Subject Reading # 2: Inspiration

1. Tract #6

Tract No. 6

Why Perish?

Tract 6 1

Copyright 1936, 1941, 1942

by V.T. Houteff

All Rights Reserved

That everyone who thirsteth for the truth may obtain it, this tract is mailed free of charge. It levies one exaction, the soul's obligation to itself to prove all things fast and hold fast that which is good. The only strings attached to this free proffer are the golden strands of Eden and the crimson cords of Calvary -- the ties that bind.

WHY PERISH?

The Universal Dairy Will Feed You

Judge For Yourself

The purpose of this tract being to introduce and to deliver free of charge to every honest soul, even to the poorest and to the remotest one of earth, the superabundant product par excellence of the great Universal Dairy, it is therefore necessary to remove from the way of its recipients

The Evil Work of Its Competitor.

Of the many present-day attacks made by this enemy against the dairy's host of patrons, there has doubtless been none so violent as that against the Seventh-day Adventist denomination, the main user of the dairy's product, and especially against the work of the denomination's founder, Mrs. E.G. White, whose writings are known by the organization to be the Spirit of Prophecy (Rev. 12:17; 19:10).

Is it not inconsistent that so much time, energy, and money are spent by various individuals and organizations to give adverse publicity to any one author of religious literature, while overshadowing the world are hundreds of Christian isms and authors, each trying to vindicate a religious view different from the other's? Since there is only one Truth, and since no two

Tract 6 3

sects are in absolute agreement as to what it is naturally not all can be right, but all save one must be wrong. Why, then, should Mrs. White's teachings come in for more opposition in proportion to size of following than any of the others?

As every heaven-sent messenger from Adam's day to this, has been bitterly fought by men professing to be led of God, then the mere fact of opposition against Mrs. White's writings would not prove her wrong. And inasmuch as she has become the main target of opposition today, as were the prophets in their day, then to determine whether her writings are dangerous and doomed or safe and sound, we must turn our attention to the oracles of God, which reveal the past, present, and future. There her work, right or wrong, must be found. By the prophecies only, can we prove or disprove, know what we believe and believe what we know, and with safety accept or reject any message. Otherwise our faith can be founded only upon uncertainties, -- upon a sandy foundation, -- which will in the end bring us disappointedly to the Master's "left hand." So to make sure of standing at His right hand, we must not fail to give earnest heed to the

Pleadings of the Holy Ghost:

"We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a

Tract 6 4

dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation." 2 Pet. 1:19, 20.

But the hue and cry of the opposition is, Away with prophecies at this time! For all the prophets and the law

"Prophesied Until John." Matt. 11:13.

If the aforequoted scripture means that there were to be no more prophets after John, then there should have been none since that time. And were this the meaning, then the Scriptures would contradict themselves, for they bear evidence that while Christ was the Son of God, He was also "a prophet." Luke 24:19. And although John the Baptist never wrote a single prophetic utterance, yet he was rated by Christ with the greatest of the prophets (Luke 7:28). Also Matthew, Mark, and Luke, under the Spirit of Inspiration, wrote concerning Christ and His work. Likewise John, Peter, and Paul, and others contemporary with them, prophesied in their own right of many things to come. All these are Scripturally accorded the title "prophet."

Jesus Himself testifies that the book of Revelation is a prophecy, for the angel "who bare record of the Word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all

Tract 6 5

things that he saw" says: "Blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand." Rev. 1:2, 3. "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book." Rev. 22:18.

Now the fact that this prophecy was written nearly a century after John the Baptist was beheaded, is historical acknowledgment that the prophets did not cease with him. Thus in misconstruing Matthew 11:13 so as to make John the last of the prophets, the opposition is attempting to substitute for the gift of prophecy in the Christian era, "private" (uninspired) interpretations of the Scriptures. And in doing this, they are led either to ignore or to try to explain away the irrefutable statement of Paul: "And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues" (1 Cor. 12:28) -- absolute evidence that the second of the eight gifts to the church in the Christian era, is prophets.

While most of these gifts, especially tongues and governments, are zealously sought after by the Christian churches, the one -- "prophets" -- that was despised by the Jews, is wholly rejected by almost all

Tract 6 6

Christendom! Thus the spirit that instigated the killing of the ancient seers at the hand of the Jewish leaders, is today doing virtually the same sort of destructive work through organized opposition.

While ascribing praise and honor to the dead prophets who were slain by the forefathers, the Jews rejected the living prophets, thereby bringing upon themselves the Master's mournful pronouncement:

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchers of the righteous and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets." Matt. 23:29, 30.

