is strengthening itself in its false claims, and this will mean oppression to those who determine to keep the Sabbath of the Lord. We are to place ourselves where we can carry out the Sabbath commandment in its fullness. “Six days shalt thou labor,” the Lord declares, “and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work.” And we are to be careful not to place ourselves where it will be hard for ourselves and our children to keep the Sabbath. IBID, 20.3 If in the providence of God we can secure places away from the cities, the Lord would have us do this. There are troublous times before us.—Manuscript 99, 1908. IBID, 20.4 Make Haste to Get Ready When the power invested in kings is allied to goodness, it is because the one in responsibility is under the divine dictation. When power is allied with wickedness, it is allied to Satanic agencies, and it will work to destroy those who are the Lord’s property. The Protestant world have set up an idol Sabbath in the place where God’s Sabbath should be, and they are treading in the footsteps of the Papacy. For this reason I see the necessity of the people of God moving out of the cities into retired country [places,] where they may cultivate the land and raise their own produce. Thus they may bring their children up with simple, healthful habits. I see the necessity of making haste to get all things ready for the crisis.—Letter 90, 1897. IBID,21.1 .-- Please watch carefully to the current events and the measures being taken to promote Sunday sacredness: https://youtu.be/T3sIiZsGPSc --Lord bless and Happy Sabbath! https://youtu.be/T3sIiZsGPSc

SUNDAY LAW WARNING # 8

"We have been looking many years for a Sunday law to be enacted in our land; and now that the movement is right upon us, we ask, Will our people do their duty in the matter? Can we not assist in lifting the standard, and in calling to the front those who have a regard for their religious rights and privileges? The time is fast approaching when those who choose to obey God rather than man, will be made to feel the hand of oppression. Shall we then dishonor God by keeping silent while His holy commandments are trodden under foot? While the Protestant world is by her attitude making concessions to Rome, let us arouse to comprehend the situation, and view the contest before us in its true bearings. Let the watchmen now lift up their voice, and give the message which is present truth for this time. Let us show people where we are in prophetic history, and seek to arouse the spirit of true Protestantism, awakening the world to a sense of the value of the privileges of religious liberty so long enjoyed.—Testimonies for the Church 5:716. {ChS 163.1} [Christian Service]. The people of our land need to be aroused to resist the advances of this most dangerous foe to civil and religious liberty.—The Spirit of Prophecy 4:382. {ChS 163.2} Shall we sit with folded hands, and do nothing in this crisis? ... God help us to arouse from the stupor that has hung over us for years.—The Review and Herald, December 18, 1888. {ChS 163.3} -- [Soon to be enforced, as an overwhelming surprise].-- WHY IS THE LORD WAITING? -- "There is no one who can explain the mystery of the incarnation of Christ. Yet we know that He came to this earth and lived as a man among men. The man Christ Jesus was not the Lord God Almighty, yet Christ and the Father are one. The Deity did not sink under the agonizing torture of Calvary, yet it is nonetheless true that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” {5BC 1129.7} [SDA Bible Commentary, Vol. 5, pg. 1129]. In every possible way Satan sought to prevent Jesus from developing a perfect childhood, a faultless manhood, a holy ministry, and an unblemished sacrifice. But he was defeated. He could not lead Jesus into sin. He could not discourage Him, or drive Him from the work He had come to this earth to do. From the desert to Calvary the storm of Satan’s wrath beat upon Him, but the more mercilessly it fell, the more firmly did the Son of God cling to the hand of His Father, and press on in the blood-stained path (Manuscript 140, 1903). {5BC 1130.1} When Jesus took human nature, and became in fashion as a man, He possessed all the human organism. His necessities were the necessities of a man. He had bodily wants to be supplied, bodily weariness to be relieved. By prayer to the Father He was braced for duty and for trial (Letter 32, 1899). {5BC 1130.2}-- [WE NEED PERFECT CHARACTERS IF WE ARE TO BECOME LIKE CHRIST...REPRESENTING THE FATHER THE ETERNAL AND EVERLASTING FATHER OF GLORY...TO THIS WICKED GENERATION]-- "Voluntarily our divine Substitute bared His soul to the sword of justice, that we might not perish but have everlasting life. Said Christ, “I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again” (John 10:17, 18). No man of earth or angel of heaven could have paid the penalty for sin. Jesus was the only one who could save rebellious man. [REBELLIOUS MEN] In Him divinity and humanity were combined, and this was what gave efficiency to the offering on Calvary’s cross. At the cross mercy and truth met together, righteousness and peace kissed each other. {1SM 322.1} [Selected Messages, Book 1] As the sinner looks upon the Saviour dying on Calvary, and realizes that the sufferer is divine, he asks why this great sacrifice was made, and the cross points to the holy law of God which has been transgressed. The death of Christ is an unanswerable argument as to the immutability and righteousness of the law. In prophesying of Christ, Isaiah says, “He will magnify the law, and make it honourable” (Isaiah 42:21). The law has no power to pardon the evildoer. Its office is to point out his defects, that he may realize his need of One who is mighty to save, his need of One who will become his substitute, his surety, his righteousness. Jesus meets the need of the sinner; for He has taken upon Him the sins of the transgressor. “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). The Lord could have cut off the sinner, and utterly destroyed him; but the costlier plan was chosen. In His great love He provides hope for the hopeless, giving His only-begotten Son to bear the sins of the world. And since He has poured out all heaven in that one rich gift, He will withhold from man no needed aid that he may take the cup of salvation, and become an heir of God, joint heir with Christ. {1SM 323.1} -- [THEREFORE WE SINNER NEED TO =] "Isaiah 55:6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 55:10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. 55:12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. 55:13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

