WHY BE A SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST?

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Dulcie Ross
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1 WHY BE A SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST? It all began in heaven. In Isaiah 14:12-20 and Ezekiel 28:12-19 we read of Lucifer s defection right next to the throne of God. Even though his actions and that of his angels were high treason against the government of heaven, God did not then bring Lucifer before the heavenly tribunal to be judged for his rebellion. The universe must see the nature of his rebellion first. Then they would understand God s justice when Lucifer and his angels were destroyed. The rebels were cast out of heaven into darkness to await the time when their cases would be judged. Jude verse 6 tells us that And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Then the whole universe would be secure from another defection. All would be convinced of the goodness and justice of the government of heaven. However, when Adam and Eve yielded to the sophistry of Satan, it changed the whole picture. Their actions gave backing to the allegations of Satan against God and the laws of His government. Satan gained a beachhead on this planet as the center of his operations against the government of heaven. The principles of God s character, as manifested in His laws, would have to be fully demonstrated to remove all the doubts and questions that the fall of Lucifer and Adam and Eve had created. The universe had witnessed what happened to Lucifer and his angels as a result of their defection, and they were watching to see what God would do with the human race who also had transgressed. With intense interest the unfallen worlds had watched to see Jehovah arise, and sweep away the inhabitants of the earth. And if God should do this, Satan was ready to carry out his plan for securing to himself the allegiance of heavenly beings. He had declared that the principles of God's government make forgiveness impossible. Had the world been destroyed, he would have claimed that his accusations were proved true. He was ready to cast blame upon God, and to spread his rebellion to the worlds above. But instead of destroying the world, God sent His Son to save it. Though corruption and defiance might be seen in every part of the alien province, a way for its recovery was provided DA p.37. Christ took upon Himself the arduous work of rehabilitating the human race. All who would be willing to cooperate with Him to accomplish that transformation would be witnesses to the goodness and justice of God and the laws of His government. But the controversy must be allowed to continue so that the two opposing principles could be fully demonstrated. After some 58 centuries since the fall of man, the experiment had gone on long enough. In 1844, the great momentous event that will bring the great controversy to a close, began in heaven. It was the opening of the supreme court of the universe. Says the prophet, I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened Daniel 7:9-10. This describes the opening of the investigative judgment which begins with the house of God. See 1Peter 4:17. All who have been God s professed people will be judged first, and the wheat and tares will be separated. The timing of this great event was foretold by the prophet Daniel about 540 years before the birth of Christ. And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed Daniel 8:14. When the time drew near for the judgment and cleansing of the sanctuary to begin, Christ sent the first angel s message as recorded in Revelation 14:7. And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, 1

