A well-established Seventh-day Adventist will be very familiar with the tragic rejection of light in 1888 when Jones and Waggoner had a message of Righteousness by Faith that was meant to – and would have closed the world down. But it didn't. The light shining forth was rejected and we are still here 138 years later.
A well-established Seventh-day Adventist will be very familiar with the tragic rejection of light in 1888 when Jones and Waggoner had a message of Righteousness by Faith that was meant to – and would have closed the world down. But it didn't. The light shining forth was rejected and we are still here 138 years later.
Could it be that we are repeating the same mistake today? One thing we must remember, God will take His message of Righteousness by Faith and proclaim it to finish the world off regardless if we do it or not. His message will go forth and we - right now - have the privilege to share it with the world. If we reject it, He will simply turn to others, and if they won't, He will turn to the stones.
God says to His servants, “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.” – Isaiah 58:1
When the straight testimony comes from genuine converted souls under the moving of the Spirit of God, there will be many who respond favourably, but sadly there will be those who will treat it with disdain. There are those who will in actions, if not in words, will “…say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon: therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant.... For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.” – Isaiah 30:10-15
Cleansing of the Heart Needed
As the question was raised back in 1888 to those in Battle Creek, “What are you doing?” Further rebuke was proclaimed. You have turned your back, and not your face, to the Lord. There needs to be a cleansing of the heart, the feelings, the sympathies, the words, in reference to the most momentous subjects—the Lord God, eternity, truth.
So, with the rebuke being dished out, it would do well for us to ask, “What is the message to be given at this time? Well, it is the third angel's message. But that light which is to fill the whole earth with its glory has been despised by some who claim to believe the present truth and thwarted the work. Be careful how you treat it. Take off the shoes off your feet; for you are on holy ground. Beware how you indulge the attributes of Satan, and pour contempt upon the working of the Holy Spirit. Sadly, Ellen White had seen that some had gone too far to return and to repent. Oh my, that is a situation all of us want to avoid at all costs. May that not happen today to those of you reading this article.
Communication of Light
There is hope for our day. The souls who love God, who believe in Christ, and who eagerly grasp every ray of light, will see light, and rejoice in it. They will be convicted to share the light. Out of that, they will grow in holiness. Those who receive the Holy Spirit will feel the chilling atmosphere that surrounds the souls of others rejecting that same light. The contrast will be great between those who believe and those who believe not. The true Christian will feel the coldness of the ungodly, and of those who stand in the way of sinners, casting a shadow upon their path to righteousness, holding them back from the light being shed from heaven.
The Word of God speaks truth, not lies. It is complete and balanced. There is nothing strained, nothing extreme, nothing overdone. We are to accept it as the word of the living God. In obedience to that word, the church has duties that should have been second nature to perform, but sadly they have not risen to the task. They should not have retracted from their post of duty, and neither should we. In the trials and temptations every soul professing the word of God should lean more heavily upon Him.
Difficulties will have to be met, but God's people must rise to the emergencies with a united front, not a divided front. It is our duty to face all difficulties and address them.
The Spirit of God is departing from many in our ranks. Many have entered into the dark unknown, some tragically will never return and will continue to stumble to their ruin. They have worn God down and rejected the light they once had and carelessly just let it go. All the evidence of God's presence and grace that will ever be given them they have received, but not heeded. They have chosen darkness rather than light, and have defiled their souls. No genuinely converted person or church can associate with the pleasure-loving class. One has to reveal that they appreciate the rich current which the Lord has sent to those who have simple faith in His word, or reject it.
The world is polluted, corrupted, as was the world in the days of Noah. The only remedy is belief in the truth, and acceptance of the light. Yet many have listened to the truth spoken by the Holy Spirit. They have not only refused to accept the message, but they have hated the light. These people will ruin their souls. They have trampled upon the word of God and are doing despite to His Holy Spirit.
The plea that comes from God's people is to open their eyes. When you sanction or accept the teachings and decisions of men who are not in harmony with truth and righteousness, you weaken your own faith and lose your enthusiasm for communion with God.