-- THIS IS THE CURRENT EVENT THAT MAKES NEED FOR YET ANOTHER SUNDAY WARNING = THE GREEN SABBATH! = [You may watch or just listen for few minutes]. https://youtu.be/A5hMDinFqgU [comments in brackets are added, not in the original!]

THE NO BUY NO SELL - Little Time of Trouble

Here is the Bible Prophecy and Spirit of Prophecy declaration: -- "The beast with two horns “causeth [commands] all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads; and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” [Revelation 13:16, 17] The third angel’s warning is, “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.” “The beast” mentioned in this message, whose worship is enforced by the two-horned beast, is the first, or leopard-like beast of Revelation 13,—the papacy. The “image to the beast” represents that form of apostate Protestantism which will be developed when the Protestant churches shall seek the aid of the civil power for the enforcement of their dogmas. The “mark of the beast” still remains to be defined. GC88 445.2 After the warning against the worship of the beast and his image, the prophecy declares, “Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Since those who keep God’s commandments are thus placed in contrast with those that worship the beast and his image and receive his mark, it follows that the keeping of God’s law, on the one hand, and its violation, on the other, will make the distinction between the worshipers of God and the worshipers of the beast." {GC88 445.3} [THIS BOOK: THE GREAT CONTROVERSY IS WHAT PEOPLE NEED TO READ. THEY NEED THIS BOOK PLACED IN THEIR HANDS NOW!]. It is true that God will provide for his faithful: -- "In the last great conflict of the controversy with Satan those who are loyal to God will see every earthly support cut off. Because they refuse to break His law in obedience to earthly powers, they will be forbidden to buy or sell. It will finally be decreed that they shall be put to death. See Revelation 13:11-17. But to the obedient is given the promise, “He shall dwell on high: his place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.” Isaiah 33:16. By this promise the children of God will live. When the earth shall be wasted with famine, they shall be fed. “They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.” Psalm 37:19. To that time of distress the prophet Habakkuk looked forward, and his words express the faith of the church: “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” Habakkuk 3:17, 18. DA, 121. How to Stand Firm Under Persecution -- We shall find that we must let loose of all hands except the hand of Jesus Christ. Friends will prove treacherous and will betray us. Relatives, deceived by the enemy, will think they do God service in opposing us and putting forth the utmost efforts to bring us into hard places, hoping we will deny our faith. But we may trust our hand in the hand of Christ amid darkness and peril.—Maranatha, 197 (1889). {LDE 150.6} The only way in which men will be able to stand firm in the conflict is to be rooted and grounded in Christ. They must receive the truth as it is in Jesus. And it is only as the truth is presented thus that it can meet the wants of the soul. The preaching of Christ crucified, Christ our righteousness, is what satisfies the soul’s hunger. When we secure the interest of the people in this great central truth, faith and hope and courage come to the heart.—General Conference Daily Bulletin, January 28, 1893. {LDE 151.1} Many, because of their faith, will be cut off from house and heritage here, but if they will give their hearts to Christ, receiving the message of His grace, and resting upon their Substitute and Surety, even the Son of God, they may still be filled with joy.—The Signs of the Times, June 2, 1898. {LDE 151.2}

