Twitter

As the title of this study might indicate, I would like to discuss a rather solemn topic today, and so it is fitting to begin with me painting a rather sad picture. I want you to imagine a woman who is afraid of her husband. She says she loves him, and she feels that she does. She wants to please him, to do what he likes, and some of the time it appears that she succeeds… but she is always afraid of angering, annoying, or disappointing him. Maybe he will reject her one day, she fears. He might take another wife instead, or just kick her out of the house. Maybe he will do something to hurt her. Because of these constant thoughts and feelings, she isn’t content, she isn’t comfortable; but where else can she go? She has committed to this man, because he promised her happiness, and there are no others that would have her. She praises him, she tries to make the relationship work. She flatters Him even when He is not around, just in case it gets back to Him what she is saying.

This is a woman who is suffering from abuse. But you will notice, nowhere in this description have I said anything about what the husband is actually doing. He may be the perfect gentleman, or a violent aggressor. He may be very kind, or the type of person for whom such fears are understandable.

In either case, though, she is suffering. She perceives attitudes, behaviors, and possibilities that would be abusive if accurate; therefore, she reacts as one who is being mistreated, either by her actual husband or by her thoughts.

What I am describing here is the typical Christian, the typical Christian Church, if they were to be perfectly honest with themselves. They do not have Sabbath rest. They fear failure so much that they either conclude that “everybody sins, so what I am doing is not so bad,” or they become legalistic zealots whose religion degenerates into cold, unforgiving formality.

The Scriptures tell us, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:18)

We have spoken to Christians who believe that there is an eternally burning hell – that this is the system created by infinite love and wisdom to address the problem of universal sin. It is an impossible contradiction. The perfect heart of love, they claim, could find no better solution for transgressors than eternal, painful torment. This is not a god that a human being can understand, and so excuses are made for him. “His ways are higher than ours,” the claim is made, “We are not meant to understand.” Some of those words are correct. They are from Isaiah 55:9. But the meaning is misunderstood. In Isaiah 55:9, let us read the context carefully, and we will begin from verse 7 and read all the way down to verse 12. It is all important.

“Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto Yahweh, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. ‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,’ saith Yahweh. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater, so shall My Word be that goeth forth out of my mouth; it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” (Isa 55:7-12)

So, here is the matter… Yahweh is not using that verse to separate Himself from the mind of man. He is saying that He is greater than mankind in the things that humanity values. He will show mercy when men would not. He will forgive, when human nature might cry out for revenge. He will take a people that have betrayed Him, and He will heal their wounds. He will not fail in accomplishing whatsoever He declares; and He does all this, He says, so that we might have joy, and peace.

Yahweh’s thoughts and ways are higher than ours, because while our understanding of love is limited, His is not. This does not make His definition of love, justice, mercy, and punishment different from ours in any fundamental way. This does not paint a picture of a God whose mind is alien to ours, but One in whose image we ourselves have been made. This passage does not mean that He acts in ways that are impossible for us to understand, and then says, “You need to believe it, you need to justify it. You need to agree with it.” No, Yah does not cause His people to be dishonest. He invites them to look into His judgments, and to genuinely agree with His decisions – reasonably, from the head, and from the heart.

We read, “Hear ye, O mountains, Yahweh’s controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth, for Yahweh hath a controversy with His people, and He will plead with Israel. ‘O my people, what have I done unto thee? And wherein have I wearied thee? Testify against Me.’” (Micah 6:2, 3) I have brought this passage up before in previous studies. I believe it to be one of the most important for understanding our Father’s character. He desires, with pleading, for His people to come into agreement with His judgments. In fact, for the redeemed, and the 144,000 in particular, He gives judgment into their hands. “Know ye not that we shall judge angels? How much more things that pertain to this life?” (1Cor 6:3)

Yahweh will punish sinners. He declares the beginning and end of life for each individual, although our choices can certainly hasten our departure, and those who reject His Law often invite premature destruction through cause and effect. In none of this, however, does He use an ounce more force than is necessary for the good of all the living. Those who are not of His mind and spirit may not understand, because the things of Yahweh are foolishness to the carnal man, (1Cor 2:14) but what does that say about those who are not carnal? The spiritual man has the “mind of Christ,” and can understand the purpose of the Father and Son.