2 and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. William Miller was the humble instrument that Christ chose to begin the proclamation of the judgment hour message. Under the direction and movings of the Holy Spirit, the message attracted world-wide attention. Many pastors and lay people in America helped to augment the proclamation of the first angel s message, especially as they approached the year of There were no Seventh-day Adventists in existence at that time. The message was carried by people from many of the Protestant churches around America. Miller himself was an ordained Baptist minister. Those who proclaimed the first angel s message had the correct date for the ending of the 2300 day prophecy, but they were mistaken on what was to be cleansed at the cleansing of the sanctuary. They expected Christ to return to earth to cleanse it by fire. After the great disappointment on October 22, 1844, most of the Advent believers either abandoned their faith and went back to their former churches, or they continued setting future dates for the fulfillment of Daniel 8:14 and the coming of Christ. However, there was a handful of believers who, though severely disappointed, did not abandon their faith. They still believed that God had led them in their experience and that He would reveal to them what had gone wrong. And their faith was not in vain. The day after the disappointment, Christ revealed to one of their number, Hiram Edson, that instead of Christ coming out of the most holy place and coming back to earth for the cleansing of the earth by fire, He for the first time had entered the most holy place to do a special work there for His people. As stated in Testimonies Volume One, p.58, Instead of the prophecy of Daniel 8:14 referring to the purifying of the earth, it was now plain that it pointed to the closing work of our High Priest in heaven, the finishing of the atonement, and the preparing of the people to abide the day of His coming. This was the beginning of the Third Angel s message. As these believers studied the new-found truth of the sanctuary, they made a dramatic discovery. Early Writings p.255 explains what happened. It was represented to me that the remnant followed Jesus into the most holy place and beheld the ark and the mercy seat, and were captivated with their glory. Jesus then raised the cover of the ark, and lo! the tables of stone, with the ten commandments written upon them. They trace down the lively oracles, but start back with trembling when they see the fourth commandment among the ten holy precepts, with a brighter light shining upon it than upon the other nine, and a halo of glory all around it. They find nothing there informing them that the Sabbath has been abolished, or changed to the first day of the week. The commandment reads as when spoken by the voice of God in solemn and awful grandeur upon the mount, while the lightnings flashed and the thunders rolled; it is the same as when written with His own finger on the tables of stone: "Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." They are amazed as they behold the care taken of the ten commandments. They see them placed close by Jehovah, overshadowed and protected by His holiness. They see that they have been trampling upon the fourth commandment of the decalogue, and have observed a day handed down by the heathen and papists, instead of the day sanctified by Jehovah. They humble themselves before God and mourn over their past transgressions. As a result of studying the sanctuary truth, especially the most holy place ministry, they became Seventh-day Adventists. And they became aware that the most important truth ever given to mortals had been revealed to them. Testimonies Volume 9, p.19 says, In a special sense Seventh-day Adventists have been set in the world as watchmen and light bearers. To them has been entrusted the last warning for a perishing world. On them is shining wonderful light from the word of God. They have been given a work of the most solemn import--the proclamation of the first, second, and third angels' messages. There is no other work of so great importance. They are to allow 2

3 nothing else to absorb their attention. The most solemn truths ever entrusted to mortals have been given us to proclaim to the world. This is the last day movement which is leading people out from the corruption of the world to the heavenly Canaan. And as Christ gave to ancient Israel a prophet to lead them to the earthly promised land, so He gave to His remnant people a last day prophet to lead them to the heavenly Canaan. In ancient times God spoke to men by the mouth of prophets and apostles. In these days He speaks to them by the testimonies of His Spirit. There was never a time when God instructed His people more earnestly than He instructs them now concerning His will and the course that He would have them pursue" 5T p The mandate that Christ has given to His people is more than being loving and lovable Christians. It is more than being kind and generous and rendering help to the poor and needy. All of these things are commendable actions that should be a part of the Christian s daily experience. But these will not suffice to bring the great controversy to a close. They will only help to make the earthly journey of people in this world more pleasant or tolerable. As noted in the quotation from 9T p.19 quoted above, the proclamation of the Three Angel s messages should be our highest priority. Nothing else should be allowed to absorb the attention. The attention of the world should be directed to the heavenly sanctuary and the sitting of the Supreme Court of the universe which is in session there. Everyone will sooner or later be summoned to appear before that heavenly tribunal to render an account for all that they have said or done in their life here. So that all might be prepared for that critical event, the message proclaiming, Fear God, and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment is come; and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters is to be given to all the world. No other church understands this message therefore no other church is proclaiming it. And all need to understand the purpose of the judgment. GC p.480 spells out the real purpose of the investigative judgment. Attended by heavenly angels, our great High Priest enters the holy of holies, and there appears in the presence of God, to engage in the last acts of his ministration in behalf of man, to perform the work of investigative Judgment, and to make an atonement for all who are shown to be entitled to its benefits. We can see from this that the judgment is to determine who is entitled to the benefits of Christ s final atonement that will be made for His faithful children. The benefits of that atonement is beyond anything that mortal minds can comprehend. The winners of the biggest lottery have nothing in comparison to the spiritual and material wealth that will be bestowed upon those who are accepted in the judgment. In GC p.484 we read of the fabulous wealth that will be given to those who are accounted heirs of Christ and of God. The deepest interest manifested among men in the decisions of earthly tribunals but faintly represents the interest evinced in the heavenly courts when the names entered in the book of life come up in review before the Judge of all the earth. The divine Intercessor presents the plea that all who have overcome through faith in his blood be forgiven their transgressions, that they be restored to their Eden home, and crowned as joint-heirs with himself to the first dominion. [Micah 4:8.] Satan, in his efforts to deceive and tempt our racehad thought to frustrate the divine plan in man's creation; but Christ now asks that this plan be carried into effect, as if man had never fallen. He asks for his people not only pardon and justification, full and complete, but a share in his glory and a seat upon his throne. All that was lost through sin is going to be restored, and much more. The benefits of Christ s ministry in the most holy place includes the blotting out of sins with the shameful remembrance and the outpouring of the fullness of the Holy Spirit in latter rain power by which God s people will be sealed and enabled to enlighten the whole world with the glory of God s character. They will also have the joy and privilege of calling out from Babylon all the honest in heart to share with them all the blessings of Christ s final atonement. And as noted in the statement above, they will be restored to their Eden home and crowned as joint-heirs to the 3

