The word “atonement” may be the most important word in the Bible, because its real meaning is “atone-ment.” Something has gone tragically wrong in God’s universe. What was once in harmony and oneness has been ripped apart so completely that it seems totally impossible to put it together again, but that is exactly what the word “at-one-ment” means—to put together what has been torn apart.
If free choice has been and will always be the unalterable basis for a relationship between God and the beings He created, then the atoning process must be complicated and lengthy if it has any hope of restoring the unity which has been almost totally lost. If we do not understand how this at-one-ment is being accomplished and what it will take to complete it, we will never understand why we even exist or what lies ahead in our future. This may well be the most important Bible subject for us to understand as completely as humanly possible. If we have any hope of understanding how this drama will end, we must understand how it all started.
THE BEGINNING OF EVIL
The greatest trial in history was brewing. The most majestic created being was filing suit against his Creator God. Lucifer was the five-star general of the angelic host. “But when God said to His Son, ‘Let us make man in our image,’ Satan was jealous of Jesus. He wished to be consulted concerning the formation of man, and because he was not, he was filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred.” (EW 145) So we learn that the tearing apart of God’s harmonious universe began over God’s plan to create you and me, and the specific charge was that God was unfair in excluding Lucifer from the planning committee. Apparently the work that Christ and Lucifer did was so similar that Lucifer saw no real difference between him and Christ. To curb this brewing palace coup, the Father called an assembly of all the heavenly host, and explained that the Son had from all eternity been equal with Himself in omnipresence, in omniscience, in power and authority. Even in heaven, angels did not completely understand the precise relationship among the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, so God decided to make this relationship crystal clear.
Up to this point Lucifer was raising questions, some of which were legitimate, but it was at this point that rebellion began and the universe was being torn apart. “Satan unblushingly made known his dissatisfaction that Christ should be preferred before him. He stood up proudly and urged that he should be equal with God and should be taken into conference with the Father and understand His purposes. God informed Satan, that to His Son alone He would reveal His secret purposes, and He required all the family in heaven, even Satan, to yield Him implicit, unquestioned obedience…Then Satan exultingly pointed to his sympathizers, comprising nearly one-half of all the angels, and exclaimed, ‘These are with me! Will you expel these also, and make such a void in heaven?’” (SR 17, 18) Now we come to the point where Scripture begins its description of what was happening in heaven.
“For thou has said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds: I will be like the most High.” (Isa. 14: 13,14)
What happened next is extremely important to understand God’s plan of at-one-ment. “After Satan and those who fell with him were shut out of heaven, and he realized that he had forever lost all its purity and glory, he repented, and wished to be reinstated in heaven….Both he and his followers wept, and implored to be taken back into the favor of God.” (EW 146) Here we have repentance with weeping and imploring. Surely this would be enough.
“Satan trembled as he viewed his work….Where is he? Is it not all a horrible dream? Is he shut out of heaven?...The loss he had sustained of all the privileges of heaven seemed too much to be borne. He wished to regain these.” (SR 26, 25, 27) Notice what Satan wanted to regain—the privileges of heaven, its purity and glory.
“His mighty frame shook as with a tempest. An angel from heaven was passing. He called him and entreated an interview with Christ. This was granted him. He then related to the Son of God that he repented of his rebellion and wished again the favor of God. He was willing to take the place God had previously assigned him, and be under His wise command. Christ wept at Satan’s woe, but told him, as the mind of God, that…the seeds of rebellion were still within him.” (SR 26) Can we see why even angels had questions about God’s handling of Lucifer? They can’t read minds. Only Christ could read the inward thoughts and character of Satan. The character of Satan would need a lot of demonstration.
One key point would be the huge difference between outward repentance, even with tears, and heart surrender to God because He knows best.
“When Satan became fully convinced that there was no possibility of his being reinstated in the favor of God, he manifested his malice with increased hatred and fiery vehemence.” (SR 27) Very quickly, the true heart of Satan became very apparent.
THE CHALLENGE OF SATAN
If God is to restore at-one-ment to the universe, then He must set in motion a far-reaching plan to answer all of Satan’s legitimate charges against God’s system of government. Jan Paulsen summed up the issue very well. “In God’s final and ultimate answer to the sin problem there are issues to be taken into account that are wider and larger than my personal salvation….For the larger picture—namely, for the eternal security of…[all] creation.,…God will also have provided a far-reaching answer that deals with the roots as well as the consequences of rebellion.” (Adventist Review, Nov. 30, 2000) There is something far more important than your salvation or mine, or the salvation of all those who live on this tiny Planet Earth.
“As it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.” (Rom.3:4) “The plan of salvation had yet a broader and deeper purpose than the salvation of man. It was not for this alone that Christ came to the earth; it was not merely that the inhabitants of this little world might regard the law of God as it should be regarded; but it was to vindicate the character of God before the universe.” (PP 68,69)
One of Satan’s charges is very legitimate and demands a clear answer. “The people of God have been in many respects very faulty. Satan has an accurate knowledge of the sins which he has tempted them to commit, and he presents these in the most exaggerated light, declaring, ‘Will God banish me and my angels from His presence, and yet reward those who have been guilty of the same sins? Thou canst not do this, O Lord, in justice. Thy throne will not stand in righteousness and judgment.” (5T 474) “He pronounces them just as deserving as himself of exclusion from the favor of God. ‘Are these,’ he says, ‘the people who are to take my place in heaven?’ (PK 588,589) In other words, he says that justice demands that if I am excluded from heaven, then all sinners must also be excluded; but if you can forgive them and take them to heaven, then you must take me back also.
GOD’S RESPONSE – PHASE 1
If God is going to vindicate His character and plan of at-one-ment, He has to resolve this problem of justice vs. mercy. Ps. 85:10 puts this issue clearly. “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” God takes the initiative in this all-out war. “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (Gen. 3:15) This is the first promise of at-one-ment. In Satan’s attempt to dethrone God, his own efforts will destroy him.
God’s counterattack is seen most clearly in Phil. 2:6-8. “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” God’s response to Satan would not be the exercise of arbitrary force, but instead humbling Himself to take the same human form as those who have to live under Satan’s stolen control of power, and to allow Satan to attack Him in the same way he attacks all human beings.
The supreme evidence of the difference between God’s way and Satan’s way is seen in John 12:31-32.
“Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” God’s way is drawing, nor driving or forcing. God humbles Himself to man’s level of functioning and thinking, allowing Satan to do whatever he can to discredit God.
“And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.” (Luke 10:18) After living a life of total obedience to God in spite of Satan’s all-out efforts to lead Christ to rebel just once, Satan then takes it upon himself to take the life of His Creator, and the universe watches it all. “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb. 4:15,16)
Christ’s life and death was unfolding the law of God as the law of self-sacrificing love. Calvary is the supreme unfolding of the law of God. “The law of Jehovah is the tree; the gospel is the fragrant blossoms and fruit which it bears.” (1SM 212) God’s justice and fairness are the basis of all He does, and the fruit is at-one-ment. God refutes Satan’s lie that justice and mercy cannot coexist in harmony.
Christ showed that sinners could be safely taken to heaven, not just by being forgiven, but by developing characters in harmony with God’s law. In contrast, Satan wanted forgiveness without character change.
This is the sacrificial phase of the atonement process, and it is the heart of the entire plan of God to restore the universe to harmony. Do we fully understand how important this part of the at-one-ment is?
“The death of Christ upon the cross made sure the destruction of him who has the power of death….There will be no danger of another rebellion in the universe of God….It is through the efficacy of the cross that the angels of heaven are guarded from apostasy. Without the cross they would be no more secure against evil than were the angels before the fall of Satan. Angelic perfection failed in heaven. Human perfection failed in Eden, the paradise of bliss. All who wish for security in earth or heaven must look to the Lamb of God. The plan of salvation, making manifest the justice and love of God, provides an eternal safeguard against defection in unfallen worlds….Oh, we do not comprehend the value of the atonement! If we did, we would talk more about it.” (ST Dec. 30, 1889) But if God guaranteed the destruction of sin and Satan by the sacrifice of Christ, why didn’t He end the atoning process and the agony of sin and suffering immediately after the cross? Why has God allowed two thousand more years of Satan’s rule?
GOD’S RESPONSE – PHASE 2
“Yet Satan was not then destroyed. The angels did not even then understand all that was involved in the great controversy. The principles at stake were to be more fully revealed. And for the sake of man, Satan’s existence must be continued. Man as well as angels must see the contrast between the Prince of Light and the prince of darkness. He must choose whom he will serve.” (DA 761) If there is one thing we need to continually remind ourselves of, it is that God’s actions are never haphazard. He is never caught by surprise. If there has been a two thousand year delay, there must be a very good reason for it. It has to be part of His plan to make sure sin will never raise its ugly head again throughout all eternity. At the cross not all of Satan’s lawyer-like charges had been answered.
The angels still had some questions, and human beings still did not understand completely the contrast between Christ’s ways and Satan’s ways. More evidence on God’s side would be needed.
So we come to the next step in the atonement plan. “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.” (Heb. 4:14) “Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest forever after the order of Melchisedec.” (Heb. 6:20) “But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.” (Heb. 8:6) “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” (Heb. 7:25)
Jesus begins a new phase of the atonement process as our High Priest, who is able to legally forgive any human being who is willing to ask Him for a second chance. He is applying the benefits of His sacrifice to guilty sinners.
GOD’S RESPONSE – PHASE 3
There is still one nagging charge of Satan against God’s atonement plan, a charge which rears its head in each new generation born under Satan’s rulership of this world.
“Satan, the fallen angel, had declared that no man could keep the law of God after the disobedience of Adam. He claimed the whole race under his control.” (3SM 136) “Satan declared that it was impossible for the sons and daughters of Adam to keep the law of God, and thus charged upon God a lack of wisdom and love. If they could not keep the law, then there was fault with the Lawgiver.” (ST Jan. 16, 1896) Satan’s charge was clearly leveled against fallen man’s ability to keep God’s law.
“He (Christ) came to this world to…prove to the universe that in this world of sin human beings can live lives that God will approve….Satan declared that human beings could not live without sin.” (RH March 9, 1905) Note again that Satan’s charge relates to human beings in this world of sin. Part of Christ’s mission consisted in “revealing to the heavenly universe, to Satan, and to all the fallen sons and daughters of Adam that through His grace humanity can keep the law of God.” (MLT 323) Satan’s charge goes like this. Yes, Christ was totally obedient, as were a few rare human beings like Enoch, but what about 99.99% of those who have been forgiven? Are they totally obedient? They can’t obey 100% of the time because they have fallen natures, which make them incapable of keeping Your law. My influence over them is stronger than any grace You give them. All You can do is to keep on forgiving their continual sinning. No matter what You do, Jer. 50:20 will never be fulfilled. “In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found.” Neither will Ezek. 36:27,23 be fulfilled. “And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them….And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.” As long as forgiveness is all Your atonement plan can offer, my charge stands, and You will never be fully vindicated, because Your grace is insufficient to protect Your people from my power over them. Just show me any generation that have accepted Your forgiving grace and are covered with Your robe of righteousness who have stopped yielding to my deceptions. Where are any people who are keeping Your law 100% of the time? You just keep covering up their sins under the cloak of mercy and forgiveness. You haven’t defeated me yet.
The reality is that God has put Himself at great risk by forgiving sinners, because when we do the same things over and over again, and God has to forgive us countless times, it looks very much like obedience to God’s law really is impossible. But if it can ever be demonstrated, not by angels in a perfect environment, and not just by Enoch or Jesus or John or Paul, but by a host of garden variety sinners who must live in Satan’s world, harassed by a fallen nature and a lifetime of sinful habits, that forgiving grace leads directly to enabling grace, then God will have proved Satan wrong.
God’s plan of salvation really works. The only way it can be clearly seen what happens when God’s enabling grace has taken total control of God’s people is by setting aside a period of time after the close of probation in which the rules change. No longer is forgiving grace available. The whole universe will watch as our High Priest steps out of His role as Forgiver. Then they will see what will happen when only enabling grace will be offered from heaven.
Today we are still living during the time when forgiving grace and enabling grace work together, with some successes and some failures. But this epoch must come to an end. A demonstration must be made, and that is what the final atonement is all about. Satan’s most powerful attacks must be matched up against God’s enabling grace at a time when forgiveness is not an option. Is God’s grace more powerful than Satan’s deceptions? Will the future be safe from another rebellion?
The matter of greatest importance in the universe is not the salvation of men, important as that may seem. The most important thing is the clearing of God’s name from the false accusations made by Satan. The final atonement is Christ ministering His blood, no longer in forgiveness, but in enabling power—power for victory over sin—and it will be seen in our lives.
All of this was foreshadowed by the events during the Day of Atonement in the Old Testament. “For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord.” (Lev. 16:30) Do we understand the full meaning of this day? It is called “making an atonement.” There had been sacrifices of atonement—forgiveness—all year long. This is something different. It is a cleansing atonement, with the end result being “clean from all your sins before the Lord.”