Yahshua says, “Henceforth I call you not servants, for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth. But I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.” (John 15:15) I have said it before, and I say it again… if you belong to a Church, group, or fellowship, that does not have a living connection to the Father and Son, that does not have active spiritual gifts, that does not have the voice of prophecy, that is not the Bride of Yahshua. That is a counterfeit. We may not know everything our Father is doing… no man knows, for example, the day or the hour of Yahshua’s return. But we know the principles by which He operates. We know the goals He seeks to accomplish. We know the thoughts He has toward us, as Jeremiah wrote. (Jer 29:11) We are not caught by surprise when the signs of the times tell us what is to come, because this is merely the fulfillment of Yahshua’s words in this verse. We are marching to Zion, and it is not a silent march. There are some of us who are blowing the trumpets, and there are some of us who are beating the drums. If you listen, you will hear the music.

The Church that is filled with the Holy Spirit knows her Husband. Her only fear of Him is unlimited reverence, but she knows that she has been chosen by a loving Lord. She enters into judgment with Him, and when they agree, they move forward as One. This is not, however, the case with the typical Christian, or the typical Christian Church. The typical Christian, although he will never admit it, acts and reacts as one in an abusive relationship.

I have given the example of the punishment for the unsaved. Those who believe this hellish lie are forced to testify on behalf of a cruel god, one that turns people away when they hear that this is believed of him. Another example is that of the nature of the Law itself. The abused wife is always afraid of what her husband will do, because she never knows what to expect from him. He may say one thing, and do another. He may change his mind about what he requires of her, and this instability contributes greatly to her anxiety.

Yahweh does not change. His plan of salvation does not change. His requirements for us do not change. When temporary measures were put in place for a specific purpose, we were told that they were not going to last forever. We read, for example, of animal sacrifices: “And He [the Messiah] shall confirm the covenant with many for one week, and in the midst of the week He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations He shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” (Dan 9:27)

The New Testament, through the perspective of the Gospel, explains, “For such an High Priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for His own sins, and then for the people’s; for this He did once, when He offered up Himself.” (Heb 7:26, 27)

The Law underlying the covenant, however, that is forever. That is an eternal blessing, given to mankind before sin entered the human experience in Genesis, and as the prophets tell us, will continue after the Heaven and earth are all renewed. (Gen 2:3, Isa 66:23)

The very last chapter of the entire Bible tells us, “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) There is not a shadow of turning here, and the devoted wife, one who recognizes the true nature of her Husband, safely rests on her firm foundation of faith.

So we may speak of doctrines, and we may speak of obedience. The fundamental problem with the Christian Churches is that they do not have a clear view of the God of the Bible. They see Him through a lens that is distorted by human traditions, the sinful nature of generations of deceivers, and Satan’s best efforts. Yes, the typical Christian acts as an abused woman in his relationship to Yahweh, and Satan has done this. He has built a wall of separation between Christ and His people in the minds of those who do not have Sabbath peace. As a result, they see Him as inconsistent, exacting, and impossible to be understood.

And if you think that Seventh-day Adventists are better off because they have the letter of the Law… I have already shared with you the impact of the way that the judgment of the living is taught, and how that affected me as a mainstream Adventist. The God of the modern Seventh-day Adventist is conducting a secret inquisition, and if you wake up on the wrong side of the bed one day, you just might be committing a sin when your name comes up… and your lifetime of trying your best to be a good SDA, a good Christian, was all for nothing.

The Judgment of the Living makes no sense from a loving God without the Victory over Sin. The idea that one can be secretly judged, and secretly lost, with no assurance of acceptance in the end, is no less terrifying than the idea of eternal torment. And the root of both false doctrines is the same… Satan has built a veil over the eyes of professed Christians, so they believe (though they will never identify it this way) that their husband is an abuser. It is an abusive husband that says, “In my heart, I have already rejected you, but I will let you continue to think you have hope.” It is an abusive husband that says, “I am going to test your loyalty, but I will not tell you how or when, and I will not give you the tools to guarantee your success.” The Church of Yahshua, the CSDA Church in this last generation, is the only one that Yahweh has provided with the authority to address these fatal deceptions, and to say, “No, I testify that my Father has saved me from sin, has lifted me up out of my transgressions, and has provided me with everlasting life… today, today, this very day.” Everyone else is waiting for the experience that will make them feel comfortable enough with their Husband to say such things… but they wait, hiding in the closet, until they feel safe from the very One who died to save them. It is a portrait of abuse.