Money, Business and properties will be of no value then: --"Hoarded wealth will soon be worthless. When the decree shall go forth that none shall buy or sell except they have the mark of the beast, very much means will be of no avail. God calls for us now to do all in our power to send forth the warning to the world.—The Review and Herald, March 21, 1878. LDE 148.2 The time is coming when we cannot sell at any price. The decree will soon go forth prohibiting men to buy or sell of any man save him that hath the mark of the beast. We came near having this realized in California a short time since, but this was only the threatening of the blowing of the four winds. As yet they are held by the four angels. We are not just ready. There is a work yet to be done, and then the angels will be bidden to let go, that the four winds may blow upon the earth.—Testimonies for the Church 5:152 (1882). LDE 148.3 In the last great conflict in the controversy with Satan those who are loyal to God will see every earthly support cut off. Because they refuse to break His law in obedience to earthly powers they will be forbidden to buy or sell.—The Desire of Ages, 121, 122 (1898). {LDE 148.4} Satan says ... “For fear of wanting food and clothing they will join with the world in transgressing God’s law. The earth will be wholly under my dominion.”—Prophets and Kings, 183, 184 (c. 1914). LDE 149.1 Some will be imprisoned and many be put to death: "Some Are Imprisoned for Their Faith Some will be imprisoned because they refuse to desecrate the Sabbath of the Lord.—The Paulson Collection of Ellen G. White Letters, 118 (1907). {LDE 149.2} As the defenders of truth refuse to honor the Sunday-sabbath some of them will be thrust into prison, some will be exiled, some will be treated as slaves. To human wisdom all this now seems impossible, but as the restraining Spirit of God shall be withdrawn from men and they shall be under the control of Satan, who hates the divine precepts, there will be strange developments. The heart can be very cruel when God’s fear and love are removed.—The Great Controversy, 608 (1911). {LDE 149.3} If we are called to suffer for Christ’s sake, we shall be able to go to prison trusting in Him as a little child trusts in its parents. Now is the time to cultivate faith in God.—Our High Calling, 357 (1892). {LDE 149.4} Many Will Be Put to Death The best thing for us is to come into close connection with God and, if He would have us be martyrs for the truth’s sake, it may be the means of bringing many more into the truth.—Selected Messages 3:420 (1886). {LDE 149.5} Many will be imprisoned, many will flee for their lives from cities and towns, and many will be martyrs for Christ’s sake in standing in defense of the truth.—Selected Messages 3:397 (1889). {LDE 150.1} There is a prospect before us of a continued struggle, at the risk of imprisonment, loss of property and even of life itself, to defend the law of God.—Testimonies for the Church 5:712 (1889). {LDE 150.2} Men will be required to render obedience to human edicts in violation of the divine law. Those who are true to God will be menaced, denounced, proscribed. They will be “betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends,” even unto death.—Prophets and Kings, 588 (c. 1914). {LDE 150.3} We are not to have the courage and fortitude of martyrs of old until brought into the position they were in.... Should there be a return of persecution there would be grace given to arouse every energy of the soul to show a true heroism.—Our High Calling, 125 (1889). {LDE 150.4} The disciples were not endowed with the courage and fortitude of the martyrs until such grace was needed.—The Desire of Ages, 354 (1898). {LDE 150.5} We have a work to due in warning the world: It is time for massive evangelism! -- "America, ... where the greatest light from heaven has been shining upon the people, can become the place of greatest peril and darkness because the people do not continue to practice the truth and walk in the light.... {3SM 387.3} The more nearly we approach the closing scenes of this earth’s history, the more pronounced will be the work of Satan. Every species of deception will take the lead to divert the mind from God through Satan’s devices.—Letter 23c, 1894. {3SM 387.4} An Early View of Sabbath Importance [See also Early Writings, 32-34, for the vision in 1847 on the importance of the Sabbath.] I saw that we sensed and realized but little of the importance of the Sabbath, to what we yet should realize and know of its importance and glory. I saw we knew not what it was yet to ride upon the high places of the earth and to be fed with the heritage of Jacob. But when the refreshing and latter rain shall come from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His power, we shall know what it is to be fed with the heritage of Jacob and ride upon the high places of the earth. Then shall we see the Sabbath more in its importance and glory. {3SM 388.1} But we shall not see it in all its glory and importance until the covenant of peace is made with us at the voice of God, and the pearly gates of the New Jerusalem are thrown open and swing back on their glittering hinges, and the glad and joyful voice of the lovely Jesus is heard richer than any music that ever fell on mortal ear bidding us enter.—Letter 3, 1851. {3SM 388.2} We must take a firm stand that we will not reverence the first day of the week as the Sabbath, for it is not the day that was blessed and sanctified by Jehovah, and in reverencing Sunday we should place ourselves on the side of the great deceiver. The controversy of the Sabbath will open the subject to the people, and an opportunity will be given that the claims of the genuine Sabbath may be presented.... {3SM 388.3} The God-fearing, commandment-keeping people should be diligent, not only in prayer, but in action, and this will bring the truth before those who have never heard it.... {3SM 388.4} When the law of God has been made void, and apostasy becomes a national sin, the Lord will work in behalf of His people. Their extremity will be His opportunity. He will manifest His power in behalf of His church.... {3SM 388.5} A Time to Witness—The Lord has enlightened us in regard to what is coming upon the earth that we may enlighten others, and we shall not be held guiltless if we are content to sit at ease, with folded hands, and quibble over matters of minor importance.... {3SM 388.6} The people must not be left to stumble their way along in darkness, not knowing what is before them, and unprepared for the great issues that are coming. There is a work to be done for this time in fitting a people to stand in the day of trouble, and all must act their part in this work. They must be clothed with the righteousness of Christ, and be so fortified by the truth that the delusions of Satan shall not be accepted by them as genuine manifestations of the power of God.... {3SM 389.1} It is a solemn time for God’s people, but if they stand close by the bleeding side of Jesus, he will be their defense. He will open ways that the message of light may come to the great men, to authors and lawmakers. They will have opportunities of which you do not now dream, and some of them will boldly advocate the claims of God’s downtrodden law.... {3SM 389.2} OUR DUTY AND THE MESSAGE TO BE GIVEN IN A NUTSHELL: "If anyone worships the beast and his image, ... he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God. Revelation 14:9, 10. {FH 328.1} But the stern tracing of the prophetic pencil reveals a change in this peaceful scene [civil and religious liberty]. The beast with lamblike horns speaks with the voice of a dragon, and “exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him.” Prophecy declares that he will say to them that dwell on the earth that they should make an image to the beast, and that “he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” Thus Protestantism follows in the steps of the Papacy. {FH 328.2} It is at this time that the third angel is seen flying in the midst of heaven, proclaiming: “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.” “Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” In marked contrast to the world stands the little company who will not swerve from their allegiance to God.... {FH 328.3} The most solemn warning and the most awful threatening ever addressed to mortals is that contained in the third angel’s message. The sin that calls down the wrath of God unmixed with mercy must be of the most heinous character. Is the world to be left in darkness as to the nature of this sin? Most assuredly not. God does not deal thus with His creatures. His wrath is never visited upon sins of ignorance. Before His judgments are brought upon the earth, the light in regard to this sin must be presented to the world, that all may know why these judgments are to be inflicted and may have opportunity to escape them. {FH 328.4} The message containing this warning is the last to be proclaimed before the revelation of the Son of man. The signs which He Himself has given declare His coming to be near at hand. For well-nigh forty years [as of 1899] has the message of the third angel been sounding.... The time has come when all who have an interest in their soul’s salvation should earnestly and solemnly inquire, What is the seal of God? and what is the mark of the beast? How can we avoid receiving it?—Signs of the Times, November 1, 1899. {FH 328.5}

