Friday, March 27, 2009

"Confidence in the Prophetic Gift"

Undoubtedly, the General Conference chose to publish this particular Quarterly because they realize that confidence in or love for, Ellen White's writings is waning in the church.

The Lord Jesus Himself asked rather plaintively, "When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8). The Lord is all-powerful, He is omnipotent, but He cannot force His people to believe if they love unbelief.


A very serious example of the evil of unbelief is the popular attitude toward the beginning of the Latter Rain and the Loud Cry of Revelation 18:1-4.


Can you imagine the farmers in a drought-stricken land where their crops are withering, being unhappy when the Lord sends them a gentle shower of latter rain moisture? That would be unthinkable, wouldn't it? But our elders lived out this unimaginable scenario in 1888. We were in danger of losing the third angel's message, the reason for our existence as a people; the Lord did not overwhelm them with lightning, thunder, and gully-washer great rains--just a gentle shower of the Holy Spirit in Latter Rain power.


The Lord gave His Holy Spirit to two young men in a message of justification by faith that was like a gentle rain on thirsty land; Ellen White was overjoyed. She said she had never heard anything so wonderful at any time at any place! She immediately recognized the leading of the Holy Spirit. But she was pained by the rejection the brethren manifested: "The course that [was] pursued at Minneapolis [1888] was cruelty to the Spirit of God" (MS 30, 1889). "I know that at that time the Holy Spirit was insulted" (Letter 24, 1892).


"The time will come when many will be willing to do anything and everything possible in order to have a chance of hearing the call which they rejected at Minneapolis. ... Better opportunities will never come, deeper feelings they will not have" (Letter 19d, 1892; to O. A. Olsen, the General Conference President).


The Lord Jesus said, "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness" (Matt. 5:6); we could add, righteousness by faith, because that is the only kind we can receive!

Now, today, here and now, is the time to hunger and thirst after such righteousness. If you "hunger" for it, yearn for it, seek it, long for it, happy are you!


Thank God that we can still "gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost" (cf. John 6:12). In His infinite wisdom, the Lord has preserved for us in writing the message which He sent to us 121 years ago--as the "beginning" of the Loud Cry and the Latter Rain.

Let nothing hinder your search!

--Robert J. Wieland



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Wednesday, March 18, 2009

"The Blessings of the Prophetic Gift"

God's prophetic gift brings many blessings to all mankind, and this is especially true for God's people. An example of blessings extending to someone outside the nation of Israel was Naaman, commander of the Syrian army. Sick with leprosy, he learned that God's prophet Elisha could help him. In spite of Naaman's anger and reluctance to accept God's remedy he finally submitted to the instruction given by the prophet (see 2 Kings 5:1-14).

Naaman's glory was laid in the dust and God did for him that which was impossible to do for himself. His case is symptomatic of the determination of mankind to secure its own physical and spiritual healing, even though all such efforts have proven futile. Only when Naaman finally submitted to God's remedy did he receive the available healing.

Another blessing of the prophetic gift is the case when Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, listened and followed the instruction of Jahaziel, God's prophet at that time (see 2 Chron. 20:1-25). This was a time when enemy armies were about to engage Judah in war. Jahaziel told the king to stand still and see the salvation of God, that the battle was His. A choir was chosen and commissioned to go in advance of Judah's army. When the choir began to sing and praise God, the enemies were routed by heavenly soldiers sent from God.

Jehoshaphat encouraged his people with this declaration, "Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper [succeed]."

The blessings in both cases (of Naaman and of Jehoshaphat) came as a result of believing and following what each prophet said. In both cases man's glory was laid low. As each leader humbled himself, God worked mightily in their behalf and lifted them up (see James 4:10; 1 Peter 5:6). In both cases the power of God was witnessed to the nations of the referenced regions of the world. It is worth mentioning that neither Elisha nor Jahaziel are considered as "canonical" writers. In other words, no books of theirs were used in the formation of the biblical canon. Nevertheless, those who accepted their messages and followed them became established and built up in the Word of God. So it is in these last days.