Yes, good and inspired Adventist writings speak of being diligent in one’s faith, of watching and praying, of recognizing the solemnity of these days of atonement. They speak of perfect obedience to the Law, and an unwavering commitment to righteousness. But there is nothing here, or anywhere inspired by the Spirit, that speaks of uncertainty in one’s acceptance. There is not a word of holy writings, neither during nor after the Bible, that causes one to doubt that we have all we need, actively, to succeed. The God of the Bible puts His own life into our hands, His own power over sin into our hearts, and says, “Take this, and overcome the enemy.” Yahweh is not judging us as one expecting us to fail… no, He is supporting our consistent and unbroken overcoming of the enemy, for His glory and for our salvation. That is the love of God toward His people, and the love of Christ toward His Bride.

In our last study, The Mark of Cain, we saw that the spirit of discontent and the religion of works are one and the same. Here we see it played out in the daily lives of those who claim to be Christ’s. Because they are discontent, because their religion is based on obedience, they cannot see the Bridegroom clearly, and they believe the Enemy’s lie about His character. They stay with Him, of course, because there is no alternative, but those doubts, those insinuations, those rumors they have accepted… it keeps them from peace, and so they never fully accept His gift to them, His gift of Himself. They never receive His Spirit, and so the wages of sin remains upon them, as death.

The Bride of Yahshua knows Her Husband, and rightly understands and teaches His Word. She knows that the Bible’s passages balance, but never contradict. She knows that every word is true, and that in their proper context, light the way forward along the narrow path. She knows, for example, how to deal with statements such as these:

“Hast thou faith? Have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth. And he that doubteth is damned if he eat [foods offered to idols], because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” (Rom 14:22, 23)

“All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.” (1Cor 6:12)

How does the Bride handle the Husband’s words here? On the one hand, “whatsoever is not of faith is sin,” which sounds very restrictive and rigid. On the other, “All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient,” or profitable.

She knows that the first passage is not promoting legalism, because all the commandments do is outline the boundaries. “Thou shalt not,” do these things, not “Thou shalt do” these specific things. By defining what the believer is not to do, all that remains is freedom.

She knows that the second passage is not promoting licentiousness, because right after those verses, Paul tells the saints to “flee fornication.” (1Cor 6:18) Clearly, it is possible to take the idea that “all things are lawful unto me” too far.

There is a balance between freedom and responsibility. Yahweh has given us creative, exploratory minds, and it pleases Him when we use it to discover, to innovate, and to learn from His creation directly. He does not dictate what His people are to do in all things, because that is not what a respectful and loving husband does with his bride. At the same time, that which He knows is dangerous, or unprofitable, about these things he warns her. This is the relationship between Christ and His Church also… He has given us His Spirit, not a spirit of force and control, but of righteousness and love, and this is what guides us.

The CSDA Church illustrates the balance between freedom and boundaries quite well. Pastor “Chick” has testified, more than once, that he used to be a lot more strict in the things that he observed and advocated within the Church setting. Now, he has pulled back on some of those things, but at the same time, he has expressed concern that he does not go too far with this and give off the impression that there is anything less than a perfect standard. I think this is a good thing… all of it; both pushing in the direction of freedom, and concern that we are hitting that point of balance accurately. The desire to set perfect righteousness before Yah’s people reveals a sincerity that allows the Spirit to guide us in the right paths without the least smell of legalistic tendencies. We will not be fanatics, but we will not forget that the Day of Atonement is a “solemn feast” either. Even there – solemn feast – these are words that can seem contradictory, a serious-minded celebration, but the overall meaning is actually very appropriate.

I think that this is the proper order of things. When the Israelites were being drawn out of Egypt, where they had a lifetime of bad habits to unlearn, and an example to set before the world, it made sense that the Father was “strict” with them. They were given a very rigid system of worship, and severe earthly penalties for transgression. As they came to know righteousness more intimately, they were given more freedom to explore the boundaries of that righteousness. Often, yes, these boundaries were exceeded, and prophets arose to bring the people to repentance. By the time of Christ, however, Yahweh was seeking spiritually mature followers. They did not need to be stoned to death for adultery or murder… no, He sought to put such a heart in them that the penalties would be unnecessary altogether.

