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The Bible tells us that “the wages of sin is death.” (Rom 6:23) What this means is that sin separates us from Yahweh. This is true on a number of levels, whether immediate separation spiritually, actual separation from His People (in whom He dwells) now, or total separation in the future after the judgment to come. Sin results in all of these break-downs of the intended unions that our Creator has designed for us to enjoy.
We are told in various verses that our Heavenly Father is light, (1John 1:5) our life, (1John 5:20) and love. (1John 4:8) Because He is these things, His essential nature is to draw all together in unity, in one-ness. The last great prophetic work to be done, right at the close of probation, is the unification of the heavenly family here on earth, and then when probation does close, after a brief time there will be the unification of the divine earthly family with the divine heavenly family. We read of Yahshua’s return, “For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” (1Th 4:16-18)
This is the hope and the comfort of the righteous. Yes, we are a people who live by faith, content in all things, and undefeated by sorrow or despair. But we find comfort, a very holy comfort, in the anticipation we have of seeing our loved ones in the light of our Savior’s glory. When those for whom we care pass away, the Scriptures do not tell us that they are looking down on us from the clouds, or that they are yet in the presence of the Almighty, but that we will all go together to Him with Yahshua at the time of the end.
This physical reunion, this grand display of unity, is preceded by, and made possible by, the spiritual work of unification that takes place just before the time of trouble. We call this the Harvest, and it is accomplished by those who come in the spirit and power of EliYah, of whom it is prophesied, “Remember ye the Law of Moses My servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. Behold, I will send you EliYah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful Day of Yahweh; and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” (Mal 4:4-6)
I could have started with verse 5 if I wished to focus only on EliYah’s mission, but I thought that verse 4 was important as well. The last thing, the very last thing, the Old Testament tells us to do is “remember ye the Law of Moses.” This is the foundation of the divine family’s unity. This is the thing on which all, regardless of experience, temperament, inclination, or level of spiritual understanding, agree. The unfallen and the redeemed all come together in perfect agreement on this point, that the Law given to Moses, which is the Law of Yahweh for human beings, forms the basis of our relationship with Him, and with one another.
This is what EliYah’s mission is… it is to bring all who are willing together on the Law of Yahweh, just exactly as He did before the priests of Ba’al, where it is written, “And EliYah said unto all the people, ‘Come near unto me.’ And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of Yahweh that was broken down.” (1Kings 18:30)
We are the ones who call to the people, “Come near unto me.” Despite the many counterfeits and pretenders, with false tests of fellowship and invented methods of determining orthodoxy, we – with the Commandments of Yah and the Faith of Yahshua – are shown the hearts and minds of those who respond to the Gospel of Christ with joy, and hasten to join themselves to the Father, the Son, and Their People.
Upon the Law of Yahweh, the people of this last generation are to unite a family, to prepare a people to stand in the judgment, to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the children to their fathers, and to turn all hearts to the Father who is in Heaven. This is the work of love. The work of sin is just exactly the opposite. Every force in the world that opposes, or obstructs, this last work of unification, is of the Enemy, and the result, the wage, of this principle is death, the end of light, life, and love.
The principle of life is unity. Consider, when life begins, it begins with a union of two, ideally two who are at peace with Yahweh and in covenant with one another. Life, once begun, is maintained only as long as the vital organs, of which there are many with diverse tasks, function as one. Life can end when any one of many organs fails; it requires the failure of only one organ, and the entire system dies. Is this “fair?” Is it fair that the entire body may die if a single organ fails? It is certainly natural, because each of those organs is in a covenant relationship with the others. I am speaking of biology here, but the way that our various parts interact is a kind of an agreement that illustrates, as Paul points out, the spiritual reality of what it means to be a member of Yahshua’s Church, His earthly Body. As he writes, “So we, being many, are one Body in Christ, and every one members one of another.” (Rom 12:5) This is a concept to which Paul returns often, repeating the idea in 1Corinthians 12:12-27 and Ephesians 5:30.