COUNTRY LIVING MESSAGE -- Why was it given?: "Country Living was first published in 1946. Its counsels and warnings have challenged many Seventh-day Adventists to examine carefully the effects of urban living on their lives and to reevaluate where they choose to live. It has highlighted the dangers of involvement with labor unions and other sources of party strife in the cities. At the same time, it has helped those with a burden for city evangelism to consider how best to be in the world but not of the world. {CL 3.1} With the end of time approaching, this instruction is more relevant than ever. A new generation of believers will find these counsels opening horizons to them that they had not envisioned. {CL 3.2} The writings of Ellen G. White repeatedly urge the advantages of country living. As conditions in our world build toward the final events, Seventh-day Adventists recall the Lord’s instruction about leaving the cities, with their congestion, corruption, and conflicts. The cities do not provide a wholesome environment for Christian families. {CL 3.3} -- If the poor now crowded into the cities could find homes upon the land, they might not only earn a livelihood, but find health and happiness now unknown to them. Hard work, simple fare, close economy, often hardship and privation, would be their lot. But what a blessing would be theirs in leaving the city, with its enticements to evil, its turmoil and crime, misery and foulness, for the country’s quiet and peace and purity. {CL 19.1} To many of those living in the cities who have not a spot of green grass to set their feet upon, who year after year have looked out upon filthy courts and narrow alleys, brick walls and pavements, and skies clouded with dust and smoke,—if these could be taken to some farming district, surrounded with the green fields, the woods and hills and brooks, the clear skies and the fresh, pure air of the country, it would seem almost like heaven. {CL 19.2} Cut off to a great degree from contact with and dependence upon men, and separated from the world’s corrupting maxims and customs and excitements, they would come nearer to the heart of nature. God’s presence would be more real to them. Many would learn the lesson of dependence upon Him. Through nature they would hear His voice speaking to their hearts of His peace and love, and mind and soul and body would respond to the healing, life-giving power.—The Ministry of Healing, 190-192(1905). {CL 19.3} --The lay members of our churches can accomplish a work which, as yet, they have scarcely begun. None should move into new places merely for the sake of worldly advantage; but where there is an opening to obtain a livelihood, let families that are well grounded in the truth enter, one or two families in a place, to work as missionaries. They should feel a love for souls, a burden of labor for them, and should make it a study how to bring them into the truth. They can distribute our publications, hold meetings in their homes, become acquainted with their neighbors, and invite them to come to these meetings. Thus they can let their light shine in good works.—Testimonies for the Church 8:244, 245 (1904). {CL 22.2} -- "Parents can secure small homes in the country, with land for cultivation, where they can have orchards and where they can raise vegetables and small fruits to take the place of flesh meat, which is so corrupting to the life blood coursing through the veins. On such places the children will not be surrounded with the corrupting influences of city life. God will help His people to find such homes outside the cities.—Medical Ministry, 310 (1902). {CL 24.3} -- "The cities are to be worked from outposts. Said the messenger of God, “Shall not the cities be warned? Yes; not by God’s people living in them, but by their visiting them, to warn them of what is coming upon the earth.”—Letter 182, 1902. {CL 30.2} Dont be deceived by this temporary prosperity! Soon, very soon...We shall be individually sanctioned from Buying and Selling: "It is no time now for God’s people to be fixing their affections or laying up their treasure in the world. The time is not far distant, when, like the early disciples, we shall be forced to seek a refuge in desolate and solitary places. As the siege of Jerusalem by the Roman armies was the signal for flight to the Judean Christians, so the assumption of power on the part of our nation, in the decree enforcing the papal Sabbath, will be a warning to us. It will then be time to leave the large cities, preparatory to leaving the smaller ones for retired homes in secluded places among the mountains. And now, instead of seeking expensive dwellings here, we should be preparing to move to a better country, even a heavenly. Instead of spending our means in self-gratification, we should be studying to economize.—Testimonies for the Church 5:464, 465 (1885). {CL 32.1}