4 first dominion which Adam lost to Satan. They will be given the highest honor, namely, a share in Christ s glory and a seat upon His throne. There is no greater honor or privilege that could be given to any order of intelligent beings. For those who are found faithful, the hour of God s judgment is the greatest good news that anyone can receive. The God of heaven and Creator of the universe will lavish upon the redeemed the unfathomable wealth of His love and goodness that eternity will never exhaust. The myriads of angels and the whole loyal universe are keenly interested in the proceedings of the supreme court of the universe and the awards that will be given to the faithful. But it must be amazing for them to see how little interest so many of God s professed people have in those proceedings. The Lord s messenger has told us that it is of the utmost importance to investigate and understand what happens at the judgment and to follow Christ by faith in His ministry there. But how many are doing that? At this critical hour it is especially important to have a better view of the great controversy and how it has affected not only us as individuals, but how it continues to affect Christ and the whole universe. The introduction of sin into our world has brought much pain and suffering upon us. We have all felt its fearful effects. But how often do we think of how it affects the One who has died to redeem us from the effects of the fall. In the book Education p.263 we get a glimpse of the pain that it has brought to Christ for the 6000 or more years since sin entered this fair universe. Those who think of the result of hastening or hindering the gospel think of it in relation to themselves and to the world. Few think of its relation to God. Few give thought to the suffering that sin has caused our Creator. All heaven suffered in Christ's agony; but that suffering did not begin or end with His manifestation in humanity. 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. When there came upon Israel the calamities that were the sure result of separation from God,--subjugation by their enemies, cruelty, and death,--it is said that "His soul was grieved for the misery of Israel." "In all their affliction He was afflicted:... and He bare them, and carried them all the days of old." Judges 10:16; Isaiah 63:9. So it is in our power by our faithfulness and loyalty to Christ to bring His pain and suffering to an end. It is in our power through cooperation with Him to, as it were, gently take Him down from the cross and end the pain that sin has caused Him and also His creation. Romans 8:19 & 22 tells us, For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God... For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. The whole universe is waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God who have been perfected and transformed wholly into the likeness of Christ. The whole universe is waiting for the fit man who will be enabled to lead away the scapegoat to his final doom. This is the purpose for which Christ entered the most holy place in He wants to finish the mystery of God as indicated in Revelation 10:7. And that will be accomplished when His ministry in the sanctuary is completed. The Seventhday Adventist church has been raised up to cooperate with Christ in His most holy place ministry in order that the mystery of God might be finished in their lives. But how many of God s professed people understand that high and holy calling? In RH Jan.21, 1890, it asks this question: Shall we forget our holy calling, brethren? Shall the mournful deterioration of piety be seen among us, that caused the rejection of the Jewish nation? Shall we who have had so great light upon Bible truth let a dry, dead formalism take the place of zeal and faith? Is our light to go out in darkness? Are we not to work zealously to counteract the arts of the enemy? We must watch and pray. We must arouse and take in the situation. We are in the day of atonement, and we are to work in harmony with Christ's work of cleansing the sanctuary from the sins of the people. Let no 4