The history of the CSDA Church shows that we have followed this very pattern.

Children must be trained. Good parents will provide them with relatively strict discipline when they are young. If they do not clean their rooms, or brush their teeth, they must be punished, even if they do not fully understand the importance of a clean room and a clean mouth. As they grow, however, the parents must let them go to do the right thing simply because it is the right thing, or they will never mature. By the time they are ready to marry and have families of their own, that kind of parental discipline has fully disappeared. It does not mean that the desire of the parents for a healthy, happy child has changed, only that there is a deeper understanding of the goals, and how to meet them.

Yahshua returns for spiritual virgins, young and innocent women, but those who are old enough and mature enough to be wives. They will have submitted themselves to the strict disciplines of childhood, but then have grown up into those who walk the path of obedience out of a genuine desire for the holy, rather than being told what to do by an external authority. The wise ones, with oil in their lamps, have their way lit by the Spirit. They do not need to buy other people’s oil to know where righteousness is to be found.

Nobody will be in Heaven because they obeyed the Law, or Ellen G. White. Those are valuable resources for the saint, no doubt. However, there is no true religion that is based on works. Nobody who obeys just because there are rules is acquainted with the Holy Spirit, which teaches us the character of Yahshua. Sometimes in the course of our growth, and our exploration of righteousness, we might “feel” guilty, even with a loving Head and Lord, and we need to parse those thoughts, to examine them carefully. The wicked do not always feel guilty, and the righteous do not always feel at ease. Think, reason, plan. Rely on Yah’s mercy, and that is how we endure until the end.

The Bride of Christ is not abused. Those who act and feel abused, even when they do not recognize it as such, have not yet found the Bridegroom. They have not yet become one with the mature and marriage-ready young Woman. They may have seen her, but they do not recognize her as the genuine Bride.

I have mentioned a couple times before that in college I attended a Bible study with Christians of various churches. When it became known that I was a Seventh-day Adventist, and a Sabbath-keeper, one of the girls there spoke to me and said she felt that Adventism, because of its “focus on works” keeps people in bondage to the Law.

I replied to her, “You have seen me, and you have heard me speaking about the Bible and Christ for a number of weeks now. You know my love for the Word, and that I can answer many questions with both accuracy and a sense of joy.” She seemed a little surprised by the confidence of my statement, and I asked her, “Do I seem bound by anything to you? Yes, I keep the Sabbath, and I don’t eat unclean meats, and I believe that God cares about what we do in these bodies He has given us, but do I seem in bondage because of these things?” She thought for a while, then she said, “Well, no…”

She had to admit that my testimony was of freedom, and while she never reconciled it in her mind, and did not recognize the presence of the Bride, she could not deny the testimony. If I had been a mainstream Adventist, she would have been right. I would have been keeping the letter, but not the spirit, of the Sabbath. Without Righteousness by Faith, I would be worried about whether or not I was going to be accepted in the judgment of the living. I would be bound to a creed made by men… out of good doctrine for the most part, but a creed nonetheless… I have some very blessed and sweet memories of my days in the Conference Adventist Church, good and positive feelings, but I knew that I was not seeing God clearly, and I excused it as His ways being higher than my ways, and His thoughts being higher than mine.

Fortunately, the Shepherd sought me out, because I was willing to be made willing to learn of His truth and His beauty, and He brought me to His little Flock. My outward actions may, to some, seem very much the same as those things that are done in the SDA Church, but as for that girl who thought of Sabbath-keeping as bondage, because I am a Creation Seventh Day Adventist, who knows the Bridegroom, and receives His love in faith, she could see that my experience was not one of bondage, but of victory over all the works of the enemy. Because I am a Creation Seventh Day Adventist, I have been able to speak to people who have been acquainted with Adventists for years, and to speak of the Law of Yahweh to them in a way that has made them say, “I’ve never heard it explained that way before.”