What does this Old Testament day teach us about our lives today? “We are in the great day of atonement and the sacred work of Christ for the people of God that is going on at the present time in the heavenly sanctuary, should be our constant study.” (5T 520)
Christ virtually says to Satan, “I will produce a people, through my grace, in the most degenerate age of earth’s history. I will separate them from sin completely. They will reflect the image of Jesus fully. I will step out of the sanctuary and they will live in the sight of a holy God without an Intercessor.” Such a people will be produced that will be the wonder of the whole universe. Through them Satan will be forever defeated, and every question that could be raised against the law of God, such as whether humanity could keep it, will be forever answered in that special people which Scripture calls the 144,000.
“And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat: And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness>” (Lev. 16:20,21)
After completing the work of cleansing the lives of the people, in type, the high priest then went into the first apartment, took up the sins, and went out and placed them upon the head of the scapegoat. Then a fit man, someone who was able, someone who was prepared, had to lead that scapegoat out into the wilderness. It is very doubtful that the fit man represented Christ. The high priest, representing Christ, completed the cleansing. After that a fit man was chosen out of the congregation to do one thing—to remove the scapegoat from the camp of Israel. No atonement was involved. It is much more plausible to understand that the fit man represents the 144,000.
In 1852 Ellen White recorded what she was shown about this dramatic scene. “I saw that Jesus’ work in the sanctuary will soon be finished. And after His work there is finished, He will come to the door of the first apartment, and confess the sins of Israel upon the head of the scapegoat….Then while the plagues are falling, the scapegoat is being led away. He makes a mighty struggle to escape, but he is held fast by the hand that leads him. If he should effect his escape, Israel would lose their lives. I saw that it would take time to lead away the scapegoat into the land of forgetfulness after the sins were put on his head.” (Spalding-Magan, p. 2)
The struggle to escape is Satan’s last attempt to prove that God’s plan doesn’t work. If he can get God’s sealed people to sin after Christ’s forgiving work has ended, then Israel would lose their lives, and Israel represents God’s faithful people, who are now called the 144,000. Notice that it takes some time to prove God’s case after the close of probation. The purpose of the time period after the close of probation is to give time for a final demonstration about who is telling the truth. God claims that His grace and power will enable a whole generation to live without sinning when Satan brings his greatest deceptions and persecutions to bear against the ones whom God has sealed. Satan claims that even God cannot keep all of this final generation from yielding just once to his influence and persuasion. Who is telling the truth? The universe needs to know.
Satan has full charge of the world and all the legions of darkness, and all the wicked join with him, which means that a whole vanguard comes against God’s people to overthrow them. But Satan is held fast. If Satan could lead just one of the 144,000 into sin—if he could lead one of them to choose to transgress the law of God in the least particular—he would triumph. Here is a people who, for the first time in earth’s history, have had all their sins blotted out, and have been sealed for eternity. God can say, in the hearing of the whole universe, “Here is a people who have been completely separated from sin, and I promise that they will never go back into sin again.”
It is a desperate struggle between Jesus and Satan. Once it was a struggle between Jesus and Satan personally. During the time of the plagues it is again a struggle between Jesus and Satan, but this time it is Jesus fully lived out in the lives of the 144,000. By the mere fact that they do not fall into sin, Satan is defeated, his cause is lost, and he is held fast.
WHAT IS AT STAKE
Throughout the Bible, God makes it very clear that nothing is more important in all the universe than to have His reputation cleared and His name honored. And that is exactly what John is telling us in Revelation 7. Jesus will not return until God has a people who make guarding the name of God the most important purpose of their lives.
Revelation 7 opens with these words: “And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.” (Rev. 7:1-3)
Why is God holding back these last-day winds of terror and destruction? Why? Because God’s people are not ready. Hold back the east wind of human madness. Why? God’s people haven’t caught on yet about the purpose of the gospel. Hold back the west wind of satanic fury until God’s people are ready to carry out their last assignment. Hold the winds until God’s people are ready to be sealed.
Down here in the days of the held winds God is telling the universe when He writes His name in the foreheads of His faithful ones, “Listen to them. You can trust what they say. I can give them my seal of approval. The quality goes in before my name goes on.” So what is this seal that makes Satan so angry?
“Just as soon as the people of God are sealed in their foreheads—it is not any seal or mark that can be seen, but a settling into the truth, both intellectually and spiritually, so they cannot be moved—just as soon as God’s people are sealed and ready for the shaking, it will come.” (LDE 219) There is a remarkable statement in Heb. 11:39,40. “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.” This chapter enumerates the heroes of faith all down through earth’s history, and it says that they will not receive the promise of immortality until something dramatic happens in the generation who will be alive when Christ comes. The amazing truth is that there could be no resurrection of the righteous dead without the development of the 144,000. Not until that is done can the work be finished, and that work, simply put, is to finish with sin.
During the past thirty years we have heard much about Christ’s work in the heavenly sanctuary since 1844. We have reviewed the prophetic evidence upon which the confidence of our Adventist pioneers was based, and we have found it to be sound. But there has been a deafening silence about the cleansing work in our hearts corresponding to the cleansing work in heaven. The heavenly sanctuary cannot be cleansed from sin until our hearts are cleansed from sin. The great cleansing in God’s heavenly sanctuary cannot be completed until the work of final atonement is completed in my heart and yours. It is only when the final atonement shows that God can stop the flow of sins from our hearts that God can justly remove our sins from the sanctuary above. The blotting out of sins in my life will be followed by the blotting out of sins in the heavenly sanctuary. Only in that way can Satan’s charges be effectively answered.
Ellen White puts it very succinctly: “There must be a purifying of the soul here upon the earth, in harmony with Christ’s cleansing of the sanctuary in heaven.” (Mar 249} This is the time for us to make sure that all sin is really cleansed from our hearts. This is the time for us to show the world how God’s government really operates.
The Day of Atonement and the Final Atonement is the reason for our existence as Seventh-day Adventists. God’s name is in jeopardy until He can demonstrate that His grace can produce people who will love Him completely, all of the time, with no questions or reservations, and no quibbling or rationalizing. They just love Him, because He first loved them. And they will prove, once and for all, that love always produces obedience, and for once, this love and obedience will be continuous.
Satan is fighting very hard to remove this concept from the minds of every Seventh-day Adventist, because if he can destroy this concept, he can nullify God’s calling of this people one hundred fifty years ago, and he can delay the coming of Christ much longer. Will you defy him and make the final atonement the focus of your study, and the unifying core of everything you do from now until the second coming of Christ?
We will conclude this study with the thoughts of one whom God called to help Him complete the final atonement over one hundred years ago—A. T. Jones. “The finishing of the mystery of God is the ending of the work of the gospel,…the taking away of all vestige of sin and the bringing in of everlasting righteousness—Christ fully formed—within each believer, God alone manifest in the flesh of each believer in Jesus.” (The Consecrated Way, p. 117)
Only in this way can Gen. 3:15 be completely fulfilled. The chosen Seed will bruise the serpent’s head.
The plan of at-one-ment will be completed. God’s people will be completely at-one with God for the rest of eternity. Every phase of the atonement is vital, from the sacrificial lamb in the Garden of Eden to the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, to the development of the fit man for the close of human probation. Lord Jesus, may it be soon.
In the great plan of salvation, there are two special crises—the crisis at the close of Christ’s earthly life, and the crisis that comes at the close of the experience of the remnant.
The Crisis of Christ
In this world, we look upon Jesus as a helpless babe in Bethlehem. We see the humility, the condescension, and we can choose to follow Him. We see Jesus at Nazareth growing up as a child in a humble peasant home, bearing the burdens of daily toil, giving an example of patience and love. And as we see that, we can choose to follow Him there. As He goes to Jordan to be baptized, we can follow Him there. But as we look at His life, we see Him come at last to Gethsemane; and there beneath the shadows of the olive trees, we look upon a great crisis. Shall we follow Him there? As we watch, we see the mob come. We see the Saviour taken and hurried to earthly courts, there to be abused, mistreated, falsely accused, and tortured.
Will we follow Him there? We see Him led off to Calvary. We see Him nailed to the tree and hung up between the heavens and the earth. Will we follow Him there?
Let me make very plain that there are some experiences that Jesus went through that we shall never in this life fully fathom. Jesus, as the infinite Son of God, had many experiences as our sin-bearer that we can never enter into as He entered into them. While all that is true, it is also true that there are many things that Jesus experienced that we can and will experience to some degree. I wish to study with you some of the parallels between the closing events in the life of Jesus here on earth and the closing events in the experience of the remnant. Of all the experiences in the life of Jesus, the ones that you and I most need to study are those that come right at the close of His life, because they have lessons of the deepest significance to teach us concerning the closing events of our lives here in this world.
Everything was at stake back in the Garden of Gethsemane. And in this closing crisis, everything is again at stake. Back then, the entire universe gathered around to behold that great crisis. We are told that, today, the whole universe is watching with inexpressible interest to see the closing scenes here on earth in the great controversy between Christ and Satan. And the part that we are to play in this closing conflict is very similar to that of Jesus.
We want to especially notice the preview of the closing crisis that Jesus gave His disciples, and the preview that He has given us of our closing crisis. Christ warned His disciples, “All ye shall be offended because of Me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.
But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.” (Matthew 26:31) Jesus told His disciples that they would all be offended, that they would all desert Him as we went into that dark hour.
1 “Before His crucifixion the Saviour explained to His disciples that He was to be put to death,…and angels were present to impress His words on minds and hearts. But the disciples…could not tolerate the thought that He in whom all their hopes centered should suffer an ignominious death. The words which they needed to remember were banished from their minds; and when the time of trial came, it found them unprepared.
The death of Jesus as fully destroyed their hopes as if He had not forewarned them. So in the prophecies the future is opened before us as plainly as it was opened to the disciples by the words of Christ.” (GC 594) Do you know what is coming? It is your privilege to know.
In Revelation 13:16-17 we read of a time coming when church and state are going to unite to enforce the mark of the beast, and that men won’t be able to buy or sell unless they receive that mark. In verse 15 we see that a death decree will be passed against those who will not worship the image of the beast. In other words, persecution was ahead of Jesus and His disciples back then; and persecution is ahead of the remnant that follows the Lamb today. Back then, Jesus said to His disciples that there was going to be a sifting. He foretold definitely that they were going to forsake their Lord because they had not prepared. And He has warned us that many are going to forsake Him.
“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.” (Matthew 24:9-10) Jesus told the disciples they were going to be offended. He has also warned us that many will have that same experience. Was Christ betrayed by one of His own number? Yes. So He has warned us that those who are offended and leave God’s people will betray them. We will either be betrayed as Jesus was betrayed, or else we will act the part of the betrayer and join in the persecution of the remnant.
The Crisis of Our Time
Jesus said that His followers would be sifted. Likewise, there is coming a mighty sifting in the church. “The days of purification of the church are hastening on apace. God will have a people pure and true. In the mighty sifting soon to take place we shall be better able to measure the strength of Israel….Those who have step by step yielded to worldly demands and conformed to worldly customs will not find it a hard matter to yield to the powers that be, rather than subject themselves to derision, insult, threatened imprisonment, and death….Chaff like a cloud will be borne away on the wind, even from places where we see only floors of rich wheat.” (5T 79-81) “Men of talent and pleasing address, who once rejoiced in the truth, employ their powers to deceive and mislead souls. They become the most bitter enemies of their former brethren. When Sabbathkeepers are brought before the courts to answer for their faith, these apostates are the most efficient agents of Satan to misrepresent and accuse them, and by false reports and insinuations to stir up the rulers against them.” (GC 608) One way or another, we will either be the betrayed or the betrayers.
2 Just as crisis came at the close of Christ’s earthly life, crisis comes at the close of our experience here in this world. The crisis of Jesus was the crisis of eternity, the crisis of the cross. The crisis which the remnant people of God are soon to enter into will answer forever Satan’s charges and vindicate forever the character of God. God has chosen His remnant church to make that demonstration. And, in doing so, we shall meet the opposition that Jesus met. We shall go through the experiences He went through.
Preparation Through Prayer
The picture of the sleeping disciples in Gethsemane has its counterpart today. “By these sleeping disciples is represented a sleeping church….It is a time of clouds and thick darkness, when to be found asleep is most perilous.” (2T 205) God must find people today who will not be drowsy spiritually, who will press through the darkness, who will learn to pray as Jesus prayed.
If you study the divine commentary in The Desire of Ages on Gethsemane, you discern that there is a growing crisis as the minutes tick slowly by. There is a longing in Christ’s heart that some way may be found that He may not have to drink the cup; but He comes out of the awful struggle with only one plea—that the Father’s will shall be done. That is one of the greatest lessons in prayer that you and I can learn. There was laid upon Him in the Garden of Gethsemane an immense load that will never be laid upon us. If it would be laid upon us for even one second, it would crush us. “The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isa.
53:6) Hours before Jesus ever went to Calvary, He tasted the sufferings of death for every man.
Even in eternity, we shall know very little concerning that part of the Gethsemane experience. Christ took it for us that we might never have to know the awful gulf, the black dark pit into which He went. But as Christ took that infinite burden and suffered that infinite anguish, there were in His human heart the longings that would naturally fill our hearts. It was a longing that some way might be found that He might not be separated from His Father. The anguish of the hiding of His Father’s face in the dark hour pierced His soul.