5 man who desires to be found with the wedding garment on, resist our Lord in his office work. As he is, so will his followers be in this world. We must now set before the people the work which by faith we see our great High-priest accomplishing in the heavenly sanctuary. Those who do not sympathize with Jesus in his work in the heavenly courts, who do not cleanse the soul temple of every defilement, but who engage in some enterprise not in harmony with this work, are joining with the enemy of God and man in leading minds away from the truth and work for this time. There has been much discussion about our need for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit so that we can arise and shine as lights for God to the whole world. In the past we have had calls for 10 days or 40 days of special prayer sessions for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Yet there hasn t been any mighty manifestation of the Spirit s power among God s people. This should be cause for serious reflection. We know that God is more willing to give us His Spirit than parents are to give good gifts to their children. Then why hasn t the Spirit been poured out in answer to all the prayers that have been offered? There are at least two reasons why this hasn t happened. God s people do not realize that the refreshing latter rain is only available from the most holy place ministry of Christ. Only those who follow Jesus by faith in His ministry there and who come into sympathy with Him in that work will receive the benefits of that ministry. The refreshing latter rain is contingent on the blotting out of sins according to Acts 3:19. We cannot have one without the other. Until our sins have been blotted out and our characters perfected, we cannot bear the kind of witness that will lighten the whole world with the glory of God s character. Note the following: This is why the Lord cannot impart to his church the fullness of his blessing. To honor them in a distinguished manner before the world would be to put his seal upon their works, confirming their false representation of his character. When the church shall come out from the world, and be separate from its maxims, habits, and practices, the Lord Jesus will work with his people; he will pour a large measure of his Spirit upon them, and the world will know that the Father loves them. Will the people of God continue to be so stupefied with selfishness? His blessing hangs over them, but it cannot be bestowed in its fullness because they are so corrupted with the spirit and practices of the world. There is spiritual pride among them; and should the Lord work as his heart longs to do, it would but confirm them in their self-esteem and self-exaltation. Shall Christ continue to be misrepresented by our people? Shall the grace of God, the divine enlightenment, be shut away from his church, because of their lukewarmness? It will be, unless there is most thorough seeking of God, renunciation of the world, and humbling of the soul before God. The converting power of God must pass through our churches. A revival of true godliness among us is the greatest and most urgent of all our needs. We must have the holy unction from God, the baptism of his Spirit. This is the only efficient agent in the promulgation of sacred truth. It is the Spirit of God that quickens the lifeless faculties of the soul to appreciate heavenly things, and attracts the affections toward God and the truth. What we need, what we cannot do without, is the power of the Holy Spirit to work with our efforts. All pampering of self must be at an end. There is a weakness of intellect, a lack of religious fervor, in those who want to lean upon others, to be petted, waited on, and propped up. There must be an earnest longing, a soul-hunger, for the presence of the Lord. Make him your support, your front guard and your rearward. "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled." He who has endowed the human mind with all its powers, will so mould these capabilities that there will be no extremes; all will act harmoniously The Home Missionary, Nov.1, 1890 So the question comes to us in this critical hour. Are we striving with all our power to attain to the stature of men and women in Christ? Are we seeking for His fullness, ever pressing toward the mark set before us--the perfection of His character? When the Lord's people reach this mark, they will be sealed in their foreheads. Filled with the Spirit, they will be complete in Christ, and the recording angel will declare, "It is finished " OHC p.150. Then the reason for our existence will be realized and the Third Angels message will quickly go into all the world. 5

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THE INVESTIGATIVE JUDGMENT

THE INVESTIGATIVE JUDGMENT Sabbath School He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my