Sabbath Afternoon, May 24
Memory Text:
“Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah.” KJV — Psalm 67:3, 4
Isaiah 2:2 – “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.”
Out of the ruins of both Judah and Israel, is to emerge a Kingdom and a people which shall be exalted above the nations.
The Prophet Daniel, too, plainly declares: “...In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.” Dan. 2:44.
Note that the Kingdom which Daniel is speaking of is to be set “in the days of these kings,” not after their days. Moreover, note that it is this Kingdom (the church purified) that breaks the great image. To this coming Kingdom (the church “cleansed,” purified) “shall the gathering of the people be” (Gen. 49:10).
When the Headquarters of the gospel are thus established, then it becomes certain that the work is to be finished without delay. The gospel of Christ is then to reap an abundant harvest, and the converted multitudes rather than beat their plowshares and pruning hooks into instruments to kill human beings, shall instead beat their spears and swords into farm implements – rather than work to kill, they shall farm to feed.
Sunday, May 25
A Very Present Help in the Time of Trouble
Read Psalm 46. What message of hope can we take from this amid the turmoil of life now and what we know is going to come upon the earth in the last days as the great controversy plays out here?
“The most fearful threatening ever addressed to mortal is contained in the third angel's message. That must be a terrible sin which calls down the wrath of God unmingled with mercy. Men are not to be left in darkness concerning this important matter; the warning against this sin is to be given to the world before the visitation of God's judgments, that all may know why they are to be inflicted, and have opportunity to escape them. Prophecy declares that the first angel would make his announcement to “every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.” The warning of the third angel, which forms a part of the same threefold message, is to be no less widespread. It is represented in the prophecy as proclaimed with a loud voice, by an angel flying in the midst of heaven; and it will command the attention of the world. GC88 449.2
“In the issue of the contest, all Christendom will be divided into two great classes,—those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, and those who worship the beast and his image and receive his mark. Although church and State will unite their power to compel “all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond,” to receive “the mark of the beast,” [Revelation 13:16.] yet the people of God will not receive it. The prophet of Patmos beholds “them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God,” and singing the song of Moses and the Lamb. [Revelation 15:2, 3.]” GC88 450.1
“Through a rift in the clouds there beams a star whose brilliancy is increased fourfold in contrast with the darkness. It speaks hope and joy to the faithful, but severity and wrath to the transgressors of God's law. Those who have sacrificed all for Christ are now secure, hidden as in the secret of the Lord's pavilion. They have been tested, and before the world and the despisers of truth they have evinced their fidelity to Him who died for them. A marvelous change has come over those who have held fast their integrity in the very face of death. They have been suddenly delivered from the dark and terrible tyranny of men transformed to demons. Their faces, so lately pale, anxious, and haggard, are now aglow with wonder, faith, and love. Their voices rise in triumphant song: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.” Psalm 46:1-3.” DD 48.1
Monday, May 26
Hope Amid Turmoil
Read Jeremiah 4:23–26. What is this telling us about the fate of this world, at least until there’s a “new heaven and a new earth” (Rev. 21:1)?
The action here projected against a backdrop of God’s coming judgments upon the land of ancient Israel, because of their rebellion, cannot possibly, in the very reason of things, be limited merely to that land. It simply cannot, in other words, be narrowed down, as some think it can, to mean that only the land of God’s people has been or will be made “void” and left “desolate” and “without form”, – without light and without bird or beast or inhabitant, – and the rest of the earth be left to enjoy all these blessings. The scripture must, on the contrary, be taken just as it reads, showing that the whole earth is to suffer the same end. In view of this fact, therefore, the term the earth obviously cannot be interpreted, as has been done by some, to mean the “land” – Palestine only.
When ancient Israel, moreover, was taken by the nations, the mountains and hills were not made to tremble and to “move lightly”; the cities were not entirely broken down and left without inhabitant; the birds were not forced to fly away from the land; and the land was not left in darkness. So, obviously, the dispersing of the Jews did not in the least fulfill the prophecy of Jeremiah 4:23-28. The earth, therefore, shall necessarily again be, as in the first day of creation, “without form, and void.” Gen. 1:2. And just as there was then “darkness…upon the face of the deep,” so shall there be again.
From the preceding paragraphs, we see that whereas the first twenty-two verses of Jeremiah 4 speak against the wickedness of ancient Israel, the twenty-third to the twenty-seventh verses are parenthetical, and declare the desolation of the earth and the destruction of all the wicked wherever they may be. By omitting the parenthetical verses, the continuity of thought is joined:
“For My people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge…. For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.” Jer. 4:22, 28.
With the thought thus connected, the fact emerges that in the twenty-eighth verse, “For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black,” the pronoun this finds its derivational antecedent, “wickedness,” in the verses before the parenthetical thought. Jeremiah 4:23-27, therefore, are parenthetically inserted to show that just as God did not excuse His ancient people for their wickedness, likewise will He not excuse the world today for its wickedness, but will treat alike all sin whether it be practiced in the church or in the world. In short God is saying to His people, Israel: For wickedness like yours “shall the earth mourn and the heavens above be black.” Shall I, then think to excuse you?