God pleads with His church, “Wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them.... There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel.” “Neither will I be with you anymore, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.” Christ declares, “He that gathereth not with Me scattereth abroad.” – Joshua 7:10-13
So with these words in mind, whatever you do, don’t turn your back on this message, or you will wear God’s patience out. There definitely does come a time when mercy runs out and as was mentioned earlier, Ellen White had knowledge that some had gone too far to return and to repent. I personally plead with you, don’t let that happen. Make every day a new start in Christ Jesus in prayer and study. That will feed your mind for the day ahead.
The Message of Justification by Faith
The Lord in His great mercy sent a most precious message to His people through Elders Waggoner and Jones. This message was to bring more prominently before the world the uplifted Saviour, the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. It presented justification through faith in the Surety; it invited the people to receive the righteousness of Christ, which is made manifest in obedience to all the commandments of God. Many had lost sight of Jesus. They needed to have their eyes directed to His divine person, His merits, and His changeless love for the human family. Those words written so many years ago, are needed for us now. We just need to realise that all power is given into the hands of Jesus, He will dispense His rich gifts to men, imparting the priceless gift of His own righteousness to the helpless human soul.
This is the message that God commanded to be given to the world. It is the third angel's message, which still is to be proclaimed with a loud voice, and powered by the outpouring of His Spirit in a large measure.
The uplifted Saviour is to appear to us in His completely efficient work as the Lamb slain, sitting upon the throne, to dispense the priceless covenant blessings, the benefits He died to purchase for every soul who should believe on Him. John could not express that love in words; it was too deep, too broad; he calls upon the human family to behold it. Christ is pleading for the church in the heavenly courts above, pleading for those for whom He paid the redemption price with His own lifeblood. How could we let Him down.
Centuries, ages, can never diminish the efficiency of this atoning sacrifice, it never changes, it is fixed for eternity. The message of the gospel of His grace was to be given to the church in clear and distinct lines, that the world should no longer say that Seventh-day Adventist’s talk the law, the law, and do not teach or believe Christ.
The efficiency of the blood of Christ was to be presented to the people with freshness and power, that their faith might lay hold upon its merits. As the high priest sprinkled the warm blood upon the mercy seat, while the fragrant cloud of incense ascended before God, so while we confess our sins and plead the efficiency of Christ's atoning blood, our prayers are to ascend to heaven, fragrant with the merits of our Saviour's character and His sacrifice on our behalf.
Notwithstanding our unworthiness, we must always bear in mind that there is One that can take away sin and save the sinner. Every sin acknowledged before God with a humble genuine heart, He will remove. This faith is the life of the church. As the serpent was lifted up in the wilderness by Moses, all who had been bitten by the fiery serpents were bidden to look and live. So also the Son of man must be lifted up, that “whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” – John 3:16
Unless the sinner makes it their life business to behold the uplifted Saviour, accept the merits which it is their privilege to claim by faith, they can no more be saved than Peter could be sinking on the water when he took his eyes off Jesus. It has been Satan's determined purpose to eclipse the view of Jesus and lead men to look to and trust in man, and be educated to expect help from man.
For years the church has been looking down to humanity and expecting much, rather than looking heavenward to Jesus, in whom our hopes of eternal life are centered. Therefore God gave to His servants a testimony that presented the truth as it is in Jesus, which was and still is the third angel's message, in clear, distinct lines.
John's words are to be sounded by God's people, that all may discern the light and walk in the light: “He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: He that cometh from heaven is above all. And what He hath seen and heard, that He testifieth; and no man receiveth His testimony. He that hath received His testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. For He whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His hand. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” – John 3:31-36
This is the testimony that must go throughout the length and breadth of the world. It presents the law and the gospel, binding up the two in a perfect whole. (See Romans 5 and 1 John 3:9 to the close of the chapter.)
