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The Three Angels’ Message tells us that there are three things that purify the soul, preparing the Christian for translation. The first is victory over sin, by which we stand ready for the judgment continually, from now until the return of Yahshua. The second is a clear, and accurate understanding of the truth. The principles of the Scriptures, properly understood and consistently applied, will bring to light any remaining defects of character that survive the light of justification, and they will be identified, confessed, and forsaken. The third is a rejection of the beast, which is nothing more than the spirit of Satan in mankind, acted out through governments, institutions, and fallen Churches. When the principles of the ungodly are rejected, the people of Yahweh naturally draw together in fulfilment of the two great commandments (to love God with all your will, and to love our neighbours as ourselves) and then a perfect unity emerges.
In our recent evangelism of the online environment, and that among Christians, among those who claim to be Christ’s, we have found opposition directly aimed at each of these three things.
When we speak of victory over sin, we are met with incredulity, with excuses for the flesh, with unbelief in the power of our Father to keep us from falling, with accusations of being arrogant and prideful for suggesting that we have truly been saved out of our sins. The reason why Yahshua spoke so directly against hypocrisy is because hypocrisy is what leads to the unpardonable sin, to blasphemy of – rejection of – the Holy Spirit. I will come back to this exploration of the Three Angels’ Message, and their resistance, in a moment, but I think it may be worth looking at that “unpardonable sin” verse for the benefit of those who aren’t familiar with it.
One of the first things we learn about our Father in Heaven, from Church, from school, from family, is that He is a forgiving God. We read in Ephesians 4:32, “And be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” So the Father, through the Son, has set the pattern for all human forgiveness. Again, we read, Isaiah 33:24, in which the prophet is describing renewed Zion, the city of the Redeemer, “And the inhabitant shall not say, ‘I am sick.’ the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.”
It comes as a surprise to some that there is a pair of verses speaking about Yahweh not forgiving sin. And it is Christ Himself, the great love of God revealed in the flesh, who speaks the words, saying, “Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.” (Mat 12:31, 32)
The setting of this passage, as always, is important. Christ is actually speaking about victory over sin, about that first angels’ message that I began with. He says in the verse right afterwards, verse 33, “Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.” And in verse 36 just below it, “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.”
So we see statements about judgment, about making the tree good, so its fruit will be good, and these are preceded by the statement about blaspheming the Holy Spirit being an unpardonable sin.
Why is this the case? You can insult Christ, and you can even turn away from the Father. The prodigal son did that in the parable, you remember, turning away from his father. But when he repented, His father welcomed him back with open arms. But how did he repent? Why did he repent, so that the Father could receive him again with such joy? Let me read the pivotal verses from that parable. After he had spent his inheritance foolishly, and become poor, we read of this unwise young man: “And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.” (Luke 15:15-19)
There can be no question, the young man acted foolishly. He squandered his inheritance in a short period of time, and did not even use any to secure himself a home, or fields, or any means of supporting himself. But then, at this lowest point, we read the point of change, “He came to himself.” His intellect awakened. He remembered who he was, and who his father was, and he saw before himself a new option, one that had not occurred before. He got a flash of divine wisdom, and he returned to his father with repentance.
The Bible says of the purpose of the Holy Spirit, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” (John 16:13) Now, we know that this is the Person of Christ Himself, represented in our hearts invisibly by His Spirit… because He, Christ, is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. But He is speaking of that presence in particular, because those who saw Him in His humanity could reject Him, and later repent. Those who followed His earthly mission, but did nothing, like Saul who became Paul, could receive Him afterwards.
The Gentiles, who were never taught of Yahweh, could be convicted by the preaching of the apostles, and learn how to worship the God of Israel. But what if the prodigal son had said to that still, small voice calling him home, “No, I am too proud to admit that I made a mistake?” What if he had said, “I’ve done too much evil… my father would never accept me again?” Or what if he had said, “I’ve already gone this far, what does it matter now?” These are Satan’s words of discouragement, of despair, and if the son had listened to these words over the voice of the spirit, he would never have returned home.
To blaspheme, which means to cast down, to cast away, the Holy Spirit is to deny the means by which our Father brings us to genuine repentance. When the voice of conscience is drowned out, and conviction is stifled, then the sacrifice of Christ can have no effect on the soul. The Father reaching out through witnesses and messengers is despised, and the heart hardens so that any further attempts to bring conviction only deepens the intensity of the rejection.