This is the reason, because there is always a good reason, for concepts such as discipline, correction, and accountability. Yahweh does not wish His people to be unhappy, not for a moment, not for the slightest amount of unnecessary pain, embarrassment, or discomfort, but because sanctification can only happen with agreement, with our conscious participation, we must see the problem of sin for ourselves, so that we know to reject it. One of the earliest books of the Bible tells us, “Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart; thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.” (Lev 19:17) To see a sin in a brother, and to leave him unwarned, is an act of hatred. The camp of Israel was to be entirely free of sin, and it was the responsibility of neighbors and friends to ensure that there were no spiritual blind-spots among its citizens.
For the Church, as the inheritor of Israel’s promises, Paul writes, “Preach the Word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.” (2Tim 4:2) With those pastors whom he trained, Timothy and Titus, Paul was especially carefully to explain the importance of this idea. He says to Titus concerning the doctrine of grace and good works through faith, “These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.” (Titus 2:15)
Learning from these words, of Leviticus in the Law, of EliYah from among the prophets, from the apostle’s instructions to His disciples, we see that we must keep the camp cleansed of evil, holding our brethren accountable, because to an extent, to the extent that we are “one,” their lives are our life. This leads to some delicate matters at times for, like our Father in Heaven, we bear long with those who are of imperfect character, not seeking to discourage the weaker brethren, while at the same time identifying and disarming any excuses that may be made for the transgression of the Law. Willful sin is one thing, but we are in a time of washing ourselves clean of all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, and this requires a family effort.
Peter says, “And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?” (1Pet 4:18) A similar sentiment might be, if we, who have the benefit of the Church Family, must diligently “watch and pray,” processing the thoughts and standing in Yahweh’s judgment, how can any solitary worshipper attain the fullness of the stature of Christ? The Scriptures absolutely teach the importance of Church membership. It is for this very reason that the Church, and its members in various roles, exists… for the perfecting of the saints, (Eph 4:11, 12) therefore let none despise the call to unity, the call to covenant fellowship, while expecting to see the light of Yahshua’s glory without the destruction of the body.
We are here to help one another Heaven-ward. We love our neighbors are ourselves, and to the extent that they allow it, we consider them “One” with us. This is what love does.
The testimony of sin does the opposite of these things.
Most of us have probably heard the name “Gandhi” before. He was a man from India who is famous around the world for peacefully protesting injustice, particularly that which arose from the separation of society into different classes, some of which were seen as being automatically higher, better, than others. The Bible says that this is a great evil; as James writes, “If ye fulfil the Royal Law according to the Scripture, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well, but if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the Law as transgressors.” (James 2:8, 9)
So, we have that principle in common, as well as some others. In fact, I understand that while Gandhi was a Hindu, and had some personal failings, he was very interested in Christianity. He read the Gospels. He studied those who claimed to be followers of Yahshua, and tried to learn what it meant that we call Him the “Messiah.” Unfortunately, this peaceful and well-intentioned man ultimately rejected Christianity, and according to the testimony of some who knew him, it was because he went to visit a Church in Calcutta one Sunday morning, and he was stopped at the door. The Church, he was told, was for whites only, or high-class Indians. He was not white, neither was he a member of the upper classes, and therefore he was turned away. Gandhi, in turn, rejected Christianity, seeing in its followers (at least, the professed followers he encountered) the very same evils as the pagan Hindus he was trying so hard to defy. He was quoted as saying once, “If it weren’t for Christians, I’d be a Christian.”
I heard that quote many years ago, before I became a CSDA, and possibly before I was even a Conference Adventist, and even back then, it wounded me. I didn’t even consider myself a practicing Christian at the time, I don’t think, but it hurt me to think of what a testimony it would have been, if one of the world’s most famous defenders of human dignity were to have become a Christian. Yes, it would have likely been a Sunday-keeping, Trinitarian Church, but unlike many these days, we have been taught by Yahshua. We know better than to turn our backs from, or our noses up at, one who is coming out of darkness, and into our Father’s light.
Here was a man, apparently willing to learn the truth, or at least willing to be made willing, and instead of a testimony of love, he received a testimony of sin. The testimony of sin separates.