Likewise, in our day, God chose to send a non-canonical prophet, a messenger, to bless His people along with the people of the world. Some of the blessings given include principles of education, of health, of government for household and state, of philosophy and of theology. Eternity will tell of the influence of the prophetic gift given by God to Ellen White to be shared with His people and with all the inhabitants of earth. Central to these principles is the restoration of God's image in man.

Especially is this true of her theology. She presented the uplifted Christ as the only hope for mankind. She dwelt much on the grand central theme of he Bible--the plan of redemption which involves the restoration of the image of God in the soul of man. Those who humble themselves, who believe and follow her counsel will become established in the Word of God and will be saved eternally. Those who refuse to believe and who reject the prophetic gift reject the inherent blessings within the gift.

One of the greatest gifts to us is found in the message of righteousness by faith given in the setting of the end time (in which we live). The message came to us through God's choice of two young men, Alonso T. Jones and Ellet J. Waggoner. These two are mentioned in Thursday's lesson, along with Ellen White's role, in combating legalism within the church.

We are told that much of the preaching, previous to the message given at Minneapolis in 1888, was as "dry as the hills of Gilboa, without dew or rain" (The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, p. 557). Nevertheless, God sent a few drops of the "Latter Rain" and the beginning of the "Loud Cry" in the message of Minneapolis (Review and Herald, Nov. 22, 1892). Today we need to believe and follow what the prophet has said concerning this message. God commanded us to take it to the world. He still waits for this command and that message to be believed and acted upon.

"This is the message [proclaimed by Jones and Waggoner] that God commanded to be given to the world. It is the third angel's message, which is to be proclaimed with a loud voice, and attended with the outpouring of His Spirit in a large measure" (Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, p. 92).

The publishing work will be involved "in a large degree" by presenting this message to the world as depicted in Rev. 18:1 (see Testimonies for the Church, vol. 7, p. 140). This message will illuminate earth with God's glory.

I wish to end on a personal note. While attending an Adventist church, before becoming a member, I thought I heard (this is not what the pastor said) that there was going to be a woman (Ellen White) coming to the church on the following Wednesday evening and that she would give to us a prophetic message. To me, this was something new. I was curious. I decided to attend. What I misunderstood was, beginning on that Wednesday evening, the church members were going to study the prophetic gift of Ellen White.

From one of the members of that church I received some books written by her. The first two were Steps to Christ and Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing. I can testify to the blessings I received, and continue to receive, from reading these and other materials by Mrs. White. With my heart overflowing with gratitude I would, at times, break into singing and praising God with thanksgiving. May this experience continue with me and with you.

"Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper [succeed]" (2 Chron. 20:20).

--Gerald L. Finneman

Friday, March 13, 2009

"Interpreting the Prophetic Writings"

The "everlasting gospel" is the same in all generations; but the revelation of the light of truth regarding Christ's righteousness is continually unfolding, clearer and brighter, with the end result of making a people ready for the coming of the Lord (Prov. 4:18). "We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts" (1 Peter 1:19).

There is a distinct difference between the 1888 message and that of the Protestant Reformers. Ellen White's clear statements are to the effect that the 1888 message is the beginning of the "latter rain" and the "loud cry" (Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, p. 92; Review and Herald, Nov. 22, 1892). [1] The Reformers taught much truth; but never did they proclaim the full light of glorious truth prophesied in Rev. 18:1. To say that the three angels' messages were proclaimed by the Reformers is to deny what God has taught us in our history (Life Sketches, p. 196). [2]

This message was particularly a presentation "of the righteousness of Christ in relation to the law ... not presented ... in this light heretofore" by our people (The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, p. 164). The Reformers never really understood the law in its magnitude (Isa. 42:21). Ellen White made this statement at Minneapolis: "Said my guide, 'There is much light yet to shine forth from the law of God and the gospel of righteousness. This message, understood in its true character, and proclaimed in the Spirit will lighten the earth with its glory.'" (1888 Materials, p. 166). A. T. Jones and E. J. Waggoner began to present the law in a way that truly "magnified" it and made it "honorable" as we have never read it in Luther and Wesley and other Seventh-day Adventist writers. She highly recommended Jones' and Waggoner's presentations as light sent of God. Had their message not been resisted and rejected, their simple, heart-warming presentations would have broken down the prejudice of many in the popular churches. "The Lord designed that the messages of warning and instruction given through the Spirit to His people should go everywhere. But the influence that grew out of the resistance of light and truth at Minneapolis, tended to make of no effect the light God had given to His people through the Testimonies" (Feb. 28, 1893, 1893 General Conference Daily Bulletin, p. 407).