Those who will not let their consciences be pricked by the true witnesses are without hope. Those who persist in rejecting the Gospel and its power, not by dismissing the human messengers, but by dismissing the effect that their words begin to have on the inner voice… Yahshua says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.” That is Revelation 3:20, and He says, “I stand at the door and knock, and IF any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” That is the promise. Christ, through His Spirit, knocks at the door of the heart to anyone who hears His Word through His servants. If His voice is heard in this Gospel, and the hearer lets convictions rule, then he will be saved. But if not, then the Holy Guest passes on, sorrowfully, and leaves that house in darkness.
When I first heard the Gospel message, the Adventist message, I surely felt a burning in my chest. And I was tempted, of course, to say, “No, this is too strange. This cannot be true, all this talk of beasts and prophecies, and Saturday being the day of rest…” but I could not deny that something supernatural was here, that I would be betraying my own soul, if I did not follow what I had heard so far, and submit to this gentle, but insistent, voice.
So, this article is called “Finding the Little Flock,” and just to give away the ending right in the middle… the way we find the people of Yahweh, the little flock preparing for Heaven, is to reject hypocrisy, to put away all coldness of heart, and follow that still, small voice of certain conviction.
Now, the greatest barrier to that, as I was saying before, is hypocrisy. This term is from a Greek word that literally means “acting.” Those who act as if they were something they are not, in the very doing of it they prevent themselves from “coming to themselves,” as the prodigal son did, because they are pretending to be someone else. You cannot come to yourself, if yourself is someone other than it truly is.
When the Pharisees made a great show of faith, of piety, but inwardly they were only interested in the prestige and the material benefits of priesthood, they were pretending to be people that they were not. When Christ came knocking on the door to their hearts, He had the wrong address. He came with a message for that one who stood in the marketplace praying, or who sat in the synagogues reasoning about the Scriptures. Instead, the person living behind that door was a coward, and a glutton, and one filled with undeserved pride. Someone who is pretending cannot hear the voice of Christ calling out, cannot hear the voice of conviction correctly. He becomes used to ignoring the inner voice of conscience, so that when the Spirit of Yahweh attempts to speak through that conscience, it’s just one more occasion on which it is disregarded.
And so, when we are speaking about the Three Angels’ Message, which result in victory over sin, purity of thought and belief, and then unity of all the believers as we prepare for translation, it is hypocrisy that is the greatest obstacle our hearers must overcome. They must admit they were in error… which is very hard for the flesh to do. They must, in many cases, be courageous, in case they were mistreated or burned by a previous Church or congregation. Fear is a very strong temptation to pretend that one is fine with being alone, or that they are somehow special, and uniquely capable of sanctification without the prophets, and teachers, and ministers provided for that very purpose… to sanctify and perfect the character.
When the First Angel is mentioned, that the worship of Yahweh means the putting away of all sin, and letting Christ live His perfect life through us in the judgment of the Father, it is hypocrisy, it is acting, pretending, that says, “I don’t believe we can cease from sin.” Everyone knows that sin is a choice. If sin could not be resisted, mankind would not be guilty. But because sin is a choice, it can also be chosen against. Man has no power in himself to resist sin, but Christ has offered us the choice of His infinite power to overcome.
Even those who speak out most firmly against the idea of ceasing from sin know the Scriptures that say, “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.” There are no limits on that verse, are there? It doesn’t say, “I can do all things except stop sinning through Christ which strengthens me.” It doesn’t say, “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me, except when I am tempted in a certain way,” or “except when my flesh is in control.” No, the flesh is dead. Self is in the grave, and the King of Glory lives even in this fragile flesh. The corruptible puts on in-corruption, as Paul says, and this is the promise of everlasting life.
Similarly, when the Second Angel is mentioned, the biggest challenge for those who hear that Babylon is Fallen, that there is an end to confusion, and a way to truly know the Scriptures and will of our Father, is hypocrisy.
They say, “I know the Bible. I’ve been studying the Scriptures for X number of years, and I understand this doctrine perfectly.”
They reject the messenger bringing them new light, and more importantly, they resist the voice of conviction, that “Maybe I have something to learn about this,” when the Spirit attempts to prick them. They do as the Pharisees did in Christ’s day, saying, “We are the authority. We are the ones who know what we are talking about. We don’t need to learn anything from you feast keepers,” or “you victory over sin fanatics” or “you non-Trinitarians.”