In the garden He prayed, “Oh my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.” But He adds, “Nevertheless, not as I will but as Thou wilt.”
It is perfectly proper for you to bring your wants and desires and longings to God. But it is very appropriate to say as Jesus said, “Nevertheless, not as I will but as Thou wilt.” Unless that is in our prayers, we have not begun to pray as Jesus prayed. When we enter into a prayer experience with God, we have not prayed with the mind of Christ until all we desire and choose is the working out of the Father’s will. Notice when and why Jesus went to Gethsemane. He knew that His hour was come. That particular night, He pressed to the place of prayer that He might be ready for the mob. Knowing that His hour was come, He took Himself to the place of prayer.
I wonder if we know our hour. I wonder if we know that the time has come for us to meet the mob, and that the little time that remains between now and the coming of the mob is set aside on heaven’s calendar for 3 one purpose—entering into the prayer experience. It will accomplish for us what it did for Jesus. “Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.” (Heb. 12:4)
For each victorious one, there will be an experience of agonizing prayer. “I saw some, with strong faith and agonizing cries, pleading with God. Their countenances were pale and marked with deep anxiety, expressive of their internal struggle. Firmness and great earnestness was expressed in their countenances; large drops of perspiration fell from their foreheads.” (EW 269) I don’t suppose that very many of us know firsthand about that kind of prayer experience.
So, how should we pray? First, have a place to pray. “Have a place for secret prayer. Jesus had select places for communion with God, and so should we. We need often to retire to some spot, however humble, where we can be alone with God.” (MB 84) Second, have a time to pray. “My voice shalt Thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee, and will look up.” (Ps. 5:3) Third, learn to pray aloud. “Learn to pray aloud where only God can hear you.” (GW 425) Learn to do it. We’re in a school of prayer. The students of this school are going to endure. He is waiting for us to open our hearts heavenward to receive the blessings He wants to impart. Speaking directly to God helps you to feel that you are actually communicating with heaven. Fourth, if the mind wanders, bring it back. “If the mind wanders, we must bring it back; by persevering effort, habit will finally make it easy.” MYP 114)
We should know that we are in the final hour, and just ahead of us is the crisis that the national Sunday law will bring, the crisis that persecution will bring to God’s church. And we should be seeking the Lord for that special preparation necessary to meet the special crisis. Confidence in ourselves can lead us to be so sure that we will face the crisis of the future that we fail to intercede and agonize in prayer to receive the necessary preparation.
After finding a place a short distance away, Jesus knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but Thine be done. And there appeared an angel unto Him from heaven, strengthening Him.” (Luke 22:41-43) “The worlds unfallen and the heavenly angels had watched with intense interest as the conflict drew to its close. Satan and his confederacy of evil, the legions of apostasy, watched intently this great crisis in the work of redemption. The powers of good and evil waited to see what answer would come to Christ’s thrice-repeated prayer….In this awful crisis, when everything was at stake, when the mysterious cup trembled in the hand of the sufferer, the heavens opened, a light shone forth amid the stormy darkness of the crisis hour, and the mighty angel who stands in God’s presence, occupying the position from which Satan fell, came to the side of Christ. The angel came not to take the cup from Christ’s hand, but to strengthen Him to drink it, with the assurance of the Father’s love. He came to give power to the divine-human suppliant….He assured Him…that His death would result in the utter discomfiture of Satan, and that the kingdom of this world would be given to the saints of the Most High. He told Him that…He would see a multitude of the human race saved, eternally saved.” (DA 693) 4 So today, as God’s people enter into the prayer struggle, they too are to receive a heavenly visitation. There is another angel coming down from heaven with great power. “And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.” (Rev. 18:1) But remember, the agonizing prayer struggle comes before the glory. Before the visit of this mighty angel, God’s people must enter into an experience that brings them to the place where there is just one thing they will want—the Father’s perfect will. Humanity must be so blended with and subservient to the divine will that the remnant will be prepared to give an exhibition during their trial such as Jesus gave in His trial. And we are going to be tried in every way that men and devils can invent. To be prepared for that, we must have a blessing of a heavenly visitation such as Jesus received. But in order to be prepared for that, we must enter into the prayer experience. We must reach the place where our will is swallowed up in God’s will, and our one desire is expressed in the words of Jesus, “Not as I will, Father, but as Thou wilt.” The Final Test
The coming outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the latter rain is not to take the saints out of the world of trouble; it is not to lift them above or beyond the possibility of suffering; it is to prepare them for the greatest ordeal of suffering that any human beings have ever experienced. This is the time of Jacob’s trouble. We have been told that there will be some like Judas who will betray their brethren. We know not who they are. As we approach the crisis of the remnant church, there will be those who have, for one reason or another, become offended. May God help us now, that every root of bitterness may be discovered and taken out, and with humility and love we may so place ourselves in the hands of Christ that we will be willing, like Him, to suffer, and be unwilling to be used to cause others to suffer.
That bring us to the study of another character in this great drama—Peter. He was not like Judas, but he failed in Gethsemane. This illustrates that there is more than one route to failure, more than one way to be defeated, more than one sin that leads to disaster in the crisis hour. Peter needed to be converted deep down in his soul. When Peter was filled with fear, he was the one who suggested to the other disciples that they had just as well save themselves. Judas led the mob that took the Saviour. Peter led the group that fled away from the Saviour in the crisis hour. When the persecution breaks, when people are being put in prison, there will be those who will put up a great fight as Peter did. But their fight will only be the prelude to their flight. “Some who are now ready to take up weapons of warfare will in times of real peril make it manifest that they have not built upon the solid rock; they will yield to temptation….Not having received the love of the truth, they will be taken in the delusions of the enemy.” (6T 400)
“Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave Me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.” (John 16:32) Somewhere between now and the coming of the Lord, each in the remnant will be tested all alone. Somewhere between now and translation day, you will stand as Jesus stood—all alone. “It is impossible to give any idea of the experience 5 of the people of God who shall be alive upon the earth when celestial glory and a repetition of the persecutions of the past are blended. They will walk in the light proceeding from the throne of God. By means of the angels, there will be constant communication between heaven and earth.” (9T 16) The Great Controversy pictures some of the remnant of God being in prison cells, and angels coming with light to them.
Jesus learned in prayer, and we too are to learn in prayer. Here are two points about prayer. First, mix Bible study and the Spirit of Prophecy with prayer. Take your Bible to the place of prayer, and perhaps take Steps to Christ or The Desire of Ages. Down on your knees, let God talk to you, and you talk to Him. Having read a verse or two, close your eyes and talk to Jesus about it. In your own way, thank Him for what He did for you. Open up your mind to let God talk with you about what you’ve read. Second, mix faith with prayer.
“Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” (Mark 11:24) Let us dedicate ourselves, as never before, to learning the science of prayer.
“In the prayer of faith there is a divine science; it is a science that everyone who would make his lifework a success must understand.” (Ed 257)
The Final Demonstration
As far as the death of Jesus is concerned, there are many ways in which He might have died. But there was a demonstration to be made. What is it that God wants to demonstrate? That divine love can be revealed in human flesh, forgiving its enemies and praying for its persecutors.
Satan is studying your character and taking notes on what he finds. He is studying to find the particular thing that will make you lose your patience and lose your temper. We ought to be wise enough to make our weak points our strong points, so when the devil finally comes he will view us with amazement, because we are a fortress impregnable to all his efforts. “Now, while our great High Priest is making the atonement for us, we should seek to become perfect in Christ. Not even by a thought could our Saviour be brought to yield to the power of temptation. Satan finds in human hearts some point where he can gain a foothold, some sinful desire is cherished, by means of which his temptations assert their power. But Christ declared of Himself: ‘The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in Me.’…This is the condition in which those must be found who shall stand in the time of trouble.” (GC 623) I want to stand, don’t you? I want to get all the irritation and impatience out of me. We need to know our Father as He knew His Father. He knew that His Father was managing things. He didn’t try to interfere or defend Himself. He didn’t get angry or discouraged. He didn’t wilt. He wasn’t intimidated.
God is going to have here on earth a group of people who will make a grand demonstration that there is power in Jesus to make a man loving and meek and patient under the most awful circumstances. Do you see how important it is to get the victory daily? For if we fail now, what will we do later? God will develop us for 6 that later time, if we let Him. Never must there be an angry word or sarcastic look; never should we take advantage of our opponents by some twist of a word; but rather we can give a sweet, calm, confident presentation of the truth. Again, we need to be practicing. God is furnishing us the material on which to practice. That is the purpose of daily life experiences.
How did Jesus get through that struggle? “Faith and hope trembled in the expiring agonies of Christ because God had removed the assurance He had heretofore given His beloved Son of His approbation and acceptance.” (2T 210) “The darkness that will then rest upon our path must not discourage us or drive us to despair. It is the veil with which God covers His glory when He comes to impart rich blessings.” (5T 215) You and I need to be getting an experience from day to day in knowing for ourselves the will of God and in knowing that God accepts us. We can’t afford to drift along to the time of trouble without that assurance. If we go into the darkness of Jacob’s trouble with a prior experience in claiming the promises of God’s word by faith, we will be anchored and able to go through it without an intercessor. “Those who are unwilling to deny self, to agonize before God, to pray long and earnestly for His blessing, will not obtain it.” (GC 621) This is why time has extended—to provide an opportunity to have this experience. Before the trial and test must come a day-by-day experience over a period of time to develop a character and a prayer experience that can successfully meet the crisis at the close.
As Jesus at Calvary went through those dark hours in which He wrestled against the power of Satan, so the remnant church in the darkness of Jacob’s trouble will wrestle against the powers of darkness. As Jesus was without an intercessor, so the remnant will be without an intercessor through the time of trouble. As Jesus stayed His heart upon God by repeating the promises, and by reviewing the experiences He‘d had heretofore, so the remnant people will by faith alone press their way through the darkness. And as Jesus was delivered by that glorious angel that brought the summons from His Father there in that dark hour of the morning, so the remnant church will be delivered at the midnight hour as the voice of God speaks from heaven, and glory takes the place of darkness.
This generation is to answer the charge of Satan that the law of God cannot be kept. As Jesus demonstrated in His life here on earth that the law of God can be kept in human flesh by laying hold of the power that God had provided, so God is going to have a group of people down here in the closing scenes. They have the seal of the living God in their foreheads. For 6,000 years Jesus has been the intercessor, standing between the human family and a broken law. But sometime before Jesus comes, He will have so developed His people that He can step out between them and that law. And the people of God will stand there so fully clothed with the righteousness of Jesus that the law can find no fault with them, and Satan stands viewing them as a fortress impregnable to all his delusions. To him, they are an incomprehensible mystery.
7 As a result of this experience, we will be able to participate in Revelation 15:2-3. “And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints.” Friends, is it not a glorious hour in which to be living? Thank God for the privilege.
(I am indebted to the thoughts of W. D. Frazee, in “Crisis at the Close”)
Do you know what life is really like for those who eliminate God from their worldview, and then stop to think about their future? A philosopher at Oxford, who had been a member of Parliament, was a well known author. By his own admission, his life had been great. One slight problem, however. "In the middle of it all I was overwhelmed, almost literally so, by a sense of mortality. The realization hit me like a demolition crane that I was inevitably going to die...Death, my death, the literal destruction of me, was totally inevitable, and had been from the very instant of my conception. Nothing that I could ever do, now or at any other time, could make any difference to that, nor could it ever have done so at any moment of my life...In the eye of eternity a human life span is barely a flicker. Death will be upon us before we know where we are; and once we are dead it will be forever. What can anything I do mean or matter to me when I have gone down into complete nothingness for the rest of eternity? What can it matter to anyone else, either, when they too are eternally nothing? If the void is the permanent destination of all of us, all value and all significance are merely pretended for the purpose of carrying on our little human game, like children dressing up."
He wrote eloquently about his struggle with meaninglessness, the realization that no matter what he did or all the success he had, whether he wrote great books or became foreign secretary, whether he married or not, or whether he failed at everything he did, "none of it would make the slightest difference to me or to anyone else when all of us were nothing, as everyone was going to be, including everyone not yet born; that it could therefore make no difference when I died, and would have made no difference if I had never been born; that I was in any event going to be for all eternity what I would have been if I had never been born; that there was no meaning in any of it, no point in any of it; and that in the end everything was nothing." In his book, Confessions of a Philosopher, he wrote that after all these years of seeking, "I am as baffled now by the larger metaphysical questions of my existence as I was when I was a child—indeed more so, because my understanding of the depths and difficulties of the questions themselves is now so much greater."
Most people try to ignore this reality by not thinking about it, but without God, this is the only reality there is. Unless you can answer the problem of death, you have no answer to the problem of life. Death ruins everything. It is the great neutralizer, the great destroyer.
