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It is a new year, as most of the world counts it, and although CSDAs don’t really believe in New Years’ resolutions, because we don’t wait for a specific event to commit to doing the best we know how in all things, it is a reasonable time to take stock of our experience, and reflect on this life that our Father has given to us, and this life that we are giving to Him.
For me, I ask myself, “What is the purpose of my Bible studies?” Three times a month or so, I sit in front of a screen, asking Yahweh to give me the blessing that the Church needs that week. I begin to write, and He gives me a message that often ends differently than I initially imagine it will. I find some insight, some connection that blesses me with a clearer understanding of His character and nature. It explains something I have been doing, or saying, in a deeper way than before, and I grow from this. I pray, as I share the study on Sabbath mornings, that those who hear it receive the blessing that they need, which is most likely not the same thing that I received myself, and I leave the impact in Yahshua’s hands.
With regard to that impact, I suppose there are two possibilities. The first is that someone is rebuked for some incorrect thought or action, or shown some new light, and repents, turning away from ignorance and toward knowledge. These are immediate responses, because they fill something that is an existing gap in the character of the hearers/readers. But it would not necessarily be accurate to consider this the most significant result. Sometimes the alternative result is better, and that is a deepening in the understanding of the Church in general of who our Father is. Of course, some phrase or imagery might catch your attention, and stay with you. Sis. J. often comments on certain phrases I have used in past studies that mean a lot to her, and that is always nice to hear. But even those statements that seem ordinary and pass below your attention are important, and while the impact might not be as clear or immediate, it is just as significant.
You are not likely to remember the details of many of the studies you have heard, just as you are not likely to remember every book you have read, or every meal you have eaten. But it all contributes to the overall person that you become. This, I think, is probably the more significant overall impact of Bible studies. By consistent fellowship, and listening to the Word being quoted, described, explained, and applied, we are transformed more and more into the likeness of the Savior, and our characters are sanctified.
We then take these sanctified characters, apply the things we have learned where reasonable, and this becomes the testimony of our lives to the universe, especially to the world and its needful sinners.
As I said in the last study, the divine character, which is Christ’s in origin and in the 144,000 by adoption, consists of the elements of the Three Angels’ Message. By “adoption,” of course, I mean two things. First, we are “adopted” by the Father and Son into the divine Family, and as it says in Genesis, all living things bring forth “after their kind.” (Gen 1:24, etc.) Because Yahweh is our Father, we are like Him. We are of His “kind” with regard to mind, personality, character, and spirit. Second, we “adopt” the message of the Three Gospel Angels, in the sense that we take it and use it.
We possess, and proclaim, victory over and freedom from sin. That is not just something we say, or believe. It is something that the Father and Son have made a part of our essential entities, our beings. We possess, and proclaim, to have a non-Babylonian – an accurate and non-confused – understanding of who our Creator is. We can teach His faith and worship properly, unadulterated from contact with the doctrines of devils. And these beliefs we hold as our own; these practices we do out of love, having adopted them from a pure motive and right spirit. Thirdly, we possess, and proclaim, the fervent desire to stand – in unity, as a single, organized people – against all the works of Satan in the world of men. We see the heart of the dragon in the policies and mechanisms of the papal and secular mindset, and we reject it with a single, consistent voice. These are not just loose doctrines and individual interpretations. Because the Spirit and character of Yahshua are within us, we love what He loves, and hate what He hates. We protest what He protests. We reject what He rejects, and we become One with His People, even as He prayed in John 17, in order to sound a final warning to the world.