The message of 1888 was an understanding of righteousness by faith that was in harmony with the cleansing of the sanctuary. The Reformers had no concept of that doctrine. Adventist's concept of righteousness by faith is not the same as the Reformers. The ethical significance of the cleansing of the sanctuary will certainly be to prepare a people for the coming of the Lord, "not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing," (Eph. 5:27) a community of God's people which will "come ... unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Eph. 4:13).

Their message, as God intended it, would have brought deliverance from the root of sin, the love of self. It follows that genuine and complete acceptance would have made a people ready for the coming of the Lord in that very generation. It is no disparagement of saints who are at rest to say that God intends His people to progress continually toward actually reaching a higher standard than any previous generation reached, nothing less than perfect likeness to Jesus in character. This experience is quite distinct from the "justification by faith" preached by the Reformers. Ellen White frequently describes the 1888 message as "the message of Christ's righteousness" more than as "justification by faith," though she did occasionally use the latter term. Luther is wonderful, and he pioneered the way; but Jones and Waggoner went much further.

They had a clearer concept of the love of God in Christ than did the Reformers. They understood that righteousness by faith is based on genuine love, and began to break up the synthesis of Hellenistic self-centered love and New Testament agape (which is self-giving love) that had weakened Seventh-day Adventists prior to 1888. They restored New Testament love to its rightful place as the constraining power that makes a new life.

--Paul E. Penno

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[1] "This is the message that God commanded to be given to the world. It is the third angel's message, which is to be proclaimed with a loud voice, and attended with the outpouring of His Spirit in a large measure" (Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, p. 92).

[2] "We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history" (Life Sketches, p. 196).


Tuesday, March 10, 2009

"Interpreting the Prophetic Writings"

The "everlasting gospel" is the same in all generations; but the revelation of the light of truth regarding Christ's righteousness is continually unfolding, clearer and brighter, with the end result of making a people ready for the coming of the Lord (Prov. 4:18). "We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts" (1 Peter 1:19).

There is a distinct difference between the 1888 message and that of the Protestant Reformers. Ellen White's clear statements are to the effect that the 1888 message is the beginning of the "latter rain" and the "loud cry" (Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, p. 92; Review and Herald, Nov. 22, 1892). [1] The Reformers taught much truth; but never did they proclaim the full light of glorious truth prophesied in Rev. 18:1. To say that the three angels' messages were proclaimed by the Reformers is to deny what God has taught us in our history (Life Sketches, p. 196). [2]

This message was particularly a presentation "of the righteousness of Christ in relation to the law ... not presented ... in this light heretofore" by our people (The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, p. 164). The Reformers never really understood the law in its magnitude (Isa. 42:21). Ellen White made this statement at Minneapolis: "Said my guide, 'There is much light yet to shine forth from the law of God and the gospel of righteousness. This message, understood in its true character, and proclaimed in the Spirit will lighten the earth with its glory.'" (1888 Materials, p. 166). A. T. Jones and E. J. Waggoner began to present the law in a way that truly "magnified" it and made it "honorable" as we have never read it in Luther and Wesley and other Seventh-day Adventist writers. She highly recommended Jones' and Waggoner's presentations as light sent of God. Had their message not been resisted and rejected, their simple, heart-warming presentations would have broken down the prejudice of many in the popular churches. "The Lord designed that the messages of warning and instruction given through the Spirit to His people should go everywhere. But the influence that grew out of the resistance of light and truth at Minneapolis, tended to make of no effect the light God had given to His people through the Testimonies" (Feb. 28, 1893, 1893 General Conference Daily Bulletin, p. 407).