Cliff Goldstein relates a personal illustration of this dilemma. "Last year, in front of students at a secular college in California, I spoke about the existence of God. I said, 'You know, when I was about the age of most of you, and not believing in God, when something convicted me every now and then, that maybe God did exist, I always pushed the notion out of my mind. Why? Because something told me that if, indeed, God did exist, then—considering how I was living—I was in deep trouble.' The mood shifted instantly. Dozens of consciences, in sync, started grinding against themselves. It was almost as if the temperature in the room rose from the friction behind all these suddenly uncomfortable faces." Every now and then conscience comes alive, and we are forced to think for just a moment.
An atheist wrote, "I want atheism to be true and am made uneasy by the fact that some of the most intelligent and well-informed people I know are religious believers. It isn't just that I don't believe in God and, naturally, hope that I'm right in my belief. It's that I hope there is no God! I don't want there to be a God; I don't want the universe to be like that." What an amazingly honest admission. You see, God automatically comes with moral implications. If God exists, there's a transcendent moral power whom you will have to answer to, which is a frightening prospect for those who, even without a knowledge of God's law, nevertheless sense that they are not living right. This is the real reason that evolution is so popular, because it offers a temporary escape from a nagging conscience.
Paul wrote about such people. "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools." (Romans 1:20-22)
Are you thankful that you don't have to write or speak what we have just read? Are you thankful that we have a reasonable and logical solution to the horrible thought that life is meaningless? "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." (Romans 8:1,2) I am covered by the righteousness of Jesus, the only righteousness good enough to take away my guilt. We know a guilty conscience when it simmers inside us. That guilt should drive us to Him, to the foot of the cross, when we can fall before our crucified God and claim His grace as our only hope.
So let us spend a little time reflecting on the One who gives us hope when things seem hopeless, who provides the way out from meaninglessness.
The Son of Man Forever
We can only marvel at what we know about our faith. The Creator, the One greater than the universe, became the lowest of the low and died the sinner's death in order that no sinners would have to face that death themselves. The One who is equal with God, the One who is God, the One who is the highest and most exalted in all creation, becomes at the cross the lowest, even a curse for us, in order that we would never have to face that curse ourselves. Paul wrote about Christ "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." (Philippians 2:6-8)
Ellen White promises that "in Christ we become more closely united to God than if we had never fallen. In taking our nature, the Savior has bound Himself to humanity by a tie that is never to be broken. Through the eternal ages He is linked with us...God has adopted human nature in the person of His Son, and has carried the same into the highest heaven. It is the 'Son of man' who shares the throne of the universe." (DA 25) Not only did the Lord take upon Himself humanity, but He will retain that humanity forever; humanity, in the person of Christ, will share the throne of the universe for eternity.
Numerous times while here in the flesh, Jesus referred to Himself as the "Son of man," a clear reference to His humanity and His ties to the human family. He had to become human in order to be our substitute and example. "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted." (Hebrews 2:14-18)
Not only did Jesus take upon Himself human nature, He needs that nature to be a "merciful and faithful high priest" in heaven. The humanity of Christ is the bond through which He has linked Himself with us, a link that He kept long after His work on earth had finished, a link that's crucial to the work He's doing for us in heaven as our high priest. "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." (1 Timothy 2:5) The man Christ Jesus, though still divine, retains the humanity that He first took upon Himself when He was born into this world. This humanity will never leave Him. The Bible gives us powerful reasons to believe that Christ is "forever to retain His human nature," the nature that He took with Him to heaven after His work on earth was done.
Ellen White writes about the end of sin, "One reminder alone remains: Our Redeemer will ever bear the marks of His crucifixion. Upon His wounded head, upon His side, His hands and feet, are the only traces of the cruel work that sin has wrought...And the tokens of His humiliation are His highest honor; through the eternal ages the wounds of Calvary will show forth His praise and declare His power." (GC 674)
Now let us look back to the time of His incarnation. What does His humanity mean for us?
How Much Like Us?
We struggle with our emotions, our failures, with discouragement, and the strong pulls to our lower nature. But Jesus—does He really understand? How much was He like me?
On one occasion Jesus found a man in a synagogue with a withered hand, and the Jews watched Him closely, knowing that He was likely going to break their Sabbath laws. "And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him." This is not an outburst of temper, but legitimate anger at their hypocrisy in upholding their traditions while plotting to kill Him.
Notice also His grief for their willful blindness and their murderous hatred.
When Jesus went with three of His disciples deeper into Gethsemane, He "began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me." (Matthew 26:37,38) None of us have any idea of the discouragement that regularly pressed upon the mind of Jesus, and especially so at this time of crisis. "They (the disciples) had frequently seen Him depressed." (3 SP 94) Given the solitary life and mission of Jesus, this humanness of Jesus is easily understood.
When Jesus gathered with His disciples at their last supper "he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me." (John 13:21) This is the same emotion that the disciples felt when they saw Jesus walking on the water. Herod felt this emotion when the wise man asked about the newborn king. The word means anxiety or uncertainty or fear. We need to remember that Jesus did not know what the future had in store for Him, except as some details about the future were revealed to Him by the Father. Jesus felt the same anxiety and uncertainty that we feel when things are not working out as we had hoped.
The following statements are revealing and very amazing as they show us how very human Jesus really was,and how closely His struggles mirrored our struggles. I will simply list the statements without comment.
"He had all the strength of passion of humanity." (IHP 155)
"He blessed children that were possessed of passions like His own." (ST April 9, 1896)
"The Son of God...wrestled with the very same fierce, apparently overwhelming temptations that assail
men." (1 SM 95)
"He knows how strong are the inclinations of the natural heart." (5 T 177)
"He knows by experience what are the weaknesses of humanity,...and where lies the strength of our
temptations." (MH 71)
In a letter to her eighteen-year-old nephew, "Jesus once stood in age just where you now stand....He is acquainted with your temptations....His mind, like yours, could be harassed and perplexed....You have not a difficulty that did not press with equal weight upon Him....His feelings could be hurt with neglect, with indifference of professed friends, as easily as yours." (OHC 57-59)
Do we fully realize how fully human Jesus was and how well He knows our struggles and temptations? "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:15,16) We can come boldly to God's throne because Jesus is there and he really understands our struggles.
The Second Death Experience
After thirty-three years of experiencing our human reality, Jesus comes to the most difficult moment of His entire eternal existence. "And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." ( Matthew 26:39) What is the meaning of this prayer that He prayed three times? What cup is He deathly afraid of?
"Some have limited views of the atonement. They think that Christ suffered only a small portion of the penalty of the law of God; they suppose that, while the wrath of God was felt by His dear Son, He had, through all His painful sufferings, the evidence of His Father's love and acceptance; that the portals of the tomb before Him were illuminated with bright hope, and that He had the abiding evidence of His future glory. Here is a great mistake." (2 T 214)
The ultimate fate of the lost is the second death. The horror arises from the all-consuming realization that they are about to cease to exist. Their suffering includes agonizing, unrelenting thoughts of how their sins have brought them to this place. They are consumed with intolerable feelings of unrelenting desolation, knowing they are lost forever and can do nothing to stop their destruction. There is no one who can come to their aid or stop the carrying out of the sentence. They know they are going to die alone and cease to exist, forever. This unimaginable experience was the price paid for our salvation.
"The Savior could not see through the portals of the tomb. Hope did not present to Him His coming forth from the grave a conqueror, or tell Him of the Father's acceptance of the sacrifice. He feared that sin was so offensive to God that their separation was to be eternal. Christ felt the anguish that the sinner will feel when mercy shall no longer plead for the guilty race. It was the sense of sin, bringing the Father's wrath upon Him as the sinner's substitute that made the cup He drank so bitter, and broke the heart of the Son of God....The withdrawal of the Father's countenance from the Savior in this hour of supreme anguish pierced His heart with a sorrow that can never be fully understood by man. So great was this agony that His physical pain was hardly felt." (DA 753)
It was this separation struggle that forced this cry from the dying Savior, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46) We read that "doubts rent His soul in regard to His oneness with His Father." (ST August 14, 1879) This is the Son of God/Son of man questioning if He will ever see His Father again. His anxiety, His uncertainty is real because He is going through the experience of the second death. He is dying the quality of the second death in which all hope is gone.
Our Savior chose death, even eternal death, over life without us. Christ loved us enough to die forever if that was necessary. This is the cup that Christ was afraid to drink.
Where Was the Father?
Another aspect that is not fully appreciated is the question, Where was the Father during this experience?
"In the darkest hour, when Christ was enduring the greatest suffering that Satan could bring to torture His humanity, His Father hid from Him His face of love, comfort, and pity. In this trial His heart broke." (12 MR 407) During those dark afternoon hours, the Father was at His Son's side, but because of the covenant they had made together in eternity past, the Father must hide His presence during Jesus' suffering. He must not reach out to Jesus, for the salvation of the human race was dependent on His control at that moment. He must exert infinite, Godly restraint, to control His infinite, Godly desire, to help His frightened, suffering and dying Son, with whom He has shared eternity past. Jesus must have no awareness of the Father's presence, nor the eternal bond of love that had always been between them, because Jesus was dying the death of the sinner, with no hope or help.
The divine love of the Father for you and me restrained the overwhelming impulse to reach out and hold Jesus in His arms and assure Jesus that He was with His Son at that time, Jesus' greatest hour of need. God couldn't, He wouldn't, for if He did we all would have been lost. Oh, what pain the infinite heart of the Father must have endured, watching His innocent, beloved Son fear that He had been abandoned and left alone. How the Father withheld His divine embrace will be the study of the redeemed for endless ages of eternity.
We sometimes forget that the atonement is the suffering of the Godhead. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were purchasing our redemption. There was only one time in all eternity that there was a "sundering" of the Godhead. Only once was the everlasting bond among them severed. Only once was one of the eternal Trio forced to experience the total abandonment and separation from the others—a separation that literally broke the heart of the Son of God.
"It was necessary for the awful darkness to gather about His soul because of the withdrawal of the Father's love and favor; for He was standing in the sinner's place, and this darkness every sinner must experience...The heart of God yearned with greatest sorrow when His Son, the guiltless, was suffering the penalty of sin. This sundering of the divine powers will never again occur throughout the eternal ages." (Ms. 93, 1899)
Remember, throughout this experience, Jesus had choices to make. He did not save Himself, even when He feared that He was lost forever. He knew He could call out, "Enough; let the sinful race perish," and every angel in heaven would come to His rescue. But if Jesus would have come down from the cross to save Himself, the human race would be lost. As He hung on the cross, Satan continued to tempt Him, hurling at Him discouraging thoughts, such as: there are so few who will take advantage of your sacrifice; it's not worth all the suffering; no one cares; you are wasting your life for people who don't love you; they are an unthankful race of evil people; let them perish; come down from the cross and save yourself.
The emotional pain the Son of God endured from the sense of His Father's frown, from the filthiness and shame of the sins of the world having been laid on His shoulders, from the anguish of a soul in the absence of mercy and unable to sense His Father's presence—all these broke the heart of the Son of God. Simply, He chose death over life without us. He didn't want to be God if we couldn't be with Him. God chose not to exist forever if that is what it would take so we could live forever. Do you see why the trial of the cross was the greatest victory the universe has ever witnessed, or ever will? Jesus' death was the victory of faith. Through the darkest hours of the cross, Jesus had to rely on His previous knowledge of the Father. It was this that sustained Him as He endured the sense of God's disapproval and separation.
"Amid the awful darkness, apparently forsaken of God, Christ had drained the last dregs in the cup of human woe. In those dreadful hours, He had relied upon the evidence of His Father's acceptance heretofore given Him. He was acquainted with the character of His Father; He understood His justice, His mercy, and His great love. By faith He rested in Him whom it had ever been His joy to obey. And as in submission He committed Himself to God, the sense of the loss of His Father's favor was withdrawn. By faith, Christ was victor." (DA 756)
The Song of Moses and the Lamb
One more aspect needs to be considered. "And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb." (Revelation 15:2,3) What is this song?
After their terrible sin of the golden calf, God threatened to destroy Israel, and start over with Moses. "Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation." (Exodus 32:10) But Moses pled with God not to give the heathen nations an excuse to misrepresent God's character of love and mercy. "And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written." (Exodus 32:31,32) Moses actually asked for eternal death if God's character would be discredited and His plan ruined.
Moses and Christ share one thing in common—eternal death was preferable to the failure of God's plan of redemption. The song of Moses and the Lamb means that for the last generation, the remnant, what is important is not their eternal life, their hope of heaven, but the vindication of God's name and the success of the plan of redemption.
Do you see how this changes everything in our religious experience? No longer is our focus on being forgiven so we can have the assurance of personal salvation. Our reason for existence, for being Seventh-day Adventists, is to complete God's plan of redemption, to vindicate His name and character by disproving Satan's last accusation against God's plan. Satan says that sinners with fallen natures cannot obey God 100% of the time, that the gospel does not have that power.
Our motivation for resisting temptation and overcoming sin is not our hope for heaven or our fear of hell. We are not making daily decisions and asking questions about what is right or wrong because of our desire to be saved. Our motivation for being the remnant and keeping God's commandments is to be the last piece in the picture puzzle of God's plan of redemption, to be the final argument in the courtroom drama which has been going on for 6,000 years, proving that Satan is lying and his way doesn't work.