Present-day Christians who despise the gift of prophecy in this age, and also deny that the Old Testament Scriptures have any application in the gospel dispensation, are thereby rejecting all the prophets, while at the same time acknowledging that they were the servants of God. So such church-members continue to build and garnish the tombs of the prophets as did the Jews who claimed to believe in Moses but, when tested, were found to be liars. In like manner most Christians today profess to believe the whole Bible, yet teach that all the laws and statutes, all the warnings and condemnations, apply only to the ancient Jews, whereas the graces they eagerly bosom within the Christian church!

Tract 6 7

The present-day so-called gift of tongues is gibberish, and is no more the Biblical gift than is Sunday the "sanctified" Sabbath day; and the gift of governments is degenerated into an institution of prerogatives, formalities, goals, and the like, which, in their present low estate, are naught but agencies which in effect militate against the Truth and neutralize the piety of the church. In this state of affairs, do the best of these professed Christians of today seem better than the worst of yesterday's Jews?

"Awake, awake," cries the Word, "loose thyself from the" man-wrought "bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion." Isa 52:2. "Quench not the Spirit," O church of God! "Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." 1 Thess. 5:19-21.

Do not longer overlook the fact that the gift of prophets is second in order, and the gifts of governments and diversity of tongues are last. Mark, therefore, that those who despise the gift of prophecy but exalt the gifts of governments and tongues, are manifestly pulling the cart from its rear end, and are going in the wrong direction. To them Christ is saying: "Knowest not that thou are wretched and miserable, and poor and blind, and naked.' Rev. 3:17.

Those who on the one hand contend that there were to be no prophets after

Tract 6 8

John the Baptist, and who on the other hand profess to believe in the New Testament Scriptures which were written after John's death, are themselves in darkness, and are, by their private (uninspired) interpretations of the Scriptures spreading a cloud of darkness wherever they go. May God have mercy on them all.

In the light of these facts Jesus' statement that "all the prophets and the law prophesied until John," obviously has a wholly different meaning from what has been taught by uninspired men. When it is illuminated by the same Spirit Who indicted it, the resultant interpretation is trouble-free, revealing that Christ separated the prophets into a twofold classification -- those until John and those after him.

Sacred history shows that the prophets in the first division received the Word directly from God through the medium of His Spirit. They were not obliged to prove any part of their prophecies by the writings of the preceding prophets. Whereas the prophets in the second division are appointed by the unction of the Spirit to interpret the writings of the prophets of the first division.

This all-important distinction and division shows that the Old Testament Scriptures contain the light of our salvation for both periods -- Jewish and Christian. And when one considers that the former period

Tract 6 9

is called the "typical" dispensation, and the latter the "antitypical," then evidence upon evidence rivets the conclusion that the New Testament gospel is based on the gospel of the Old unfolded.

Since the Scriptures explain that the church in all ages has been led into truth only through the gift of prophecy, the Christian has no choice but to conclude that God's will and plan for this time is just as it was for times past; that is, that the knowledge of salvation be imparted through the writings of the Old Testament prophets, as interpreted by those upon whom, as the scroll unfolds, He bestows the same Spirit by which He moved upon "holy men of God" "in old time." 2 Pet. 1:21. "For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed." Mal. 3:6.

God would have ever kept Christendom unified through Inspiration, revealed truth, but uninspired men would not humble themselves and forego their own private interpretations, with the tragic result that they have brought the present shameful sectarian confusion.

Such an anarchy of opinion on the Scriptures existing not only between one denomination and another, but also within the ranks of each one itself, makes clear that they are not led by the Spirit Whom Christ sent to "guide...into all truth" so that all believers in Him might be as one.

Tract 6 10

This union through the Spirit, is forcefully taught in

Christ's Prayer.

"That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me. And the glory which Thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are one: I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me." John 17:21-23.

Unceasing theological speculations on the Scriptures, with the resultant diversity of opinions and pleasing fables, are continually increasing confusion, dissensions, divisions which spawn conflicting creeds and sects. Whereas Christians should be doing nothing but proving to the world by perfect union that the Father has sent the Son.

Showing that He recognizes only one denomination, Christ said: "And other sheep I have which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." John 10:16. The existing disunion among Christians of today is not, therefore, fulfilling God's, but

Satan's Predetermined Purpose.

The so-called Christian world of today

Tract 6 11

has so far drifted from God's ideal for His church as to have arrived at a point where even Christ's own prayer fails to disillusion them, and to bring them to a realization that their varied beliefs of being all right are sure to be all wrong. Those who are not affiliated with any church, and for whose conversion the churches claim to be fully exerting their means and time, look on with scorn and laughter at this delusion and hypocrisy. Such Christians are only pleasing Satan and cheating themselves and those who watch them.