Tuesday, May 27
Under His Feet
Read Psalm 47:1–4. What does it say about our place, ultimately, in Christ’s kingdom?
Isa. 41:1, 2 – “Keep silence before Me, O islands; and let the people renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment; Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? He gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow.”
To renew their strength is to put away sin, and to come near to God, is to learn of Him. Having done this they are then to invite others to come to judgment. The nations will keep silence until that time, and then will they say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” Micah 4:2.
Our work is therefore to prepare the way of the Lord for the gathering of the people.
Compare 1 Thessalonians 4:13–17 and Zechariah 14:4, and pay attention to Christ’s feet. What differences do you find between these passages, and what do they teach us about these two different, though related, aspects of Christ’s ultimate sovereignty of this world?
Zech. 14:2 -- "For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city."
In view of the fact that Jerusalem is to be protected by a wall of fire (Zech. 2:5) while the house of Judah reigns there, it is definite that the battle here described must be fought before the house of Judah is established. In that battle the nations will defeat the rulers of the Promised Land. Then it is that the house of Judah commences to be set up.
As the warring nations besiege the city, and rifle the houses, also ravish the women, they are by no means righteous nations, but since not all the inhabitants go into captivity, and since all are not cut off from the city, it must be that the wicked are taken away and the righteous left in to join the house of Judah.
Verses 3, 4—"Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle. And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.!"
At the time Jerusalem, that now is, falls, the Lord's feet shall stand upon Mount of Olives and there make a very great valley; that is, remove the obstacles and hindrances, and thus prepare the land for the returning of His people. Then it is that the prophecy of Zechariah 10:8—that the Lord shall "hiss" for His people—will have met its fulfilment.
Verse 5—"And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee."
Having thus opened the way for the re-establishment of the house of Judah, His people, who beforehand have been informed of it through present Truth, will flee to the valley, to where the Lord's feet stand, as quickly as if they were fleeing from an earthquake; and all the saints thereafter follow after them. There are several facts in this scripture itself which prove that this event is premillenial: (1) Note that the Lord's feet stand on the mount in the day of the war in which Jerusalem is taken by the wicked nations. (2) Those that flee to the valley do not descend from Heaven. (3) They cannot be the wicked for they do not flee away from the Lord, but flee to Him, to where His feet stand. (4) All the saints follow after them. "Early Writings," p. 53, makes a double application of this scripture, a post millennial one.
Wednesday, May 28
Wine and Blood
Read Psalm 75. Read also Matthew 26:26–29 and Revelation 14:9–12. What does this psalm reveal about some of the issues at stake in the judgment, and how do these other texts help us understand these issues?
“Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” KJV — Isaiah 55:1
What is the wine and the milk? We shall first speak of the wine. While the water is rich in oxygen, the wine is rich in iron. With the absence of iron in the system, oxygen, would be of no essential value to the human body, for iron is the train by which oxygen is transported throughout the human anatomy. As soon as oxygen enters into the lungs, the agency of iron takes the element and carries it through the entire system. Thus, whatsoever the wine represents, without it, the water (life) would be of no importance, as well as the water without the wine (as symbol) would be altogether useless. The wine represents the blood of Christ. Therefore, the wine is used in connection with the Lord’s supper; a symbol of the spilled blood of Christ. If you must have life eternal (water), you must also have the blood of Christ (the wine) for one would be of no value without the other. Again we see that no other earthly article, substance, or element could be used to represent the blood of Christ.
“The great sin charged against Babylon is, that she “made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” This cup of intoxication which she presents to the world, represents the false doctrines which she has accepted as the result of her unlawful connection with the great ones of the earth. Friendship with the world corrupts her faith, and in her turn she exerts a corrupting influence upon the world by teaching doctrines which are opposed to the plainest statements of the word of God.” 4SP 234.2
Thursday, May 29
That Your Salvation May Be Known
Read Psalm 67. How does this hymn of praise inform your understanding of the role of God’s people in Revelation 14:6–12?