Our decisions about what is right and what is wrong, both individually and corporately, as a church, will not be based on what is allowable because of God's mercy and our hardness of heart, but on what will prove God right and Satan wrong. No longer will we ask what we can do and still be saved. Our only desire will be to vindicate God's name. We will abandon forever looking for the minimum necessary to be saved. We now want to know and do whatever will honor God.
After the close of probation, we will have fear and anxiety, not about our own salvation, but we will fear that we are misrepresenting God in some way. When we come to the point that we would rather be blotted out of the book of life and go into eternal nonexistence than to tarnish the name of God in any way, then we will be learning the song of Moses and the Lamb, a song which no other generation of God's people have ever or will ever learn, the song of the 144,000 who follow the Lamb exclusively, with no more forays into Satan's land, either knowingly or unknowingly.
My only fervent hope and wish is that this generation, here and now, will learn that song and complete God's salvation puzzle, with no more loose ends or pieces that don't fit.
We will begin with some of the most dramatic passages of Scripture in the Bible.
"And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." (Rev. 12:7-9)
"And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne." (Rev. 12:3-5)
Satan's most decisive attack against God after being cast out was against God's Son directly, but he was unsuccessful, so he turned his fury against the church which Christ established.
"And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days….And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth." (Rev. 12:6, 13-16)
For 1260 years the Christian church suffered the wrath of Satan, hiding in the hidden places of the earth in many cases. But again Satan failed to accomplish his purpose, so he turned all of his forces against the very last generation to live on planet Earth.
"And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." (Rev. 12:17) "And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed." (Rev. 13:11-15)
It is at this point that God decisively enters the picture again, to turn the apparent victory of Satan into final defeat.
"And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped." (Rev. 14:14-16) "And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before out God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death." (Rev. 12:10-11) "Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." (Rev. 14:12)
What a dramatic story, from the first battle in heaven to the final battle on earth. This is the storyline that we are living in on a day by day basis. We are very near the endpoint of the whole story, and we need to understand as clearly as possible what the battle is all about, and what part we are to play in the final battle.
The Beginning
To understand what is at stake, we need to go back to the beginning of the battle. From its very inception the great controversy has been over God's law. Satan challenged the law of God as being the enemy of peace. Satan said, "While the Creator demands self-sacrifice and self-denial of others, He Himself practices no self-denial and makes no self-sacrifice." Sin, Satan claimed, was because of God's law. God was responsible for sin.
How could God prove that His law is a law of love? Once the great controversy broke out in heaven, the stability of the divine government depended on someone unfolding the law of God-someone demonstrating to the whole universe what a beautiful thing God's law is.
When the scene of the battle shifted to this earth, Satan immediately challenged the truthfulness of God's commands. "And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." (Gen. 3:4,5) In other words, God is a liar. God's warning is meaningless. Eve would suffer no harm from disobeying. She need not obey God. Satan also propounded a theory that is still very popular today. He claimed that unalloyed goodness is not desirable; instead, a mixture of good and evil is far better.
The clearest picture of the early struggle between God and Satan is found in the book of Job.
"Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them. And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and upright man, one that feareth God and escheweth evil? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast thou not made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face." (Job. 1:6-11)
Satan claimed ownership of this earth, and God challenged this claim by pointing to Job as His faithful follower. Satan responded that Job did not really serve God out of love, but only for selfish reasons.
How nearly Satan came to success in his attempts to thwart the plans of God for this earth is noteworthy. During the Flood, only eight persons survived to continue the human race. Only a small remnant returned to Judea from Babylonian captivity.
God's Response
In the very day that Satan succeeded in turning Adam and Eve to his side, God made a far-reaching promise. "And I will put enmity between thee (Satan) and the woman, and between thy seed (Satan's followers) and her seed (the Deliverer); it (the Deliverer) shall bruise thy (Satan's) head, and thou (Satan) shalt bruise his (the Deliverer's) heel." (Gen. 3:15)
The controversy begun in heaven would continue on earth. It would be fought out over every individual. Ceaselessly, Satan and his angels would seek through deception to introduce dissension into every family, every workplace, every community, and every nation. They would persuade people to disregard God's health laws in addition to His moral laws.
The high point of God's response to Satan came in the person of His own Son, "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." (Phil. 2:6-8)
Christ's whole life was an unfolding of the law of God. Satan said that God's law was a law of selfishness. Jesus came to show that it was not. "The law of Jehovah is the tree; the gospel is the fragrant blossoms and fruit which it bears." (1SM 212) In other words, the law of God is the source from which all God's blessings flow, including His gospel of grace to repentant sinners. God's love and mercy are simply extensions of the principles of His law.
What does Calvary show us about the great controversy? Calvary shows us that God's law is good. If we love Calvary we must love the law of God, because Calvary is the law of God. Calvary shows what a beautiful thing God's law is. Calvary shows that Satan, not God, was responsible for sin. "At the cross of Calvary, love and selfishness stood face to face….Satan…made it evident that the real purpose of his rebellion was to dethrone God, and to destroy Him through Whom the love of God was shown." (DA 57)
"The death of Christ upon the cross made sure the destruction of him who has the power of death, who was the originator of sin….There will be no danger of another rebellion in the universe of God….It is through the efficacy of the cross that the angels of heaven are guarded from apostasy. Without the cross they would be no more secure against evil than were the angels before the fall of Satan….The plan of salvation, making manifest the justice and love of God, provides an eternal safeguard against defection in unfallen worlds, as well as among those who shall be redeemed by the blood of the Lamb….Oh, we do not comprehend the value of the atonement! If we did, we would talk more about it….Why should man not study the theme of redemption? It is the greatest subject that can engage the human mind." (ST Dec. 30, 1889)
It is only in the light of Calvary that we can see what sin is. The fact is that someone else has joined Satan in his rebellion. The whole world stands charged with the murder of the Son of God. "Not a soul knows what God is until he sees himself in the light reflected from the cross of Calvary, and detests himself in the bitterness of his soul." (TM 264,265)
The lightnings flashed, the thunders crashed.
The bolts of wrath He bore for me!
Then in the dark some fiend I see,
He nailed God's Son upon the tree.
That angry face was full of hate:
Just who could be, could be so vile?
He spat upon that lovely face;
Who could it be? Who could it be?
The darkness breaks; that fiend I see,
Oh, it was me! Yes, it was me!
I drove the nails at Calvary!
The truth at last-at last I see!
Do we have a true concept of what sin is? Every time we depart from right, do we see it in all its hateful, malignant nature? "Those who have permitted their minds to become beclouded in regard to what constitutes sin are fearfully deceived." (9T 267)
When we sin, the great thing is not so much the deed itself. It is the enmity which lies in the heart. Every time we depart from right, do we realize that in our hearts there exists murder against God? When a person repents, he vindicates God. He says, "God is not responsible for sin." A person who fails to repent of his sin, a person who blames his circumstances, a person who seeks an excuse for sin, virtually says, "God is the cause." Calvary proves, and the live of Jesus proves, that no circumstance in which a person can be plunged can be made an excuse for sin. There is no excuse for sinning!
Why So Long?
If God is going to exterminate the devil and all evil eventually, why does He not do so now? Why did He not do so long ago? Why does a good God permit evil to flourish so long? Perhaps because of the challenge given by Joshua long ago.
"And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." (Josh. 24:15) God desires our love too much to destroy it by demanding it. Freedom to make choices on the basis of evidence underlies the entire great controversy. God knew it was best for the universe to become wise about Satan and sin and about Himself and His love through examination of evidence.
But if Christ's life and death convinced all the loyal angels of God's goodness and of Satan's wickedness, could not God have destroyed Satan right after the cross? If the main questions about God's law and His character were answered by Christ's life and death, why did the great controversy need to go on? Why didn't God destroy the devil and all evil as soon as Jesus died on the cross?
The principal reason seems to be the dull stubbornness of human beings. Millions-billions-of us still prefer to believe what the serpent says about God instead of what the Bible says. Many of us are on Satan's side in the great controversy.
The Closing Argument
In the flesh of a Jew Jesus demonstrated that not only could Adam have overcome Satan in Eden, but also that ordinary people could overcome him. God wants His loyal people to help vindicate Him and His laws. In Ezekiel 36:23 He says that the nations will know that He is the Lord when He will be vindicated "in you before their eyes."
Soon everyone on Planet Earth will have taken sides, and only two clear-cut parties will remain. One of these parties will be composed of people who have chosen to believe Satan's falsehoods. On the other hand, the people who have faith in God and who have sought to have characters like His will be found obeying Him, lovingly observing all of God's commandments.
Satan still challenges God. He says to God, "All right, Jesus defeated me. Jesus lived the law of God. But where are the people who can do that? Yes, you have had people who have accepted Calvary and their sins have been forgiven. You cover them with the garments of your righteousness, and every now and then they commit sin again. Where are the people who will keep the law of God perfectly as Jesus did? You are in the sanctuary covering up the mistakes of your people. I have not been defeated yet." Then God says to Satan, "I will produce these people, through my grace, in the most degenerate age of earth's history. I will separate them from all sin completely. They will reflect the image of Jesus fully. I will step out of the sanctuary and they will live in the sight of a holy God without an intercessor."
Such a people will be produced that will be the wonder of the whole universe. Through them Satan will be forever defeated, and every question that could be raised against the law of God-can humanity really keep it?-will be forever answered in that special people which Scripture calls the 144,000.
The Fit Man
Among the yearly feasts given by God to the Jewish nation there was a very special day called the Day of Atonement. The purpose of this day is concisely described in these words, "For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord." (Lev. 16:30) This was a special day of cleansing in Israel, when all sin was removed from the sanctuary and the people.
Near the end of the ceremonies of the day an unusual thing happened. "And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat: And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness." (Lev. 16: 20-22) As a necessary part of the cleansing of the sanctuary, they had to find a fit man, someone who was able, someone who was prepared, to lead the scapegoat out into the wilderness.
Before Satan can be cast out of this world, he must be cast completely out of the lives of God's people. All hidden iniquity must be revealed. The cleansing of the sanctuary is not just a work of cleansing in heaven, but it means the final making away of sin in the lives of God's people, taking away the dominion of the man of sin for all eternity. Here is a people who for the first time in the history of sin have had all their sins blotted out, and have been sealed for eternity. God can say, in the presence of the whole universe, "Here is a people who have been completely separated from sin." And He will promise, "They will never go back into sin again." And by virtue of the fact that these people will never go back into sin after the final work in the most holy place, by the mere fact that once they have been separated from sin they will never touch the stuff again, Satan is proved to be responsible. But on the other hand, if Satan could lead them into a departure from right in the least particular, he would win his point.
In the Day of Atonement ceremony there had to be a fit man that could lead the scapegoat into the wilderness. There had to be someone who could take him away, who was able and fit enough and strong enough to do it. While the real scapegoat is being led away he makes a desperate attempt to escape. During the plagues all the energy of Satan is expended against the 144,000. "While the plagues are falling, the scapegoat is being led away. He makes a mighty struggle to escape, but he is held fast by the hand that leads him. If he should effect his escape, Israel would lose their lives. I saw that it would take time to lead away the scapegoat into the land of forgetfulness after the sins were put upon his head." (Spalding-Magan, p. 2)
When Jesus steps out of the sanctuary He virtually says to Satan, "Here are my people, Satan. You can do whatever you want to them, but you cannot take their lives." Satan has full charge of the world and all the legions of darkness. All the wicked join with him, and a whole vanguard comes against God's people to overthrow them. But he is held fast! If Satan could lead one of the 144,000 into sin, if he could lead one of them to depart in the least particular from the law of God, he would triumph.
But the fit man will be able through the strength of Jesus to hold Satan fast. He will stand tall. It is in the 144,000 that Jesus finally wins the great controversy. It is a desperate struggle between Jesus and Satan. In the Incarnation it was a struggle between Jesus and Satan personally, and during the time of the plagues it is again a struggle between Jesus and Satan, but this time between Satan and Jesus lived out in the experience of the 144,000. By the mere fact that they do not fall into sin, but keep the law of God perfectly, Satan is defeated. His cause is lost, and he is held fast.
God has to give the angels in heaven some assurance that the plan of salvation is completely successful. What assurance do the angels have that the redeemed who have died down through the ages will not go back into sin again? Some of them accepted Jesus on their deathbeds. What assurance do the angels have that they will never sin again?
When God blots out the sins of the living saints, He allows Satan to test them to the uttermost. Satan puts them through every trial that he can devise, under the most discouraging circumstances, but they prove that the plan of salvation is a success. But if the scapegoat could escape, all Israel would lose their lives, not just the 144,000. God is waiting for a people upon whom He is going to stake His throne. God is going to risk all on the 144,000. If the scapegoat should escape, Israel would be lost. The plan of salvation would be proven a failure.
There is only one thing this group will fear during the time of Jacob's trouble. They realize that everything depends on them. They realize that they could disgrace God's throne. This is why this company is going to taste more fully than any other people the experience of Jesus.