Satan paints commandment-keeping Christians as abuse victims to the rest of Christianity. Here, you see, he reverses his course. The nominal Christian thinks he is free, when in reality he is being abused by his false thoughts about Yahweh and Yahshua. On the other hand, he is taught to look at those who willingly obey the commandments, and to think that they are the victims of an abusive and restrictive God. It is ironic, and to be expected of the master deceiver.

The reality is, those who do not keep the commandments, yet believe in a religion of works, have no way of finding the balance. They either feel they are “Sinners in the hands of an angry God,” or that the love of God is such that it permits the indulgence of the flesh. Neither are the truth. Neither reflect the saving faith of Yahshua. We, who see the path, must set it before people, and let our testimony cut through the curtain that the enemy has drawn over Yahweh’s true glory.

Because Satan has painted the Church, and its relationship to Yahshua, as unpleasant, this is very often the reason why people in the world fear and avoid hearing about the Gospel. They believe that they will be entering into an abusive relationship if they were to become converts.

This is why many avoid the message of Yahweh’s angels, because they do not want to be controlled; they do not want to be an abused woman, and they often suspect Christians (sometimes rightly!) of trying a little too hard to be joyful. The misconception here is deadly. This is why many who claim to be Christ’s avoid talking about doctrine with those who disagree with them... because if they are wrong, that means their Husband is angry with them, and will punish them. The fear of being wrong is what either prevents healthy doctrinal debate, or charges them with fear that becomes anger, aggression, and resentment. This is why there are so many disputes about beliefs and teachings, why the conversations often become unpleasant, and why we see the most sincere adherents to a point of view are often the least Christ-like.

Those are the first two angels. The belief, even if subtly and internally, that the Bride of Christ is an abused Woman, is a barrier to the first two Angels. Those who hear do not wish to be converted at all, which is to reject the first angel. Those who are believers cannot stand a calm, reasonable discussion about the areas in which they might be wrong, and so confusion remains; the second angel is rejected.

And obviously, who would want to unite with an abuse victim? Who would want to hear what she has to say regarding her Husband’s true intentions and desires? How would she know, or how could she portray it accurately? And so the third angel is also rejected, because people think that freedom from abuse can only exist outside of organized, Biblical religion, without an identifying name, or a set of principles that guide without imprisoning, that act as a set of signposts to the perfect character without becoming a cold and rigid creed.

Let us recognize this terrible deception for what it is. Satan portrays the Bride of Christ as a weak, powerless woman, controlled and manipulated by an inconsistent master, and so people stay away. It does not matter how right we are, or how blessed we are… if people perceive us as being victims of a hard and unsympathetic Lord, our efforts will come to nothing. The Three Angel’s Message will have no effect.

Let us commit to teaching people the reality, then… that the relationship between Christ and His people, and therefore among His people, is one of love and unforced loyalty. How does a loving Bride approach her husband? She knows Him. She trusts Him. She follows His lead. She knows how to ask for, and receive, that which she desires from Him. This is a relationship worth having, and a relationship worth proclaiming to the world.

I will close with a passage that gives us a picture we would be blessed to share with the lost and dying: “Yahweh thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singing. ‘I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, who are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a burden. Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee; and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame. At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you, for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes,’ saith Yahweh.” (Zeph 3:17-20)

David.

An Enduring Witness

“From the beginning it has been Satan’s studied plan to cause men to forget God, that he might secure them to himself. Hence he has sought to misrepresent the character of God, to lead men to cherish a false conception of Him. The Creator has been presented to their minds as clothed with the attributes of the prince of evil himself,—as arbitrary, severe, and unforgiving,—that He might be feared, shunned, and even hated by men.” [Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, p. 738]

“Satan has ascribed to God all the evils to which the flesh is heir. He has represented him as a God who delights in the sufferings of his creatures, who is revengeful and implacable. It was Satan who originated the doctrine of eternal torment as a punishment for sin, because in this way he could lead men into infidelity and rebellion, distract souls, and dethrone the human reason.” [The Review and Herald, November 17, 1891]

“Christ calls every man and woman to put on the armor of his righteousness and begin to work. I am at your right hand to help you, he declares. Tell all your trials and perplexities to your God. He will never betray your confidence. There is nothing so precious to Christ as his purchased possession, his church, the workers who go forth to scatter the seeds of truth.” [The Review and Herald, May 29, 1900]

Home | Contact | More Articles