The testimony of sin is what sin falsely says about our Father in Heaven. We know Him to be loving, kind, accepting of all who are willing to be separate from evil, and fair even to those whom He must ultimately put to rest. What has sin said about Yahweh? It has said that He is a harsh judge, or that He ignores and overlooks sin among His professed people. Both of these extremes are distortions of the truth. The testimony of sin is that those who fall into the wrath of Yahweh are destined to burn in conscious agony for ceaseless ages while their supposed loved ones celebrate for all eternity during their suffering. The testimony of sin says that Yahweh is exacting, and intolerant of genuine weakness. The testimony of sin says that Yahweh loves and respects some human beings more than others, because of their wealth, color, or connections. The testimony of sin says that it doesn’t matter what you believe, what impact false doctrines have on your character, because He will force you to behave anyway, if you are saved long enough.
Atheists and worldlings who see the testimony of sin, especially among those who profess to be God’s people, justifiably point to hypocrisy and insincerity. They mock the “sinning saint” who confesses and repents only when caught in a public scandal, when they should have been putting away all unrighteousness just as soon as it was discovered in their soul. Even the teachable, the willing, like Gandhi, turn away in disgust, because the messengers have failed to give the true message, and appear no better than those who never knew the Almighty One of Israel.
Because there is sin in the world, and the Churches do not know how to explain the Great controversy, this sin, and what it is twisted to say about Yahweh, separates the spirit of man from the God who is supposed to be both all-loving and all-powerful. Limited human logic says you can have one, or the other, but not both. I have heard this argument many times, and in different words. “Because there is evil in the world,” some say, “God cannot be both all-powerful and love us, otherwise He would remove the sin and relieve suffering, especially for the young and innocent.” The best many Christians are able to say in response is that God is “mysterious.”
It is true that our Father does not reveal all mysteries to humanity, but for the very real and immediate problem of suffering, those who have been with Christ must have a better answer than that. As John says, so the genuine believer says to the world, “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Yahshua the Messiah.” (1John 1:3) The purpose of the knowledge given to us from Yahweh is not so that we may be wise unto ourselves, or successful in our personal endeavors. It is not so that we might be made wealthy, or stand apart from others… no, it is “that ye also may have fellowship with us.” Here again we see what love does… it unites. The testimony of love is a drawing-together of all according to a common faith; therefore, any answer we give to those in the Churches, and those in the world, regarding the presence of sin or anything else, must represent a call to unite upon the foundation of Yahweh’s divine Law.
If those at that Church in India that Sunday morning had known this, this testimony of love, how different history might have been…
We know that Yahweh gave true and genuine responsibility to mankind, and mankind turned over much of that dominion of the earth to Satan. Because there are true consequences to sin, evil and suffering exist in the world. The world does not believe in the concept of sin, because it largely ignores the concept of judgment altogether. People are “flawed,” and “make mistakes,” they say, but that is as deep as the analysis ever goes. It is not until we examine the spiritual dimension that we find the source of these flaws and mistakes. It is not until we acknowledge that, as a race, we have turned our back on the Source of life, and joy, and peace, that we can understand the suffering in the world. No humanistic explanation will ever make sense. No purely physical reasoning can justify the death of little children and peace-loving adults due to war, disease, and poverty. It is not until we realize we have an enemy, one who hates Yahweh and His creation, that we realize we have a prison to escape, an illness that needs curing, a salvation to receive.
The world says, “Explain evil to me, but don’t talk about demons, or Satan, or God’s judgments. I don’t believe in those things, but explain to me why the world works the way that it does.” The Scripture says, “The fool hath said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” (Psalm 53:1) There can be no wisdom without the knowledge of Elohim. The Scripture says, “Answer not a fool [one who does not acknowledge Yahweh] according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him.” (Pro 26:4) If someone says, “Explain the world to me, but don’t talk about spiritual things,” then this verse has the very best advice. We do not play by the rules of unbelief. We bring a testimony, a testimony of love that says, “Yahweh wants to rescue you from this terrible place that we and our tempters have made. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”
Being all-powerful means being all-powerfully restrained from being a dictator, bully, or puppet-master. How easy it would be for Yahweh to become this, considering the infinity of His strength… but no, He will have only genuine, unforced love, and it is the testimony of sin, the example set by sin that remains uncorrected by professed Christians, that says otherwise.
Sin separates from Yahweh. The mind set on the flesh is separated already from its Creator, and criticizes the words of the believer, saying, “Why is the world this way? If I was God, I would do it this way instead.”