In the book of Hebrews there is a listing of the great heroes of the Bible. At the end of the list is this remarkable promise. "And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect." (Heb. 11:40) There could be no resurrection of the righteous without the development of the 144,000. These heroes are waiting upon God's church for someone who can vindicate God's character, someone who will defeat Satan, someone who can lead the scapegoat away.
When God raised up a movement in 1844, it was not His purpose to raise up just another church, along with many other churches. The special work of the 144,000 is to call out a people to receive the seal of the living God. Not until that is done can the work be finished, and that work is to finish with sin. He is waiting for a people whom He can use to do this special work.
Sometimes we lose sight of the purpose of the third angel's message. God has not raised up a movement just to prepare men and women for death. If we go on in the way we are going, Satan could never be led away and the work could never be finished. The devil comes along and tells us, "You are doing a wonderful work in the world. You are raising up schools and hospitals and institutions and churches. Just carry on with the good work you are doing." Anything to blind us to the work that is being left undone in the most holy place. God wants to blot out our sins and give us the seal of the living God. Such a victory is waiting for God's people in the most holy place.
Jesus says, "Behold, I have set before thee an open door." The door is open, the latter rain is waiting. It awaits the demand and reception of the church. Jesus is waiting to finish with sin. If God's people set their faces like a flint to go up to the sanctuary, that work will be done.
May we indeed see the purpose of the third angel's message. May we see what Jesus is waiting to do. May we, through Jesus' grace, strive with all our might to be among that special company which is called the hundred and forty-four thousand.
The greatest trial in history was brewing. The most majestic created being was filing suit against his perfect Creator-God. Lucifer, son of the morning, allowed his mind to become filled with pride because of his superior beauty, ability, and position. After all, Lucifer was the five-star general of the angelic host.
We are going to look through some inspired windows to understand what actually transpired before sin ever came down to this earth.
But when God said to His Son, "Let us make man in our image," Satan was jealous of Jesus. He wished to be consulted concerning the formation of man, and because he was not, he was filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred. (EW 145-146)
The first thing we learn about this challenge to God's authority is that the tipping point came over God's plan to create the human family. Thus our existence and Satan's rebellion were tied closely together.
He complained of the supposed defects in the management of heavenly things, and sought to fill the minds of the angels with his disaffection....Thus the seeds of alienation were planted, afterward to be drawn out and presented before the heavenly courts as originating, not with Satan, but with the angels....In secret he whispered his disaffection to the angels…A word here and a word there opened the way for a long list of suppositions. In his artful way he drew expressions of doubt from them. Then, when he was interviewed, he accused those whom he had educated. He laid all the disaffection on the ones he had led....The Lord saw the use Satan was making of his powers, and he set before him truth in contrast with falsehood. Time and time again during the controversy, Satan was ready to be convinced, ready to admit that he was wrong. But those he had deceived were also ready to accuse him of leaving them. What should he do? --submit to God, or continue in a course of deception? (RH Sept. 7, 1897)
This process had to take a fair amount of time to develop, and so we learn that nothing was done in haste as Satan and God moved ever closer to a showdown.
To curb this brewing palace-coup, the Father called an assembly of all the heavenly host, and explained that the Son had from all eternity been equal with Himself in omnipresence, in omniscience, in power and authority. Although Lucifer was convinced, and almost surrendered to Christ, his growing pride prevented him. In turn he assembled the angels and described how unjust it was for God to bar him from their secret councils. "As one aggrieved, he related the preference God had given Jesus to the neglect of himself." (SR 14) Lucifer finally declared that he would take the throne of Christ by force. With this threatening news, loyal angels rushed to inform Christ of Lucifer's plans.
They found the Father in conference with His beloved Son to determine the means by which, for the best good of the loyal angels, the assumed authority of Satan could be forever put down. The great God could at once have hurled this archdeceiver from heaven; but this was not His purpose. He would give the rebellious an equal chance to measure strength and might with His own Son and His loyal angels. In this battle every angel would choose his own side and be manifest to all....All the heavenly host were summoned to appear before the Father, to have each case determined. Satan unblushingly made known his dissatisfaction that Christ should be preferred before him. He stood up proudly and urged that he should be equal with God and should be taken into conference with the Father and understand His purposes....Then Satan exultingly pointed to his sympathizers, comprising nearly one-half of all the angels, and exclaimed, "These are with me! Will you expel these also, and make such a void in heaven?" He then declared that he was prepared to resist the authority of Christ and to defend his place in heaven by force of might, strength against strength. (SR 17-18)
This brings us to the first record of this challenge in the Scriptural record. "For thou has said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds: I will be like the most High." (Isa. 14: 13,14)
Then we read the distressing outcome of this rebellion. "And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angel fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." (Rev. 12: 7-9)
What happened shortly after this is most significant, since it revealed the true character of Lucifer and that of Christ.
After Satan and those who fell with him were shut out of heaven, and he realized that he had forever lost all its purity and glory, he repented, and wished to be reinstated in heaven. He was willing to take his proper place, or any position that might be assigned him. But no; heaven must not be placed in jeopardy. All heaven might be marred should he be taken back; for sin originated with him, and the seeds of rebellion were within him. Both he and his followers wept, and implored to be taken back into the favor of God. (EW 146)
Here we have Satan repenting with weeping, and imploring God for mercy. Surely this should be enough for God to give him another chance.
Satan trembled as he viewed his work....Where is he? Is it not all a horrible dream? Is he shut out of heaven?...The loss he had sustained of all the privileges of heaven seemed too much to be borne. He wished to regain these....His mighty frame shook as with a tempest. An angel from heaven was passing. He called him and entreated an interview with Christ. This was granted him. He then related to the Son of God that he repented of his rebellion and wished again the favor of God. He was willing to take the place God had previously assigned him and be under His wise command. Christ wept at Satan's woe, but told him...that...the seeds of rebellion were still within him....When Satan became fully convinced that there was no possibility of his being reinstated in the favor of God, he manifested his malice with increased hatred and fiery vehemence. (SR 25-27)
What a dramatic demonstration of the difference between outward repentance even with weeping, and heart surrender with faith that God knows best. Satan was sorry because he had lost his privileges and his future, and he showed that his spirit had not changed as he expressed his hatred against God. If Satan was truly repentant, would he not have acknowledged to Christ that his I-centered spirit was completely contrary to Christ's others-centered spirit?
The Scene Shifts to Earth
Why did Satan next focus on getting Adam and Eve to sin? "If...God would make some provision whereby they might be pardoned,...then himself and all the fallen angels would be in a fair way to share with them of God's mercy." (SR 27) We must remember that Satan's desire to return to heaven is an important key to understanding the ensuing great controversy. With malice he anticipated the creation and seduction of Adam and Eve. He wanted to take advantage of any mercy God would give to them as sinners, for his own reinstatement back into heaven.
As we follow the drama, now played out on earth, we need to understand what the controversy is really all about.
Jan Paulsen said it well. "In God's final and ultimate answer to the sin problem there are issues to be taken into account that are wider and larger than my personal salvation....For the larger picture--namely, for the eternal security of...(all) creation,...God will also have provided a far-reaching answer that deals with the roots as well as the consequences of rebellion." (Adventist Review, Nov. 30, 2000)
The student...should gain a knowledge of its (the Bible's) grand central theme, of God's original purpose for the world, of the rise of the great controversy, and of the work of redemption. He should understand the nature of the two principles that are contending for supremacy, and should learn to trace their working through the records of history and prophecy, to the great consummation. He should see how this controversy enters into every phase of human experience; how in every act of life he himself reveals the one or the other of the two antagonistic motives; and how, whether he will or not, he is even now deciding upon which side of the controversy he will be found. (Ed 190)
You see, in a very real sense, God is on trial. For more than six thousand years He has been facing accusations, and the whole universe is watching to see how the drama will terminate. Will love, the foundation of His law and government, prove stronger than pride, self-exaltation, and competition against others? Romans 3:4 says, "You must win Your case when you are being tried." (Today's English Version)
Satan's charges against God are not easily resolved, because of his knowledge of God's fairness.
Satan has an accurate knowledge of the sins which he has tempted them to commit, and he presents these in the most exaggerated light, declaring, "Will God banish me and my angels from His presence, and yet reward those who have been guilty of the same sins? Thou canst not do this, O Lord, in justice. Thy throne will not stand in righteousness and judgment. Justice demands that sentence be pronounced against them." (5T 474)
Speaking cosmically, there is something far more important than your salvation or mine, or the salvation of all those who live in this tiny planet. From Romans 3:4 again, "So that you may be proved right in Your words and prevail in Your judging." (New International Version)
The plan of salvation had a broader and deeper purpose than the salvation of man. It was not for this alone that Christ came to the earth; it was not merely that the inhabitants of this little world might regard the law of God as it should be regarded; but it was to vindicate the character of God before the universe....The act of Christ in dying for the salvation of man would not only make heaven accessible to men, but before the universe it would justify God and His Son in their dealing with the rebellion of Satan. (PP 68,69)
Only in this way can Satan's plea for restoration to heaven be silenced.
How Will God Vindicate His Character?
The cross is a revelation to our dull senses of the pain that, from its very inception, sin has brought to the heart of God. Every departure from the right, every deed of cruelty, every failure of humanity to reach His ideal, brings grief to Him. (Ed 263)
Looking ahead to His coming death, Jesus said, "Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." (John 12: 31,32) The whole universe would be able to see the supreme example of the contrast between God's love and Satan's hatred.
When the disciples reported that they were able to cast out demons in the name of Jesus, He said, "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." (Luke 10:18) This new fall of Satan from power and the sympathy of heavenly beings was far more important than his original fall described in Revelation 12. Now he was losing credibility in his accusations against God and Christ.
However, an inordinate preoccupation with the cross is a distortion of the gospel. The true Christian cross is not a crucifix on which Jesus still hangs. The true Christian cross is empty. He is not there; He is risen. The empty cross is a symbol of the risen Lord. Faith takes us not only to the cross but through the cross to the living Lord, to whom all power in heaven and on earth has been given, and against whom the gates of hell shall not prevail.
"Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession." (Heb. 4:14) "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Heb. 12:2)
Christ lives today and is seated at the right hand of God. This is good news! This is also the gospel. Without the resurrection the cross would only memorialize a wasteful martyrdom.
Although by crucifying the perfect Son of God, Satan had signed his own death warrant, and had uprooted himself from the sympathies of the heavenly beings, "yet Satan was not then destroyed. The angels did not even then understand all that was involved in the great controversy. The principles at stake were to be more fully revealed. And for the sake of man, Satan's existence must be continued. Man as well as angels must see the contrast between the Prince of Light and the prince of darkness. He must choose whom he will serve." (DA 761)
The Final Generation
Throughout the Bible, God makes it very clear that nothing is more important for all the universe than to have His reputation cleared and His name honored. And that is exactly what John is telling us in Revelation 7. Jesus will not return until God has a people who make guarding the name of God the most important purpose of their lives.
John saw four angels holding back the winds of destruction for a very specific purpose. "And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads." (Rev. 7: 2,3)
Why is God holding back these last-day winds of terror and destruction? God's people are not yet ready! God is saying, "Hold back the east wind of human madness. My people haven't caught on yet as to the purpose of the gospel. Hold back the west wind of satanic fury until my people are ready to carry out their last assignment. Hold the winds until my people are ready to be sealed. Hold the winds until my people are ready for me to use them in my final message to earth's last generation."
Down here in the days of the held winds, God is telling the universe when He writes His name in the foreheads of His faithful ones, "Listen to them. You can trust what they say. I can give them my seal of approval. The quality goes in before my name goes on." What could be more wonderful than to have our heavenly Father write His name across our foreheads? By that signature God is saying, "Here are people who have let my Holy Spirit do His work; people who indeed reflect my glory. I am not embarrassed by how they represent me, and they have my seal of approval."
What is this seal of God that makes Satan angry? "Just as soon as the people of God are sealed in their foreheads--it is not any seal or mark that can be seen, but a settling into the truth, both intellectually and spiritually, so they cannot be moved--just as soon as God's people are sealed and ready for the shaking, it will come." (Mar 200)
This is the time when angels and all the unfallen universe are judging whether God is fair in His judgments about the men and women that He is sealing. He will seal them through a gospel of unlimited grace--grace that is powerful enough to overcome all inherited and cultivated tendencies to sin.
To prevent this sealing work, Satan offers some very attractive gospels of his own. He says, "Exalt the law as being so high above human attainment that no man or woman could ever hope to keep it, but don't worry, you don't have to keep the commandments, because Jesus kept the law for you."
He says, "You can't keep the commandments because you were born a sinner; you live in sinful flesh and you will always be falling short. But don't worry, as long as you are sorry for your sins, that is all the Lord requires. God looks at Jesus' record in the judgment and not yours."
He says, "You shouldn't try to keep the commandments, because if you do, you will be a legalist. The main thing is to have a relationship with Jesus."
Of course, you recognize some half-truths in these attractive deceptions. But when you are told that it is either unnecessary or impossible to be overcomers, remember that somebody called Satan is redefining and confusing the plan of salvation. And John calls this deception the wine of Babylon.