Character, which consists of this victory, this purity, and this unity, is the thing that converts faith into a holy destiny. “The devils believe, and tremble,” (James 2:19) remember… but their belief does not redeem them, because they are missing the element of character. Demons are not lacking in knowledge, but in character. This is how we know the true children of Yahweh from those who, let us be direct, are children of the Enemy, even if they wear robes that appear to be righteous. Remember what Yahshua said to the Pharisees: “Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.” (Mat 23:15)
Woe unto you, who put a lot of “work” into your ministry, teaching the right doctrines, the right speech, the right way to see the Father and Son after a theological manner… but neglect to teach character. Of course, in your mind, you are doing the “right thing,” because surely, surely, truth is better than error, right? But if you search sea and land for those willing to agree with you, and you pull them from their open errors, even their open sins, but you do not teach character, you are only making educated devils. You are only making a people confident in their presumed holiness, because they speak and act like saints (for the most part), and more confident than their teachers, because they have a longer tradition to lean on… but they have no true victory. They have no true understanding of the “mind of Christ.” They have no burning desire for unity with the brethren, or a knowledge of how to identify the Best and his image, which (according to our inspired writings) will be the actual and true final test of the Churches, this sensitivity to the Beast’s activities, this perception of what is hateful to the Father and Son.
We see people putting a lot of effort into teaching the non-Trinity, or that the vegetarian diet is God’s intention for His people, or that Christmas is a pagan-born celebration – so don’t you dare acknowledge it in any way! We don’t necessarily disagree with a lot of those sentiments. But if someone is working to convince people of these things as their primary purpose, as the reason they believe that Yahweh put them on this earth, then woe unto them. If they are not teaching consistent and complete victory over sin for the born again believer, they aren’t teaching the character of Christ. If they are not teaching the true principles of Christian behavior in the context of that victory, and what it means to be a “believer,” they aren’t teaching the character of Christ. If they are not teaching the organized faith necessary to gather a people that will resist the Enemy’s final temptations, and the tribulation that will come forth from that, they aren’t teaching the character of Christ, and they actively make themselves an enemy of the third angel and its message. Woe unto them indeed, for they have a theoretical faith, as the devils do, and no way to bridge the gap between the correct teachings and the inheritance of Christ Himself, our Promise of Glory, and the Tree of our everlasting life.
There is a judgment in which the people of Yahweh are now standing, and a tribulation ahead that is less about the challenges of the world, and more about the relationship between the Father and His people. Remember what I said in the last study: there is a time when Yahshua ceases His intercessions, when He leaves the Heavenly Realm and says, “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still.” (Rev 22:11) Just a few verses later, we read, “Blessed are they that do His Commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the City.” (Rev 22:14)
We see here an undeniable link between behavior, described here as the “doing” of Yahweh’s Commandments, and the righteous character. Those that are righteous, and holy, are blessed in their obedience. And reading carefully, it does not say, “Blessed are they because they do His Commandments.” Even here, in a verse that can easily be taken as a justification for a legalistic approach to the Sabbath, or any other commandment, the divinely inspired words give no opportunity for abuse. Those who obey the commandments are those who are blessed. It is faith, by way of character, that brings about obedience, and therefore every good work. These kinds of verses might be easy enough to misinterpret, but when you see it, you see it… and when you see it through the lens of righteousness by faith, you see it correctly.
We read in Revelation 22 about the sealing of Yahweh’s people, a locking of the character into holiness or profanity. Through their connection with Yahshua, His sacrifice and ministry on our behalf, we who are His People are “righteous still” and “holy still,” remaining in these states… these states that we have before the pronouncement goes forth. It is not that righteousness begins when this statement is made at the close of probation, but at that point they are recognized as permanent, as unchanging into eternity. By faith, we claim it now, saying with Paul in prophetic utterance, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing.” (2Tim 4:7, 8) This is the testimony of those who are One with the Father and Son now, this day, while mercy yet pleads for the penitent. There is no fear of the pronouncement that probation ends, for it is merely a confirmation of what we have already become.
The teaching of Christianity from the beginning has been that Christ Yahshua is our Mediator between God and man, our Advocate, and our Avenue to that mercy. (1Tim 2:5) It is what we have relied upon for sanctification, for repentance, for hope. What shall we do, then, when that ministration ceases as Revelation 22’s statement is proclaimed to the universe? “Let all the characters thus far formed be the everlasting inheritance of every intelligent creature.” Doesn’t this idea – that someday soon His intercessory ministry will cease – take away the whole Christian Economy, and leave us with nothing in its place? His intercessory ministry is, indeed, soon to cease, but Creation Seventh Day Adventists do not teach this as a negative thing – no, all that Yahweh does for us is Gospel, is Good News. Will He take away the covering between His face and the faces of His saints? Yes… because it is good that He does so. Yes… because we no longer need it in that day.