The message of 1888 was an understanding of righteousness by faith that was in harmony with the cleansing of the sanctuary. The Reformers had no concept of that doctrine. Adventist's concept of righteousness by faith is not the same as the Reformers. The ethical significance of the cleansing of the sanctuary will certainly be to prepare a people for the coming of the Lord, "not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing," (Eph. 5:27) a community of God's people which will "come ... unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Eph. 4:13).

Their message, as God intended it, would have brought deliverance from the root of sin, the love of self. It follows that genuine and complete acceptance would have made a people ready for the coming of the Lord in that very generation. It is no disparagement of saints who are at rest to say that God intends His people to progress continually toward actually reaching a higher standard than any previous generation reached, nothing less than perfect likeness to Jesus in character. This experience is quite distinct from the "justification by faith" preached by the Reformers. Ellen White frequently describes the 1888 message as "the message of Christ's righteousness" more than as "justification by faith," though she did occasionally use the latter term. Luther is wonderful, and he pioneered the way; but Jones and Waggoner went much further.

They had a clearer concept of the love of God in Christ than did the Reformers. They understood that righteousness by faith is based on genuine love, and began to break up the synthesis of Hellenistic self-centered love and New Testament agape (which is self-giving love) that had weakened Seventh-day Adventists prior to 1888. They restored New Testament love to its rightful place as the constraining power that makes a new life.

--Paul E. Penno

-----------------------

[1] "This is the message that God commanded to be given to the world. It is the third angel's message, which is to be proclaimed with a loud voice, and attended with the outpouring of His Spirit in a large measure" (Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, p. 92).

[2] "We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history" (Life Sketches, p. 196).



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Friday, March 06, 2009

"The Message of the Prophets"

This week's lesson starts out with what could be a discouraging thought: "Sin is the greatest problem we face." Knowing that sin is what separates us from God (Isa. 59:2), and that continued sin will forever keep us from experiencing the New Earth (1 Cor. 6:9, 10), it is easy to become discouraged in the battle with sin. Easy, yes, if you have not yet learned how good the Good News really is. What's the "good news"? Satan is a defeated foe. Paul says it so plainly in Romans chapter 6: "For sin shall not have dominion over you" (vs. 14). Read that sentence again, carefully and thoughtfully. Dominion means "power" or "absolute control." The promise is, sin shall not have absolute control over you. Sin's power has been broken. When was it broken and by what means? The answer to these two simple questions is the crux of the Gospel's power.

That first promise given to Adam and Eve when they rebelled against their Creator in the Garden, was assurance that sin should not have dominion over you (Gen. 3:15). That promise was the everlasting covenant promise that there would be a Saviour, a Kinsman Redeemer, who would bring restitution to the lost estate. A very comforting statement from the pen of inspiration tells us, "As soon as there was sin, there was a Saviour." And "the instant man accepted the temptations of Satan, and did the very things God had said he should not do, Christ, the Son of God, stood between the living and dead, saying 'Let the punishment fall on Me. I will stand in man's place. He shall have another chance'" (SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7A, pp. 16 and 17). God is the "living" and Adam was the "dead" referred to in this statement. The immediacy of the act of God in redeeming mankind is profound--"as soon as there was sin"; "the instant" Adam sinned there was a Saviour who took the punishment Adam should have suffered. Adam's next heartbeat and breath of fresh air was by grace through the Lamb's power over sin and sin's effects.

When we learn to appreciate the good news that sin's power was broken from the foundation of the world through the Lamb which taketh away the sin of the world (Rev. 13:8; John 1:29), then we can experience unbounded joy, even while living in this world of increasing woe. Great freedom comes to those who truly appreciate all that God has done for us. Through faith in the Lamb's power, we are freed from both ditches mentioned in the lesson, the ditch of legalism, and the converse ditch of cheap grace. Both are ditches that place the individual under the burden of the old covenant. Legalism brings us under the old covenant because we believe that we can add something to the salvation enterprise. As E. J. Waggoner put it in The Glad Tidings, p. 71, "That which makes all the trouble is that even when men are willing to recognize the Lord at all they want to make bargains with Him. They want it to be a 'mutual' affair--a transaction in which they can consider themselves on par with God." Such an attitude was the root problem at Sinai when the people unitedly answered, "All the LORD has said, we will do" (Ex. 19:8). Cheap grace places us equally under the old covenant because we smugly assume that we can sail into heaven with our characters unchanged, believing that we are good enough as we are and that God's love will overlook our continued sinning.