These precious scriptures will be impressed upon every heart that is opened to receive them. “The entrance of Thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple”—those who are contrite in heart. “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” – Psalm 119:130; John 1:12
These people do not have a mere nominal faith, a theory of truth, a legal religion, but they believe with a definite purpose, drawing to themselves the richest gifts of God. They plead for the gift, that they may give to others. They can say, “Of His fullness have all we received, and grace for grace.”
“He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only-begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit.” – I John 4:8-13
God's Message for the Present Time
The Lord designs that the message He has given His servants shall perform a good work in the heart and mind of every human being. It is the ongoing life of the church to love God supremely and to love others as they love themselves. In the time of 1888, there had been little love for God or man, and God gave to His messengers just what the people needed. Those who received the message were greatly blessed, for they saw the bright rays of the Sun of Righteousness, and life and hope sprang up in their hearts. They were beholding Christ. “Fear not,” is His everlasting assurance; “I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore.” “Because I live, ye shall live also.” – Revelation 1:18; John 14:19
The true believers are to apply the blood of the spotless Lamb of God to their own hearts. Looking upon the great Antitype, we can say, “It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” – Romans 8:34
The Sun of Righteousness shines into our hearts to give the knowledge of the glory of Jesus Christ. Of the Holy Spirit's office He says, “He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you.” – John 16:14
The psalmist prays, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.... Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy presence; and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation; and uphold me with Thy free Spirit. Then will I teach transgressors Thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto Thee.” – Psalm 51:7,10-13
The Lord would have these vital subject studied in our churches, and if every church member would receive the word of God, it would give light and understanding to the simple. “Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of His servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God. Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of Mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow.” – Isaiah 50:10,11
“Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am the Lord which exercise loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.” – Jeremiah 9:23,24
Never was there a time when the Lord would manifest His great grace unto His chosen ones more fully than in these last days when His law will be made void. “The Lord is well pleased for His righteousness' sake; He will magnify the law, and make it honorable.” – Isaiah 42:21
What does God say in regard to His people? “But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore.” – Isaiah 42:22 These are prophecies that will be fulfilled.
Warning Against Despising God's Message
I would speak in warning to those who have stood for years resisting light and cherishing the spirit of opposition. How long will you hate and despise the messengers of God's righteousness? God has given you His message. You now carry with knowledge the word of the Lord. There is salvation for you, but only through the merits of Jesus Christ.
The grace of the Holy Spirit has been offered to you again and again. Light and power from on high have been shed abundantly in the midst of you. There was plenty of evidence that all might discern whom the Lord called as His servants. But there are those who despised the men (Jones and Waggoner) and the message they delivered. They taunted them with being fanatics, extremists, and enthusiasts. “Let me prophesy unto you: Unless you speedily humble your hearts before God and confess your sins, which are many, you will see that you have been fighting against God and it will be too late.”
Through the conviction of the Holy Spirit, you will see that these men whom you have despised have been as signs in the world, witnesses for God. Then you would give the whole world if you could redeem the past, and be just as zealous, moved by the Spirit of God to lift your voice in solemn warning to the world; and, like them, to be in principle firm as a rock. But it will be too late then.
Your turning things upside down is known of the Lord. Go on a little longer as you have gone, in rejection of the light from heaven, and you are lost. “The man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the congregation.” – Numbers 19:20
I have no smooth message to give to those who have been so long as false guideposts, pointing the wrong way. If you reject Christ's chosen messengers, you reject Christ. Neglect this great salvation, kept before you for years, despise this glorious offer of justification through the blood of Christ and sanctification through the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit, and there remains no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation.
Listen to the voice and words of God’s Word and His prophets, humble yourselves and cease your stubborn resistance of light and evidence. Say unto the Lord, “Mine iniquities have separated between me and my God. O Lord, pardon my transgressions. Blot out my sins from the book of Thy remembrance.”
Praise His holy name, there is forgiveness with Him, and you can be converted, transformed. Don’t delay!
“For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” – Hebrews 9:13,14