Yahweh does not cease to love us when Yahshua is no longer standing between us; no, the Son has prepared us for His Father’s fierce love, who continues to give us everything that we need, and more than we ever realized we wanted. This is a fearsome doctrine, a fearsome event, for those who are not prepared, of course, for those not preparing by resting in and applying the Word and Its principles. All of Christendom claims to be eagerly desiring the soon return of Yahshua, but for many the words of the prophet applies: “Woe unto you that desire the Day of Yahweh! To what end is it for you? The day of Yahweh is darkness, and not light.” (Amos 5:18) Many a Christian, many an Adventist, who relies on his faith and expects a holy destiny, will receive this judgment, because he has not the character to connect his faith to his destiny.
For the saints, we read, “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, ‘Peace and safety,’ then sudden destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day. We are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.” (1Th 5:1-6)
What a passage this is, what a privilege this is, to be friends, children, and heirs, of the Creator of the universe, who reveals His secrets to us, (Amos 3:7) and who tells us what He is doing. (John 15:15)
So when we read that we will stand before the Father without an Intercessor, remember that while it is right to “fear Yahweh,” we read, and please take this to heart, “Thou shalt fear Yahweh thy God, and serve Him, and shalt swear by His name. And Yahweh commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear Yahweh our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is at this day.” (Deu 6:13, 24)
If there was ever a passage worth memorizing, or sticking on your wall in a frame, it is this pair of verses. Verse 25 is worth reading as well. But woe unto those who think the Old Testament was all about stones, and Law, and death! Woe unto those who think that the instructions provided for our benefit, the Sabbath, the New Moons, Baptism and Church membership, the inspired counsels for our lives, are burdensome or grievous. They do not know my Father’s face. He commands us so that we may be preserved alive, so that we may live before Him always. Everything He instructs us to do is for our blessing, and so when He calls your name, when He commands you to stand before Him in judgment, spiritually naked, with no excuses or justification, it is good news. When He says, “Put away your sin, it is time to awaken,” it means you are ready… ready to be made ready. When He says, “Turn away from the doctrines of devils, and see Me as I am,” it means that you are about to be prepared for everlasting life. When He says, “Recognize my Spirit in a people where I have placed it, and not in the world,” it means you are being called to reject the Beast and its image, and to rest in unity with the Father, the Son, and the fellowship of the saints, invited, as it is written, “to the general assembly and Church of the Firstborn, which are written in Heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect.” (Heb 12:23)
We serve Him in reverence; in other words, we apply His principles, and when we do so, we “swear by His name.” We teach His name to the world as the Originator and Sustainer of our righteousness.
Paul’s statement to the Thessalonians, quoted above, ended with, “Let us watch and be sober.” Yes, the idea that we are before Yahweh, standing in His judgment, is sobering, but it is not repulsive. It is not to push us away, to but to draw us near. Let it make your approach solemn, but do not think, “How can we maintain the difficult thing of being holy without an Intercessor? How are we going to avoid sinning? How are we going to never sin again?” The angels do not think this way. Adam did not think this way before his transgression. We do not think that way after we are restored. Let your thoughts be transformed. From now until the day we are translated, and forever after that, we are doing what we love. We are living in a choice that we have made, a choice made possible by the Plan of Salvation. This is what the First Angel teaches us, to worship the Father and Son. (Rev 14:7) Because Yahweh’s judgment has come, give glory to Him. Worship Him; it is not to fear His wrath in the judgment, but to be ready.
For those who commit to applying the principles of salvation, the principles of character – victory over sin, purity of faith, and unity of spirit – the judgment is nothing from which to hide.