That’s an interesting one… we get more resistance from non-Trinitarians about the Godhead than from Trinitarians these days. The thing is, doctrinally, we agree with those who reject the Trinity. We know what the Bible says about the Only true God, and His only begotten Son. The problem is, many who have that understanding have fallen into the ditch on the other side of the road, and this truth becomes the extent of their experience of Christ.
Our Savior, Yahshua, is more than just a correct understanding of His relationship to the Father. He is, in us, our full experience of the world, of reality. And yes, being a Trinitarian can warp that view, to the point where the soul can be in danger… so we ought to teach that it is an error. But any suggestion that there are more immediate concerns (like ongoing, wilful sin in the life of the would-be Christian) is met with some pretty hard resistance. I have been banned from Facebook forums and kicked out of discussion groups for calling myself a non-Trinitarian instead of an anti-Trinitarian… and if that isn’t fanaticism, I’m not sure what it would look like.
I’m not saying that teaching the truth of the Godhead is not a critical aspect of discipling a new convert, but they have to be a “convert” first. They have to accept the first angel… well, first, and worship Yahweh in spirit and in truth, ceasing from sin and learning to do well. Then, and only then, will a proper spiritual picture of the Godhead be significant. But, and this is the point, that’s just one false doctrine among many. The “personality of God” may be everything to us as a people, as one inspired quote says, but having a son is not a personality trait. Being a Trinity, or not being a Trinity, is not a personality trait. Being loving, and kind, and merciful, and longsuffering, and so on… the fruit of the Spirit. This is what is everything to us as a people. To know that our Father is all these things, and because we are made in His image, and redeemed back to His image, we are also all these things… that is everlasting life.
Finally, when the Third Angel is brought up… once again, it is hypocrisy that rears its ugly head. We say, “The Third Angel is gathering a people. It’s calling us into unity against the Mark of the Beast, and in the final preparation for Heaven.” And we hear the responses, “Oh, yes, unity, we want that.” And we say, “Great, let’s get together and talk. Let’s reason through our differences.” And then we hear, “Oh, but you believe this,” or “you do that.” And yes, we do… but isn’t the point of the conversation to find out why? And if we are in error, we are willing to be convinced… but here we see the hypocrisy. The typical independent ministry, or self-sent messenger claims to want unity, claims to want to come together in faith… but we have found few, few, and very few, who genuinely desire this.
Some are unwilling to challenge their own conclusions. Some are too fearful of anything resembling an organized Body of believers. Some, sadly, are in it for self-interest and financial gains. But in every case it is hypocrisy, it is pretending, it is avoiding the voice of conviction, that leaves them in the darkness. Some are so used to denying their consciences that they barely feel anything except anger for being opposed, contradicted. But if they were to explore that anger, and see why they become so emotional, so passionate about a dissenting view, they would realize that their feelings are fig-leaves, covering up a fear of change, an unwillingness to go wherever the Lamb goes.
Those who do not confront and overcome their hypocrisy cannot understand the Three Angels’ Message. They cannot hear the voice of wisdom, the voice of wisdom, crying out from the wilderness. They cannot find the little flock that they claim to be seeking.
But let us, as messengers of the Gospel, be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Let us recognize the reason for the resistance to the Words that our Father has given us to share. Let us love those who accuse us, and who reject us even with great anger… because we know why they are angry, and it is not because of us, but because of the Spirit that they are fighting. And let us exercise that wisdom in seeking the reconciliation.
When Yahshua was struck during His trial, we read His response in John 18:23, “If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why smitest thou me?” We say to people, “Christ has set you free from sin. You don’t need to be confused any longer. There is a place for you among the saints on the earth.” That’s the Three Angels’ Message. If I have given you bad news, tell me what is bad about it. If I have spoken good news to you, then why do you reject it?
That is how WE find the flock. I have spoken about people needing to overcome hypocrisy in order to hear the Spirit calling them to the flock… but in another sense, this is how WE find the scattered sheep of Israel, by bringing them face to face with their true nature, so that the Spirit will have a chance to do its subtle, miraculous work. When we express love for those to whom this is new, and give them a direct testimony of what they need to hear, telling them of the forgiveness and acceptance of Yahweh without in any way excusing their sin, this is what brings the little flock together.
When we do this, then we will see repentance among the sinners, and the beginning the harvest, just as that parable of the prodigal son ends, as I read here from Luke 15:32, “It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad; for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.”
David.