Remnant Seventh Day Adventist Church
Remnant Seventh Day Adventist Church
“At that time shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, everyone that shall be found written in the book.” Daniel 12:1. Satan is angry with God's church and is at war with the last surviving trace of God's commandment-keeping people. [Revelation 12:17]. Sabbath-keepers are currently regarded by the world as too insignificant to be worthy of notice, but a change will come. In this hour of God's final judgment, the man of sin [antichrist] is now making movements which will necessarily bring commandment-keeping people into prominence. [Daniel 7:26-27]. This beast power shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. [Revelation 17:14].
When the third angel’s message of Revelation 14:9 closes, mercy will no longer plead for the guilty inhabitants of earth. Then Jesus ceases His intercession in the sanctuary above (Revelation 8:3-5). He lifts His hands and with a loud voice says, “It is done;” and all the angelic host lay off their crowns as He makes the solemn announcement: “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.” Revelation 22:11. Every case has been decided for life or death. Christ has made the atonement for His people and blotted out their sins. Every position of truth taken by our people will bear the criticism of the greatest minds; and therefore every position we take should be critically examined and tested by the Scriptures. Movements for Sunday sacredness are at work to bring us to the front, and if our theories of truth can be picked to pieces by historians or the world's greatest men, it will be done. We must individually know for ourselves what is truth, and be prepared to give a reason of the hope that we have with meekness and fear, not in a proud, boasting, self-sufficiency, but with the spirit of Jesus Christ. We are nearing the time when we shall stand individually alone to answer for our belief. We do not want to hold our faith simply because it was handed down to us by our fathers. Such a faith will not stand the terrible test that is before us. We want to know why we are Seventh-day Adventists, what real reason we have for coming out from the world as a separate and distinct people. No power but a knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus Christ, will ever make us steadfast; but with this, one may chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight.
When Jesus completes His high priestly ministry in the heavenly sanctuary, darkness covers the inhabitants of earth. In that fearful time all must live in the sight of a holy God without an intercessor. The restraint which has been upon the wicked is removed, and Satan has entire control of the finally impenitent. God’s long-suffering has ended. The world has rejected His mercy, despised His love, and trampled upon His ten commandment law. The wicked have passed the boundary of their probation; the Spirit of God, persistently resisted, has been at last withdrawn. Unsheltered by divine grace, they have no protection from the wicked one. Satan will then plunge earth into one great, final trouble. As the angels of God cease to hold in check the fierce winds of our human passion, all the elements of strife will be let loose. The whole world will be involved in ruin more terrible than that which came upon the destruction of Jerusalem of old (A.D. 70). The same destructive power exercised by holy angels when God commands, will be exercised by evil angels when He permits. There are forces now ready, and only waiting the divine permission, to spread desolation everywhere.
When God’s presence was finally withdrawn from the Jewish nation (Matthew 21:43), priests and people knew it not. Though under the control of Satan, and swayed by the most horrible and malignant passions, they still regard themselves as the chosen of God. The ministration in the temple continued; sacrifices were offered upon its polluted altars, and daily the divine blessing was invoked upon a people guilty of the blood of God’s dear Son and seeking to slay His ministers and apostles. So, today, when the irrevocable decision of the heavenly sanctuary is pronounced (Revelation 22:11) and the destiny of the world is forever fixed, the inhabitants of earth will know it not. The forms of religion will be continued by a people from whom the Spirit of God is finally withdrawn; and the satanic zeal with which the prince of evil will inspire these false protestants, will bear the semblance of zeal for God through false revival.
Dear reader, if you have any unconfessed sins come to mind at this time while tortured with fear and anguish, you will be overwhelmed; despair will cut off your faith, and you will not have confidence to plead with God for deliverance. During the time of Jacob’s trouble (Genesis 32:24-26), had not Jacob previously repented of his sin in obtaining the birthright by fraud, God would not have heard his prayer and mercifully preserved his life. Satan leads many to believe that God will overlook your unfaithfulness in the minor affairs of life; but Jesus shows in His dealings with Jacob that He will in no wise sanction or tolerate evil. “….and that will by no means clear the guilty.” Exodus 34:7. All who endeavor to excuse or conceal their sins and permit them to remain upon the books of heaven, unconfessed and unforgiven, will be overcome by Satan. The more exalted your profession and the more honorable the position which you hold, the more grievous is your course in the sight of God and the more sure the triumph of our great adversary. Those who are now delaying preparation in this judgment hour can never obtain it in the coming time of trouble or at any subsequent time. The case of all such is hopeless.
The season of distress and anguish before us will require a faith that can endure weariness, delay, and hunger—a faith that will not faint though severely tried. A time of peace is now granted to all to prepare for what is coming. Jacob prevailed because he was persevering and determined. His victory is an evidence of the power of persistent prayer. All who will lay hold of God’s promises, as he did, and be as earnest and persevering as he was, will succeed as he succeeded. Those who are unwilling to deny self, to agonize before God, to pray long and earnestly for His blessing, will never obtain it.
The “time of trouble, such as never was,” (Daniel 12:1) is soon to open upon us; and we shall need an experience which we do not now possess and which many are too indolent to obtain. It is often the case that trouble is greater in anticipation than in reality; but this is not true of the crisis before us. The most vivid presentation cannot reach the magnitude of the ordeal. In that time of trial, every soul must stand for himself before God. “Though Noah, Daniel, and Job” were in the land, “as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.” Ezekiel 14:20. Now, while our great High Priest is making the atonement for us, we should seek to become perfect in Him. Satan finds in our human hearts some point where he can gain a foothold; some sinful desire is cherished, by means of which his temptations assert their power. But Jesus declared of Himself: “The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in Me.” John 14:30. Satan could find nothing in Jesus Christ that would enable him to gain the victory. He had kept His Father’s commandments, and there was no sin in Him that Satan could use to his advantage. This is the condition in which all must be found who shall stand in this time of trouble.
It is in this life that we are to separate sin from us, through faith in the atoning blood of Jesus Christ. Our precious Savior invites you to join Him, to unite your weakness to His strength, your ignorance to His wisdom, your unworthiness to His merits. God’s providence is the school in which we are to learn the meekness and lowliness of Jesus. The Lord is ever setting before us, not the way we would choose, which seems easier and pleasanter to us, but the true aims of life. It rests with us to co-operate with the agencies which Heaven employs in the work of conforming our characters to His divine model. None can neglect or defer this work but at the most fearful peril to their souls.
When Jesus Christ ceases His intercession in the heavenly sanctuary (Daniel 12:1), the unmingled wrath threatened against those who worship the beast and his image and receive his mark (Revelation 14:9, 10), will be poured out. By condemning the people of God to death, they have as truly incurred the guilt of our blood as if it had been shed by their hands. In like manner Jesus declared the Jews of His time guilty of all the blood of holy men which had been shed since the days of Abel; for they possessed the same spirit and were seeking to do the same work with these murderers of the prophets. Every judgment upon men since the flood, prior to the close of earth’s probation, has been mingled with mercy. The pleading blood of Jesus has shielded the sinner from receiving the full measure of his guilt; but in this final judgment, His wrath is poured out unmixed with mercy.