A faithful husband does not say, “How can I avoid adultery today? How can I be sure I will avoid adultery tomorrow?” No, the love of his wife, and the respect of his covenant, makes the concept of infidelity a hateful thing from which he recoils. He has a perfect hatred of the damage it would do to his soul, and the pain it would cause to his family. He “cannot” do it in any practical sense. This is how sanctification presents all sin to our increasing sensitivity. Not all sins are equally destructive, but all sins are perfectly hateful to a spirit-filled conscience. When we build the Christ-like character, we experience this, and we see the result of its application. When the principles of righteousness are implanted in the soul, we have victory over sin. We have purity of beliefs to the degree that we understand them, and we seek, above all else, unity with the Father and Son, and unity with our brethren who share Their Spirit. That is the “proof” that we have heard the Third Angel’s leadings. Those who do not, no matter their profession, no matter the apparent success of their ministry, if they do not testify of victory, and if unity with the brethren is not their highest earthly goal, their greatest and most sought-after aim, for which they would sacrifice money, reputation, and so on, then they are not being led by the Third Angel, and have questionably heard the first two, if at all. This is what the effect of the principles of righteousness do to transform the character and the intents of the heart when they are applied in the life.
Now, we see how doctrine relates to faith. Suppose we are attempting to teach someone about New Testament Feast-keeping, and I am deliberately choosing something that is not really a “test of fellowship” for CSDAs. Once they have accepted the First Angel, they are committed to righteousness, so they will not try to escape a genuine consideration of the belief, even if they previously thought it was irrelevant, or even dangerous. What are the results of accepting, and the results of rejecting? The First Angel’s message, which commits them to righteousness, allows them to really examine a doctrine, even if it means changing their beliefs and practices, because they no longer fear death, so they no longer fear change.
The Second Angel then reveals its principles – that the Feast days of Yahweh mark out the sacred calendar with symbols representing the plan of salvation – then they begin to understand why they were observed in both the Old Testament by the Jews, and in the New Testament by the Christians, following the apostolic example. They were observed in very different ways, of course; as inspired writings have declared, the “Jewish Economy” of blood for pardon had passed away. Nevertheless, the First and Second Angel may work together, to grant a new Christian insight into the blessings that gathering together at appointed times may bring.
The Third Angel, finally, brings about the gathering-together. It teaches the rejection of the world and its ways, and the fellowship of the saints instead. In turning away from Satan’s plan and policies, we see the Narrow Way before us. This is an example of how the application of the Three Angels’ messages, the principles of the divine character, allows new light to be accepted, and misunderstandings to be put away.
Generally speaking, the Third Angel’s principles, along with those of the First and Second, allow us to recognize the Beast, and thus understand the test of the Churches in this last generation. When we teach people the issues concerning the SDA Trademark, the First Angel, once again, ensures a commitment to righteousness at any cost. That must come first. There is no fear of being misled, but a cautious drive to understand how a people that supposedly believe in the Bible can bring lawsuits against fellow believers in direct contradiction to the Word of God. (1Cor 6:1) What does that mean for individual Adventists?
The Second Angel’s principles bring to mind an understanding of Babylon, and Babylon fallen, how the acceptance of pagan errors brings about a gradual desensitization to the character of Christ. And then, in that desensitized state, when she no longer responds to her Husband, the wayward Church goes after another groom, and unites with Satan’s power operating through human institutions… the Beast. It is the Second Angel that teaches us why this is the fall of a once blessed people.
By applying the principles, you see, our eyes are opened to the reality of the spiritual world, and our place in these final events of the Great Controversy. And the choice is really obvious if character is seen as the result of the Three Angels’ Message. What is the character, what is the spirit, of those who go to Law against the saints of Yahweh, those who would rather die than live in violation of their consciences? What is the character, what is the spirit, of those who are supportive of, or indifferent to, the suffering of others? Where is the Christ-likeness of cheering on a corporate Goliath, when the Spirit of Yahweh is calling for us to stand up for others who are persecuted, and bear the consequences of our own actions with grace? Remember what the Bible says about true religion? (James 1:27) It is about giving aid to widows and orphans. It is about reliving the poor. It is to defend the defenseless, and help the helpless.