SUNDAY LAWS (EUROPEAN UNION)

Please read: Rev.13:11-18 The wound is almost fully healed! The crisis is at the door. The time of trial for Gods people is here: EUROPE SEAM TO BE AHEAD OF US FOR NOW.THEY ARE CALLING FOR NEW DIRECTIVES TO IMPOSE BY LAWS "THE TRADITIONS HELD IN COMMON AMONG EUROPEAN STATES -- SUNDAY REST! NO WORK ON SUNDAYS IS THE GOAL FOR THIS NEW YEAR. VOTES TO TAKE PLACE DURING SPRING - 2019, DURING THE MONTH OF MAY! THE TIME IS ALMOST OVER. IT IS RUNNING OUT TO PREPARE FOR THE CRISES. ARE YOU READY? LISTEN AS YOU RECEIVE THE NEWS AND A SERMON OF ENCOURAGEMENT BY THIS SO DEDICATED MINISTRY: SAVED TO SERVE FROM FLORIDA. NEWS ARTICLES AT THE BEGGINING AND AT THE END. IT IS WORTH YOUR TIME AND ATTENTION. GET READY, GET READY, GET READY! LORD BLESS THE READING / PREACHING OF HIS WORD! AMEN: -- https://youtu.be/U01x6P7eeQc --