Satan hates the everlasting gospel because the purpose of the gospel is to reproduce the character of Jesus, which just drives Satan furious. He is furious when people see through his false gospels, which are really a new legalism. When men and women think they can be saved by believing in a legal adjustment on the books of heaven without a character adjustment on earth, and then calling this righteousness by faith, then you know you are listening to the new legalism.
Can anyone imagine what it will be like when men and women wake up in the second resurrection screaming at their pastors and teachers, "You told me that grace covered my sins and that character did not count." Or, "You told me that my assurance of salvation was in believing that Jesus died for me and that I could not add anything to what He did." Or, "You told me that faith plus nothing was the way to avoid legalism." Or, "You told me that any attempt to add obedience to faith would be legalism." Or, "You told me that Ellen White had no theological authority."
Let us not be distracted with limited gospels straight out of Babylon. Limit not the Holy One of Israel. Give Him a chance. The good news is that Jesus changes people so that they can be sealed with His Father's approval. The faith of Jesus is the same kind of faith that kept Jesus from sinning. And all heaven is waiting to seal that kind of person in these last days before the wind blows, before this world becomes a madhouse.
How Does This Apply to Us?
If we are to be a sealable people, we must have an attitude adjustment. "The Lord has no place in His work for those who have a greater desire to win the crown than to bear the cross. He wants men who are more intent upon doing their duty than upon receiving their reward--men who are more solicitous for principle than for promotion." (MH 476,477)
Ellen White characterizes the popular gospel as "a way of escape from suffering rather than as a deliverance from sin." (COL 47) Lucifer wanted to be reinstated to the privileges of heaven without the character of heaven. Are we looking at heaven as an escape from a difficult world or as final freedom from our own selfishness?
A prisoner looks out of his cell window upon a beautiful park where his family and Jesus are waiting. The prisoner merely wishes to escape his restraints and have fun with his family. But Jesus and His family are hoping that we prisoners will desire godly fellowship enough to separate ourselves from the sins which hurt and imprisoned us in the first place. Christ wishes not merely to rescue us from the strife and suffering which our sins bring, but to rescue us from the selfish, impatient and deceptive dispositions which cause our bondage.
It is true that we need to be concerned about our character development. We do need to be concerned about our need for Christ's righteous lifestyle in order to be saved. But do we not also need to define Christ's gospel unselfishly, in the light of how our loving, cheerful obedience brings happiness and honor to God and to others? We tend to look at salvation focusing only on our own happiness and salvation. What we need is to see the broader and long-range picture--from eternity past to eternity future.
The great controversy between Christ and Satan puts those of us who are living in these last days on center stage as God's star witnesses, defending His justice for giving us mercy and an opportunity to learn and live like Christ. Should not the perfect inhabitants of heaven be given an opportunity to declare whom they would feel comfortable having as their neighbors throughout eternity? The underlying question which God places before the entire universe is this: "Is there sufficient power in Christ's gospel of the kingdom to cleanse teams of people from all unrighteousness?"
The nagging question remains--will Jeremiah 50: 20 ever be fulfilled? "In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found."
Just how important is God's last remnant to His eternal purpose? "In order to destroy sin and its results, He gave His best Beloved, and He has put it in our power, through co-operation with Him, to bring this scene of misery to an end." (Ed 264) What an incredible promise, and a revelation of how important we are to the fulfillment of God's plans.
Satan knows how much is riding on the success of the final generation, and he will not go quietly into the night. "While the plagues are falling, the scapegoat is being led away. He makes a mighty struggle to escape, but he is held fast by the hand that leads him. If he should effect his escape, Israel would lose their lives. I saw that it would take time to lead away the scapegoat into the land of forgetfulness after the sins were put on his head." (Spalding-Magan, p. 2)
The Last Chapter
The wicked are brought back to life. Seeing the vast multitude of his followers, Satan recovers from the hopelessness that he suffered during the millennium.
At the critical moment, high above the city, appears the throne of God, and like a panoramic view, all will see in detail the history of Satan's rebellion in heaven and the whole sad six thousand years of human misery. Each one, human and demonic, will see his or her own part in the great drama. Each one will see the infinite mercy and justice of God.
Lucifer and his angels resisted every effort of God and the loyal angels as they urged them to change their minds. The rebels knowingly chose the side of rebellion and decided to brave the consequences. At the end of the thousand years, of those within or outside the city, not even one would choose to change sides. The ones outside covet the wealth and splendor of the city of God, but they could not endure the atmosphere of holiness and love found inside. Heaven would be hell to them.
It is now that "Satan bows down and confesses the justice of his sentence." (Mar 345) In full view of the panoramic evidence, he is compelled to proclaim that God has given him every advantage. God has given him all the talented humans he could deceive--all the healthy, wealthy, wise, powerful, skilled, handsome and beautiful he could employ--and they have all turned against him. Furthermore, Satan will be compelled to acknowledge that God maintained the very slimmest army possible--the weak, the ignorant, the unaccredited, the untitled and unknown, the poor, the unattractive--and with these leftover scraps He overcame all the hosts of evil.
Paul sums it up. "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." (1 Cor. 1:27,28)
"Satan sees that his voluntary rebellion has unfitted him for heaven." (Mar 345) He is self-condemned, thus fulfilling the prediction of Paul, "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,...and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Phil. 2: 10,11)
For more than seven thousand years Satan has been plugged into a life-support system to which he had no right. Now of his own volition he acknowledges God's justice. God is absolved from all Satan's charges. The at-one-ment is complete. "Every mouth will be stopped, and all the hosts of rebellion will be speechless....The whole universe will have become witnesses to the nature and results of sin. And its utter extermination, which in the beginning would have brought fear to angels and dishonor to God, will now vindicate His love and establish His honor before the universe." (FLB 71)
And how has God been able to accomplish this great victory and protect His universe from sin's entry ever again? "The honor of God, the honor of Christ, is involved in the perfection of the character of His people." (DA 671) "The honor of Christ must stand complete in the perfection of the character of His chosen people....Your character is His glory revealed in you." (ST Nov. 25, 1897)
Let us determine to be that final generation through whom God can reveal His grace and His power. May He not have to search for another remnant because we were too careless and lazy to respond to His call. This is His hour and we can be His remnant.
[I am indebted to the insights of David Lee and Herbert Douglass in their studies of the great controversy and its implications for us living in these momentous times]
A number of years ago the Seventh-day Adventist Church voted to have twenty-seven brief statements describing the beliefs held in common by members of the denomination. Anyone becoming a member of the Adventist Church must state that he or she is in agreement with these twenty-seven statements. Do these statements define the essence of Adventism? Have we gotten to the heart of Adventism by reading these statements?
I understand the twenty-seven statements to be like a picket fence that defines the property lines. It tells you where your property ends and where the adjacent property begins. It distinguishes Adventism from other Christian groups. It shows why we are Seventh-day Adventists and not Baptists or something else. But does the picket fence tell us very much about the house that lies inside? Do the twenty-seven statements get to the essence of what it means to be a Seventh-day Adventist?
Seventh-day Adventism is also a way of life. We prepare for the Sabbath on Friday, we go to church on Sabbath morning, and we close the Sabbath at sundown. Our dietary choices are somewhat different than the typical American diet. We have grown up with a cultural heritage, and we are used to the lifestyle of being Adventist. Is this what it means to be a Seventh-day Adventist? Or is there more we need to understand to get to the heart of Adventism?
The Beginning of Adventism
When Jesus died for all mankind, was personal salvation secured for all who chose to receive it? Could the disciples of Jesus have the assurance that they would be saved because of the cross? Absolutely. Were there any Seventh-day Adventists standing around the cross? No. That happened eighteen hundred years before Adventism appeared on the scene. Yet forgiveness of sins and the assurance of salvation was offered right then to all who believed. So Adventism was not called into existence to offer the people the assurance of salvation, was it? That was taken care of long before there was an Adventist.
When Jesus was inaugurated as our High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary, to intercede for mankind for the next eighteen hundred years, were there any Adventists around then? It seems that Adventism was not needed for that work either. The work of Jesus in sprinkling our prayers with the incense of His righteousness was initiated long before there was an Adventist. The ministry of the Holy Spirit in nurturing and caring for Christians in a church setting did not need the existence of Adventism at all.
Now all of these things are vital to Christianity, and we are to hold them as very important for us today, but Adventists have inherited these truths from others. These truths were established without any need for the existence of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Then why was Adventism needed?
Revelation 14:7 tells us to "Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come." Now the hour of God's judgment began in 1844, and with it began the final atonement, the cleansing of the sanctuary, and the blotting out of sin. Was this the time period when Adventism appeared on the scene? Could it be that the existence of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is directly and intimately related to the cleansing of the sanctuary? Is that the reason for its existence? But what does this all mean? What are the issues at stake?
The Great Controversy
Satan has challenged God's character and His right to rule the universe. Satan has said that God's unfitness to rule is proved by His giving a law that could not be kept. Satan has had great success in advancing his claims in the great controversy. He has even gotten God's chosen people in the Old Testament to think that God is unfair and harsh. In the great apostasy after New Testament times Satan convinced Christians that God wants certain rituals and human works to supplement Christ's work at the cross. Just by reading the Bible and church history, you might think that Satan is going to win this battle.
This fear is addressed in Daniel 8:13 by several questions. How long will this go on? How long will God's good name be trodden underfoot? How long will the sanctuary be trampled? Will Satan win, after all? The answer comes in verse 14. No, this will not go on forever. After 2300 days the sanctuary will be cleansed. There will be an end to the defaming of God's good name. God will be vindicated. Romans 3:4 says it well. "That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged." The word "justified" in this context means acquitted of charges, declared innocent, vindicated.
Now Jesus did vindicate God's law and His character in the most noble demonstration ever seen on earth. Jesus showed that God's law is good and His character is love. But one nagging question remained unanswered. Can sinful human beings who have spent half of their lives in rebellion really live without rebelling any more? Maybe Jesus could, but can they?
Some have expressed the thought that God's vindication was completed on the cross, and that nothing further is necessary to vindicate God and His government. But the evidence is clear that the vindication of God was not completed at the cross; that God is waiting for a final vindication before the end of sin on this planet. "All heaven is waiting to hear us vindicate God's law." (RH April 16, 1901) There is still a need to prove that God's law is good and right for sinners.
"Christ is waiting with longing desire for the manifestation of Himself in His church. When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own." (COL 69) This famous quotation clearly says that the second coming must wait until Christ's character is seen in His professed people. The only possible reason for such a hold in God's plans for this earth is that something must yet be demonstrated about Satan's charges and God's character.
Revelation 14:5 describes the last generation who will live on earth before Jesus comes. "And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God." God has made an incredible promise here. He claims that He will produce a people who will be without deceit or fault of any kind. In DA 671 is this classic statement: "The honor of God, the honor of Christ, is involved in the perfection of the character of His people." It is not our honor or salvation that is involved here, but God's name and His character. He has promised that He will perfect His people. Can He really do it? If He cannot make us perfect, then His word is a lie and Satan wins the great controversy. It's that simple.
"The honor of His throne is staked for the fulfillment of His word unto us." (COL 148) Whenever God promises something, He puts His name behind His promise. His throne was at stake when Christ came to our earth, and His throne is at stake in what He will do through the last generation. "Every character will be fully developed; and all will show whether they have chosen the side of loyalty or that of rebellion. Then the end will come. God will vindicate His law and deliver His people." (DA 763) It is important to note that God does the vindicating of His own name, but it is also vital to understand that He will do the vindicating in the characters of His people. The full development of righteous and wicked characters is necessary for the final demonstration of God's character and law. The end of sin on this planet is clearly dependent on God's vindication as He brings the plan of redemption to completion.
It is significant that Ellen White calls all of this the final atonement. At the cross the sacrifice was completed but the atonement was not completed there. Right here we have the difference between Adventism and all other Christian religions. The final atonement is all about when and how God will win the great controversy and how soon Jesus can come. This means that the purpose of Adventism's existence is to prove that Satan is a liar and that God is telling the truth in the great controversy. It's that simple. That is the message and the essence of Adventism.
The only hope for eternal security from rebellion ever arising again in the universe is when no one will ever consider Satan's accusations any more because they have been proved false in the arena of demonstration. Of course this requires the involvement of God's people in this demonstration. Our role is to allow God to come into our lives and do what He said He could do--cleanse our hearts and make us totally obedient to Him.
Do you really want to end sin on this planet, my friend? Are you tired of hearing about child abuse? Are you tired of hearing about the senseless violence of wars of aggression? Are you tired of hearing about the abuse of animals over which man has been given dominion? Are you tired of hearing about injustice in the court system, where too often the abundance of wealth determines the outcome of a case? There is only one way to end these problems, and that is the second coming of Christ. These abuses cannot be solved by picketing or boycotts or rioting. These methods might alleviate some of our pain but they are not the solution. The only way the ugliness of sin can be stopped is by allowing Jesus to come back. Please note that I did not say waiting for Jesus to come back. He is waiting for us; we are not waiting for Him.