Gently, delicately, we must teach the willing that this is the mind of Satan. It is Satan who said, “Not God’s way, but my way.” It is Satan who said, “I will ascend into Heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of Elohim. I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.” (Isa 14:13, 14) It may not sound the same as that to say, “God wouldn’t have done things this way,” but it is the same spirit. The Mark of The Beast, for all its great mystery, is really just the heart of the dragon working through human flesh, human actions, human organizations and institutions. It appears as a lamb, a warm-blooded thing, but inside it speaks as a reptile, with no affection, no love but for its own immediate benefit. This spirit puts its own judgment above God’s.
It is the Beast and its Image that press the idea, “God will not protect you. Come near unto me, and I will be your defender.” It is, indeed, the very counterfeit of EliYah’s message of unity. EliYah says, “Come here, and we will build on the Law of Yahweh, repairing the altar.” The Beast says, “Come here, and we will reject the Law of Yahweh, tearing down the things that are holy, that are righteous, that are healthy and good.” We see that spirit working all through our society today, and when the Christian does not give a testimony of love, it is only the testimony of that sin that remains to draw attention, deceiving the world about who Yahweh is, drawing dark clouds over His supremely loving character, and separating the hearts of the children from their divine Father. We see how this is the anti-Eliyah message, this thing that sin, unrebuked by the Holy Spirit’s agencies, says to the world.
The world, and those who are of it, have the mind of the Enemy. It doesn’t always make them openly cruel and vicious, and so they are often tempted to think that they are “okay,” morally and spiritually speaking. However, because they think like the Great Rebel, because they put their judgment above Heaven, rather than learning from Him who is of Heaven, they have no protection against being manipulated into being cruel and vicious whenever the Enemy wishes them to be. This is why, of the last days, it is written, “Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death.” (Mark 13:12) It is not that these people had no brotherly love, no family love, no natural affection, but they did not have agape, the testimony of divine love, to seal and protect that love against deception, influence, even possession by the tempting spirits. Sin among professed Christians provides the worst, the most damaging testimony, and it is excused by the salvation-in-sin doctrine.
As we have said, as a people, it does not make sense to try and learn every error, every false doctrine, so that we can combat them. It is sufficient to know the truth, in this case the truth about the character of Yahweh, so that anything contrary to it will be known as a falsehood. It is sufficient to know the impact of the testimony of sin, to know that it works at cross-purposes, the exact opposite aims, to the work of EliYah, which is our calling as a people in these last days. Our Father has given us tools, taught us how to process our thoughts, and how to speak by faith. We say “I am…” only for that which is true of us in Yahshua, and “I feel…” for everything else we experience in the flesh and mind. At times, in response to sin in the world, I may feel sad, or angry, or frustrated. In Yahshua, however, I am joyful, calm, and content. This allows me to address the cause of negative feelings with sanctified patience, knowing that my Father is guiding me, and this also is the testimony of love, the testimony of the overcoming of sin.
This is the Christian as he must be, so that as we stand at the door of the Church, rather than turning people away, we welcome them inside, we love them as we love ourselves, and we see the hearts of men turning back to the Father, and our joy in the Harvest is thereby complete.
David.
An Enduring Witness
“Let none deceive themselves with the belief that God will pardon and bless them while they are trampling upon one of His requirements. The willful commission of a known sin silences the witnessing voice of the Spirit and separates the soul from God. Whatever may be the ecstasies of religious feeling, Jesus cannot abide in the heart that disregards the divine law. God will honor those only who honor Him.” [Counsels for the Church, p. 51]
“All who would enter the city of God must during their earthly life set forth Christ in their dealings. It is this that constitutes them the messengers of Christ, His witnesses. They are to bear a plain, decided testimony against all evil practices, pointing sinners to the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world. He gives to all who receive Him, power to become the sons of God.” [Counsels for the Church, p. 59]
“A doubt of God’s goodness would have been as evil seed that would yield the bitter fruit of sin and woe. Therefore the author of evil was spared, fully to develop his character. Through long ages God has borne the anguish of beholding the work of evil, He has given the infinite Gift of Calvary, rather than leave any to be deceived by the misrepresentations of the wicked one; for the tares could not be plucked up without danger of uprooting the precious grain. And shall we not be as forbearing toward our fellow men as the Lord of heaven and earth is toward Satan?” [Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 72]