“I am made glad in the Lord that He has wonderfully strengthened and blessed me, and that I could bear the testimony He has given me to bear. We see the need of more devoted laborers. The prayer should go forth from unfeigned lips for the God of the harvest to raise up laborers for an increase of Christian instrumentality. The harvest of the world is to be reaped through the heavenly instrumentality co-operating with human agencies. In proportion as the agency is increased under the superintendency of holy messengers from heaven, will be the extent of the harvest reaped.” 7LtMs, Lt 3, 1891, par. 4
“I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.” “And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” Revelation 18:1, 2, 4. GC 603.1
“This scripture points forward to a time when the announcement of the fall of Babylon, as made by the second angel of Revelation 14 (verse 8), is to be repeated, with the additional mention of the corruptions which have been entering the various organizations that constitute Babylon, since that message was first given, in the summer of 1844. A terrible condition of the religious world is here described. With every rejection of truth the minds of the people will become darker, their hearts more stubborn, until they are entrenched in an infidel hardihood. In defiance of the warnings which God has given, they will continue to trample upon one of the precepts of the Decalogue, until they are led to persecute those who hold it sacred. Christ is set at nought in the contempt placed upon His word and His people. As the teachings of spiritualism are accepted by the churches, the restraint imposed upon the carnal heart is removed, and the profession of religion will become a cloak to conceal the basest iniquity. A belief in spiritual manifestations opens the door to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, and thus the influence of evil angels will be felt in the churches. GC 603.2
“Of Babylon, at the time brought to view in this prophecy, it is declared: “Her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.” Revelation 18:5. She has filled up the measure of her guilt, and destruction is about to fall upon her. But God still has a people in Babylon; and before the visitation of His judgments these faithful ones must be called out, that they partake not of her sins and “receive not of her plagues.” Hence the movement symbolized by the angel coming down from heaven, lightening the earth with his glory and crying mightily with a strong voice, announcing the sins of Babylon. In connection with his message the call is heard: “Come out of her, My people.” These announcements, uniting with the third angel's message, constitute the final warning to be given to the inhabitants of the earth.” GC 604.1
“With the issue thus clearly brought before him, whoever shall trample upon God's law to obey a human enactment receives the mark of the beast; he accepts the sign of allegiance to the power which he chooses to obey instead of God. The warning from heaven is: “If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation.” Revelation 14:9, 10.” GC 604.3
Friday, May 30
Further Thought
“This song and the great deliverance which it commemorates, made an impression never to be effaced from the memory of the Hebrew people. From age to age it was echoed by the prophets and singers of Israel, testifying that Jehovah is the strength and deliverance of those who trust in Him. That song does not belong to the Jewish people alone. It points forward to the destruction of all the foes of righteousness and the final victory of the Israel of God. The prophet of Patmos beholds the white-robed multitude that have “gotten the victory,” standing on the “sea of glass mingled with fire,” having “the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb.” Revelation 15:2, 3. PP 289.1
“‘Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory, for Thy mercy, and for Thy truth's sake.’ Psalm 115:1. Such was the spirit that pervaded Israel's song of deliverance, and it is the spirit that should dwell in the hearts of all who love and fear God. In freeing our souls from the bondage of sin, God has wrought for us a deliverance greater than that of the Hebrews at the Red Sea. Like the Hebrew host, we should praise the Lord with heart and soul and voice for His “wonderful works to the children of men.” Those who dwell upon God's great mercies, and are not unmindful of His lesser gifts, will put on the girdle of gladness and make melody in their hearts to the Lord. The daily blessings that we receive from the hand of God, and above all else the death of Jesus to bring happiness and heaven within our reach, should be a theme for constant gratitude. What compassion, what matchless love, has God shown to us, lost sinners, in connecting us with Himself, to be to Him a peculiar treasure! What a sacrifice has been made by our Redeemer, that we may be called children of God! We should praise God for the blessed hope held out before us in the great plan of redemption, we should praise Him for the heavenly inheritance and for His rich promises; praise Him that Jesus lives to intercede for us. PP 289.2
“‘Whoso offereth praise,’ says the Creator, “glorifieth Me.” Psalm 50:23. All the inhabitants of heaven unite in praising God. Let us learn the song of the angels now, that we may sing it when we join their shining ranks. Let us say with the psalmist, “‘While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.’ “Let the people praise Thee, O God; let all the people praise Thee.” Psalm 146:2; 67:5. PP 289.3
“God in His providence brought the Hebrews into the mountain fastnesses before the sea, that He might manifest His power in their deliverance and signally humble the pride of their oppressors. He might have saved them in any other way, but He chose this method in order to test their faith and strengthen their trust in Him. The people were weary and terrified, yet if they had held back when Moses bade them advance, God would never have opened the path for them. It was “by faith” that “they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land.” Hebrews 11:29. In marching down to the very water, they showed that they believed the word of God as spoken by Moses. They did all that was in their power to do, and then the Mighty One of Israel divided the sea to make a path for their feet. PP 290.1
“The great lesson here taught is for all time. Often the Christian life is beset by dangers, and duty seems hard to perform. The imagination pictures impending ruin before and bondage or death behind. Yet the voice of God speaks clearly, “Go forward.” We should obey this command, even though our eyes cannot penetrate the darkness, and we feel the cold waves about our feet. The obstacles that hinder our progress will never disappear before a halting, doubting spirit. Those who defer obedience till every shadow of uncertainty disappears and there remains no risk of failure or defeat, will never obey at all. Unbelief whispers, “Let us wait till the obstructions are removed, and we can see our way clearly;” but faith courageously urges an advance, hoping all things, believing all things.” PP 290.2