This isn’t just about the saints of Yahweh being trouble-makers, or wishing to carve out our own little kingdom on earth. For righteousness’ sake, we put our necks on the block, potentially, for others, not only when we are the target of the Church-state union, because we fulfill the Law and “love [our] neighbor” as ourselves. (Mat 22:37-40) We know that the Trademark is a Mark of The Beast, because those who agree with it agree with what a beast is: a union of Church and state that, through a lack of agape love, enacts policies that seek to force the consciences of God’s people into a violation. This is what the principles of the Third Angel reveal, what the divine character understands.
It does not require any complicated doctrinal studies, except to un-teach tradition to those who have learned something contrary over many years. Any CSDA can tell you, when we speak of these things to nominal Christians, to Sunday-keepers, to our family members who live in varying levels of agnosticism, they understand. They understand it more readily than just about any mainstream Seventh-day Adventist. Someone coming to the Bible new can see this easily, but if they have been taught that the Mark of The Beast is, and can only be, a “Sunday Law,” we first have to teach them why that prophecy was, while valid, ultimately conditional. We often make the observation that the very learned, often among SDAs, are the hardest to reach with new light. This is because knowledge and learning (while good in themselves) have been substituted for genuine righteousness. Religious education has been substituted for character, and so the divine principles cannot truly be grasped and applied. When one has the Christ-like character, even if every verse in support of a teaching is not understood, the principles of righteousness are clear, and can guide one’s decisions, to accept, to ignore, or to protest.
Genuine righteousness is not rigid, or legalistic. It is not fixed. It responds in love to people, and therefore is reactive to circumstances and conditions. It is the result of character, not policy, and therefore it is flexible, it grows with our knowledge of the Father and Son, but it does not compromise with sin.
So then, the purpose of our Bible studies, as I began by considering, is to give us the opportunity to behold the Father with our spiritual eyes, and to thereby be transformed into His likeness. As it is written, “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of Yahweh, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of Yahweh.” (2Cor 3:18) For those who need it to begin their Christian journey, the First Angel speaks in our studies, and says, “Come forth from your grave. Cease from sin, and live before Yahweh.” For those who need to refine the divine character they have already accepted, the Second Angel speaks through our studies, and says, “Come out; come away from the doctrines of devils, and see the end of confusion. See the Father and Son for Who They are.” For those who perfect love in their relationship with the Father, the Son, and Their People, the remaining Angel says in our studies, “Come here.” “And an Highway shall be there, and a Way, and it shall be called The Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those, the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.” (Isa 35:8)
As one people, we apply the principles of character. We walk through the valley of death, and see death indeed on either side of us, some lacking faith, and some applying faith legalistically, without the character of Yahshua to balance and refine them. But we shall fear no evil, “Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day.” (Psalm 91:5) “Ye shall observe to do therefore as Yahweh your God hath commanded you; ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. (Deu 5:32)
We walk the narrow Way that is the Character of Yahshua, and we are upheld, as we do so, by the Right Hand of the Father, who has given us all things, including His own divine nature, so that what we learn, and what we read, and what we hear, of Him, becomes a part of our persons, and brings us into a complete, blessed, and joyful conformity to His perfect will.
David.
An Enduring Witness
“God is leading out a people, not a few separate individuals here and there, one believing this thing, another that. Angels of God are doing the work committed to their trust. The third angel is leading out and purifying a people, and they should move with him unitedly.” [Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 1, p. 207]
“We can never by searching find out God. We must not attempt to lift with presumptuous hand the curtain behind which He veils His majesty. The apostle exclaims: ‘How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!’ Romans 11:33. We can so far comprehend His dealings with us, and the motives by which He is actuated, that we may discern boundless love and mercy united to infinite power. Our Father in heaven orders everything in wisdom and righteousness, and we are not to be dissatisfied and distrustful, but to bow in reverent submission. He will reveal to us as much of His purposes as it is for our good to know, and beyond that we must trust the Hand that is omnipotent, the Heart that is full of love.” [The Great Controversy, p. 527]
“What God wants is men who are as true as steel to principle. Unless we have such men, we shall not know when the devising of the enemy comes. We shall not know when Satan speaks as he spoke through the woman in Paul’s day. We are to bring sound principles into the home and into the church. Every member of the family is to exert a right influence in the home, in the church, and in the world.” [Manuscript 66, 1905]