Jesus came to save His people from their sin, not in their sin (Matt. 1:21). The night before His crucifixion He prayed to His Father, "I have glorified Thee on the earth: I have finished the work Thou gavest Me to do" (John 17:4). On the cross He declared with a loud voice, "It is finished!" "Sin shall not have dominion over you!" How could Jesus be so sure of this? Because He assumed the fallen nature of man in His incarnation and He met the enemy on his own territory. Taking upon Himself the faulty equipment through which Satan so easily causes us to fall under his power, Christ proved that our fallen nature is no excuse for continued sinning. The nature of Christ "is everything to us. It is the golden chain that binds our souls to Christ, and through Christ to God. This is to be our study." (Selected Messages, vol. 1, p. 244; see also The Golden Chain, by Robert J. Wieland). Why is it so important that it needs to be "our study?" Because what Christ did in fallen flesh through faith in His Father's power, we also can do by faith in Christ's power over Satan and sin. Sadly, the power of Christ's righteousness is vastly ignored by most persons who call themselves "Christian." Which leads to that "discouragement over your spiritual life" mentioned by the Quarterly author.

"There are too many who try to live the Christian life on the strength of the faith which they exercised when they realized their need of pardon for sins of their past life. ... Of the joy of living for God and of walking with Him by faith, they know nothing, and he who tells of it speaks of a strange language to them. ... We have heard many people tell how hard they found it to do right. Their Christian life was most unsatisfactory to them, being marked only by failure, and they were tempted to give up in discouragement. No wonder they get discouraged. Continual failure is enough to discourage anybody. The bravest soldier in the world would become faint-hearted if he had been defeated in every battle. Sometimes these persons will mournfully tell that they have about lost confident in themselves. Poor souls. If they would only lose confidence in themselves entirely and would put their whole trust in the One who is mighty to save, they would have a different story to tell. ... The man who doesn't rejoice in God, even though tempted and afflicted, is not fighting the good fight of faith. He is fighting the poor fight of self-confidence and defeat." (E. J. Waggoner, The Bible Student's Library, "Living By Faith," pp. 4-6; article also found in Lessons on Faith).

What is the cause of the discouragement? Reliance on self, which is the old covenant error of both the legalist and the one believing in cheap grace.

However, Waggoner doesn't leave the reader in this discouraging position. "The overcoming is now; the victories to be gained are victories over the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and the pride of life--victories over self and selfish indulgences. The man who fights and sees the foe give way may rejoice; nobody can keep him from rejoicing, for joy comes spontaneously as the result of seeing the enemy give way. Some folks look with dread upon the thought of having to wage a continual warfare with self and worldly lusts. That is because they do not as yet know anything about the joy of victory. They have experienced only defeat. But it isn't so doleful a thing to battle constantly, when there is continual victory" (ibid). How is Christ's victory made effective in our personal lives? By faith in His powerful righteousness. We give up all self-confidence and learn day by day to surrender fully to Christ, to be crucified with Him (Gal. 2:20).

Our strength is in His leadership; we are strong because He is; we are inspired to overcome all sin because He did in the same flesh we all possess. When God finally has that people to whom He can point and exclaim: "Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus," then the cleansing of the sanctuary will be complete. Christ will then come to rescue His people and make full restitution for all that Adam lost. Christ "redeems the earth from the curse, that it may be the everlasting possession that God originally designed it to be; and He also redeems man from the cruse, that he may be fitted for the possession of such an inheritance. This is the sum of the gospel" (The Glad Tidings, p. 70).

--Ann Walper