The mission of Adventism is different from the mission of any other Christian group that has ever existed. Adventism's mission is different from the mission of the early Christian church; it is different from the mission of the Waldenses; it is different from the mission of Martin Luther. Our mission is completely unique. It has never been given to any other group of people on the face of this earth. The reason is simply that we are living in the Day of Atonement when the cleansing of the sanctuary is in process, and there are unique issues involved with this Day.
When Can Christ Return?
The second coming of Christ is not possible just at any time, because it is dependent on God's victory in the great controversy. In the 1840's God led out a people, and they had a marvelous experience. But after the great disappointment things fell apart, and God's people didn't have the courage to move forward unitedly. They fragmented and only a few survived through this difficult period. Jesus wanted very much to return very soon after 1844 but He could not because His people were not united and moving together with Him. So Jesus put things on hold, much like space launch missions in Florida are put on hold when something is wrong with the equipment.
After forty years of wandering in the wilderness, Jesus came again to His people and asked them if they were willing to move forward with Him. But once again God's people balked. Instead of asking "What does God's Word say?" they were asking "What do our leaders say?" We have spent a good part of the last century denying that we really delayed Christ's coming for one hundred years. We have claimed that our forefathers' repentance was genuine and we have been teaching righteousness by faith ever since. In reality the denial of the 1888 message is just as real and strong today as it was in 1890. As a result of our failure in the 1890's Christ had to put His plans on hold once again, this time for over a century. Now He is making yet another appeal to the Seventh-day Adventist movement He is telling us that He is ready to take us home if we are ready to move unitedly with Him. The question for us is identical to the question of 1888. What will happen this time? Will we respond in such a way that God can finally carry out His plan, or will we continue to put our selfish interests above the vindication of God in the great controversy?
Lessons From Israel
When God called Israel to be His chosen people, it was not His purpose to qualify them alone as worthy of salvation. He wanted Israel to be His witness to the nations of the excellence of His character and His government. The purpose of Israel's existence was to enlighten the world so that all would welcome Jesus when He came to earth. Did Israel succeed or fail in its mission? We know that they did not prepare the world for the first coming of Christ. Please notice the approach of Christ in light of their failure. Have you noticed that Jesus spent very little time in outreach to the Gentiles--the world? Most of Jesus' time and energy was spent on efforts to restore Israel by bringing them to repentance. They were the people through whom God wanted to enlighten the world. So Jesus spent most of His time doing the most difficult work of all--breaking down the walls of apathy and prejudice to bring them back to obedience to God.
Now the purpose of Adventism is exactly the same as the task given to Israel. God is not qualifying Adventists alone as worthy of salvation, but He wants us to be His witness to the world of the excellence of His character and His government. Our mission is to prepare the world for the second coming of Christ. Now the question must be honestly addressed: Is Adventism succeeding in its mission?
Perhaps we can find an answer in an editorial by William Johnsson in the Adventist Review of July 3, 1986. A Gallup Poll was taken to determine the attitude of the public to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. "Although 70 percent of respondents say they have heard or read about the church, when asked what they like best about us, 52 percent can give no answer. Another 21 percent say 'Nothing in particular.' That is, fully 73 percent of the public can think of no attractive feature about the church. That figure is almost exactly paralleled by responses to the question 'What do you like least about Adventists?' Again 51 percent gave no answer, and another 20 percent say they don't dislike anything in particular. The church's failure to project a sharp image concerns me… I'm troubled that we are hiding our light under a bushel."
In another public survey reported in the Adventist Review of February, 1995, only 53 percent had heard about the Seventh—day Adventist Church. In addition, there was a marked increase in the number who misidentify us with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or Jehovah's Witnesses.
Now we must ask the question again: Are we succeeding or failing in our mission to prepare the world for the second coming of Christ? The truth which is very difficult for us to face is that we are in jeopardy of failing just as the Jews failed two thousand years ago.
Inspiration spells out God's plan for this church. "Christ designs that heaven's order, heaven's plan of government, heaven's divine harmony, shall be represented in His church on earth. Thus in His people He is glorified." (DA 680) Notice that God is glorified when His church reveals heaven's plan of government to the world. Is heaven's plan of government currently being seen in the Seventh-day Adventist Church? Do human plans too often dominate over God's expressed will for this church?
"God's people have a great work to do.. ..The world must see in the church of God true order, true discipline, true organization." (Ms. 30, 1900) This is when we will fulfill our mission and allow Jesus to return to this world "Through the church eventually will be made manifest the final and full display of the love of God to the world that is to be lightened with its glory." (TM 50) Notice that God's love will be seen through the church. It will not come through angels or the rocks, but through God's people. Thus the success of God's church in representing His character is very important to the finishing of the great controversy.
Since our church is currently not succeeding in its mission to prepare the world for Jesus' return, what are we to do? One approach that many are adopting today is to ignore the problems in the Adventist Church and to go out to the world to do outreach work. This approach is attractive because Jesus told us to take the gospel to every nation, and because many are receptive to the gospel, while the church seems to be very resistant to any major reformations in its midst. Further, if we just forget about the disobedience within the church and concentrate on soulwinning, we will receive much praise from the church itself for the good work we are doing. In addition, it is personally fulfilling to give Bible studies and lead people into readiness for baptism.
But is this approach the one Christ used when He came to His failing chosen people? For three and one-half years Jesus spent His time trying to restore His precious church that was in danger of self-destruction. He spent almost no time in outreach to the Gentile world, in spite of the fact that many Gentile souls were in need of the gospel. Jesus' first priority was trying to restore His people so that they could give the message of truth to the Gentile world.
The late Henry Baasch, who served as a conference president, shares with us a vital principle and an important warning. "Music is made up of three parts: melody, rhythm and accompaniment. All three are essential, but are not equal in importance. The melody should have the most prominent part and should not be overshadowed by the rhythm or the accompaniment. The evangelization of the world by means of extensive preaching, teaching, and printed propaganda, and the expenditure of large sums of money for campaigns, buildings, equipment, travel, et cetera--vital though all these are--do not, in and of themselves, fulfill the principal commission entrusted to the remnant church. These are not the melody. At the most, they are the accompaniment.
"The melody which is to ring forth, sketchily at first, but every more clearly, is the song of victory over sin, the song of Moses and the Lamb, soaring higher and higher, closer and ever closer to the heavenly Pattern, further and further away from the world, to the climactic height of a full and final display of His grace in vessels of clay, but divested of all earthliness and testified unto by the declaration of the angel: 'Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus." Revelation 14:12. For the first time this testimony will be said of a whole community of saints.
"Let Laodicea be warned! At one time David fell victim to the magic influence of numbers (cf I Chronicles 21:1)--that Satan-inspired sport which so slyly leads to pride and self-complacency, which so trickishly substitutes quantity for quality, mediocrity for true merit, and pomp for paucity. The charm exerted by numbers, size, and quantity, if allowed to prevail, will fill Laodicea's pews with 'illegitimate children' and swell her ranks with a mixed multitude which, as of old, could bring her march to a standstill at another 'Kadeshbarnea.' God forbid that such a thing should happen!
"Let Laodicea ponder her way! Let her pause and take inventory, let her consider and define where she has strayed from the Pattern in her multiple activities: ministerial, educational, medical, social, etcetera. Let her frankly confess her shortcomings, plead for forgiveness and then chart her future course in harmony with the divine counsel. Let her shun the subtle art of rationalizing, which makes evil appear good and transgression a necessity, trying to 'update' what is eternally fresh and young--ever the head and never the tail.
"Unless Laodicea will submit to a candid self-examination and to an uncompromising self-discipline, there will descend upon her a tempest that will sift and shake her ranks and sweep to one side the whole of her household, with its elaborate furnishings and costly equipment, clearing the stage for the Lord Himself to take hold of the reins (cf Testimonies to Ministers, 300; Testimonies, vol. 5, 80; Romans 9:28) with an army of 'unidentified' ones whose names and pictures may not be found in any register, or church paper, or book, nor diffused from any desk or platform." (Our Firm Foundation March, 1989)
Remember that this strong warning does not come from a critic of the church, but from a leader in the church who saw clearly what constitutes success and failure in the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Priorities
The primary mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is the vindication of God. It will be accomplished though the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary. But before the sanctuary in heaven can be cleansed from all the records of sin, the sanctuary of our hearts must be cleansed from the pollution which continues to dishonor God's name. Adventism is all about God's victory in the great controversy, as He finishes His six thousand year struggle against the lies of Satan.
The secondary mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is world mission and outreach through Bible studies and soulwinning. When the primary mission is understood and addressed, the secondary mission will find abundant success. If we try to reverse these priorities, as we have been doing for many years, we will continue to fail. Outreach alone is not the solution to our sickness. We have been putting the cart before the horse, and it simply hasn't worked. If outreach is to be successful, it must flow from a consecrated and obedient heart.
Remember that Christ's efforts while on earth were to restore His people to obedience from the heart. Likewise our outreach must flow from total obedience and total love, with no more rationalizing so that we can do what our selfish hearts desire. We must abandon cultural values to determine what is right and wrong. Most of the problems in the Adventist Church today are the result of placing cultural values above a "thus saith the Lord." Will we decide once and for all to obey God, or will we continue to try to force Him to do it our way? The way we answer this question will determine the success or failure of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Ezekiel's Appeal
Ezekiel lived in a time of apostasy and backsliding, and God gave a special message to him for Israel. "So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me." (33:7) "Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?" (33:11) This is not just God's appeal to His rebellious chosen people in Ezekiel's time; it is His appeal to His rebellious chosen people today. God is saying, "Please turn back before it is forever too late. why do you insist on dying, O house of Adventism?" Can we really be faithful Adventists and ignore this question? Part of our responsibility as church members is to help heal our church so that it can fulfill both its primary and secondary missions. Sometimes the surgeon's knife is painful and the healing process is difficult, but our gracious God is the Master Physician.
Right now there are some carefully laid traps by which Satan is trying to subvert this process of healing. One trap is a compromised gospel, a gospel which says that since
Jesus did everything that was necessary, all we need to do is believe and the rest is taken care of. Then we have the absolute assurance of salvation. This gospel has been coming into Adventism for the past thirty years and has been gaining great strength in the past ten years. It is a gospel which gives false assurance of salvation, because it promises that we can be saved while still sinning. It teaches that we can ignore our little sins--our besetting sins--because Jesus loves us unconditionally. As long as we continue to believe in Him as our Saviour, we continue to be in a saving relationship with Him, regardless of our continued sinning. This trap may cause the loss of more sincere Adventists than any of Satan's other traps.
Another trap laid by Satan is the trap of humanism and cultural priorities. Here we determine what is right and wrong by the best human thinking available. We take surveys and determine what should be done based on these surveys. We ask for the best scholarly research and the best logic, while we set aside inspired counsel as outdated, in need of cultural reinterpretation.
Another trap is having a critical spirit. Some see clearly the problems in the church and spend their entire time exposing and delineating the sins of the church. Satan leads these individuals to become negative about everything they see.
Then there is the most subtle of all Satan's traps--the moderate trap. We all want to be balanced; we want to avoid the extremes on both sides. We realize that there are some problems in the church, but we hear about all the souls being won, and we conclude that things must probably be headed in the right way. With all our progress and growth, things can't be too bad, can they? The problems must be someone else's problems, so we can safely ignore them. Even though our schools and hospitals are having difficulties, we'll just keep our mouths shut--it's safer that way. When strange music and worship styles come into our churches, we will make the best of it. Yes, it is very tempting to stay out of the fire so that we will not get burned.
But is this silence in harmony with Ezekiel's appeal? Are we faithful watchmen if we remain silent while the enemy climbs over the walls? Or will we do what we can to save and heal our church? We cannot have a unique Adventist witness without a unique Adventist message. The gospel of Adventism is different from the gospel of contemporary Christianity. Will we let that gospel die? Our understanding of the great controversy between Christ and Satan is totally unique. Will we let it die by our silence? Our understanding of the relationship between law and grace is unique. Even our understanding of health reform is unique, because we do not live healthfully to avoid disease or to live longer, but to allow God to fully sanctify the soul. We need to uphold the highest lifestyle standards, so that God has a chance to win the battle for our minds.
We have a unique understanding of a modern-day prophet, in which God speaks with just as much authority as He did in Paul's day.
Are we willing to be Seventh-day Adventists today? Are we willing to prepare the way for the final vindication of the character of God? Are we willing to live in the house behind the picket fence? The price is high, but the reward is beyond anything we can imagine.
"If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? And if in the land of peace, wherein thou trusted, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?" (Jeremiah 12:5) Today we are in the land of peace and we are running with the footmen. Ahead of us are the horses and the swelling Jordan. This is our preparation time, the time to strengthen our characters. If the church militant is ever going to be the church triumphant, then we must get serious about the name Seventh-day Adventist. We must know who we are and why we exist. We must get our primary mission and our secondary mission straight, so that our efforts can be blessed by God. Let us pray together that the hard ground of our hearts may be broken up, so that the refreshing early rain may lead to the powerful latter rain. And above all, let us pray that this generation of Seventh-day Adventists will be the last generation to live on a sin-cursed earth.