Satan is leading these quasi-Christian legions to parade as fools before the world, so that through their unconscious folly he may cast reproach upon Christ, and at the same time may make the world believe that the Father has not sent the Son. Unless these disunited ranks awake to their plight, Satan will shortly plunge them headlong into eternal destruction. This everlasting tragedy would be chargeable only to their despising the gift of the Spirit of Prophecy the eyes of the church (1 Sam. 9:9; Isa. 29:10) which alone can see to draw them into a state of oneness, of unbreakable unity.

Shepherds of the churches, in attempting to interpret the Scriptures "privately" (without the Holy Spirit), have set husks before the sheep, and as a result the flocks have been left to forage for themselves

Tract 6 12

In Search of Something Better.

Husk-fed Christians, being undernourished, are incapable of rightly judging. Some, therefore, hope to obtain the "something better" from those whom they regard as most faithful; others expect to receive it from those who are regarded as the most learned Doctors of Divinity; while still others think to find it in this or that denomination simply because Father or Mother or some other influential person or relative belongs to it. By these foolish choices that require no exertion of mind or no personal experience, they are ironically, only led again to husks. And the non-Christian world, ever critically looking on, turns in disgust from this and other inconsistent and foolish practices in the Christian scene. Thus believers, instead of converting unbelievers to Christianity, are only driving them further from it!

That others, too, are well aware of this fatal sheep-like, follow-the-bell instinct, is pointedly demonstrated in the hypothetical case of the family seen in satirical caricature

From the Pen of "The Columntator."

"Mary goes to the Bapterian church although she is a member of the Prestian church (having been made to join the church at the tender age of 10, before she knew who the Lord or the Devil really is), but she attends the Bapterian church because

Tract 6 13

her step-sister belongs. John goes to the Cathodist church, because most of his customers go there. Jack goes to the Campalian church because his gal does... Patricia goes to the Luthergational church because her school teacher teaches the Sunday school class there. Betty goes to the Bapterian church with her mother, because she ain't old enough yet to know better." -- The Dallas Morning News, Dec. 28, 1940.

Those who are honestly seeking salvation through Christ, must "join" Him by conversion for the Truth's sake; and the only way one can do this, is gladly to welcome all

The Gifts Of The Spirit.

"And He," says Paul of the One Who alone, through all His gifts, can unify His church, "gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." Eph. 4:11-13. "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." Rev. 3:22.

Tract 6 14

Though the Spirit of God has spoken in these certain terms, yet one finds, upon polling the general opinion among Christians, that

The "Spirit of Prophecy" Is Virtually Rejected.

A large class of professing Christians are really saying in their hearts: As long as we believe that there is a God and a Christ, belong to a church, lead honest lives, and do an occasional good deed as opportunity affords, we are on the way to the Holy City. And sad to say, this loose and fatally delusive hope is even in the Seventh-day Adventist denomination.

Sadly, too, though the denomination was founded by the gift of prophecy, its present-day members -- ministers and laity alike -- are at continual variance among themselves over the prophetic gift, just as they are over other matters in the Scriptures. And among those who do hold that the writings of Mrs. White are inspired, the great majority are as ignorant of and as disobedient to them, as are those who profess no faith at all in them.

"The church," she says, relative to this condition, "has turned back from following Christ her Leader, and is steadily retreating

Tract 6 15

toward Egypt. Yet few are alarmed or astonished at their want of spiritual power. Doubt and even disbelief of the testimonies of the Spirit of God, is leavening our churches everywhere Satan would have it thus. Ministers who preach self instead of Christ would have it thus. The testimonies are unread and unappreciated." -- Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 217.

Yet both classes in the church insist that they are good Seventh-day Adventists! O what exceeding irony that such dreadful inconsistencies in sacred matters have overshadowed the minds of rational beings! Yea, what tragedy! especially when the condition need never have been: for in ample protection against it,

The Scriptures Teach the Truth in Several Ways.

Besides being taught by the literal testimonies of the prophets, the gospel is taught also by figurative prophecies. In our immediate concern, therefore, with the Spirit's teachings as to how God reveals unto men His written Word, we must give consideration not only to the literal but also to the figurative testimonies of the prophets. And as the fourth chapter of Zechariah is a pictorial disclosure of the way in which God reveals His Word, we are led thereto for an exposition of

Tract 6 16

The Figurative Mode of Inspired Interpretation.

Zechariah 4.

"And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is waked out of his sleep, and said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: and two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my Lord? Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my Lord. Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts...

"And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves? And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my Lord. Then said He, These are the Two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth." Zech. 4:1-6, 12-14.

Tract 6 17

Tract 6 18

Establishing the time to which this figurative prophecy points, the Lord, speaking through the prophet Haggai, who prophesied at the same time as did the prophet Zechariah, says:

"And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother. In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, My servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the Lord, and will make thee as a signet for I have chosen thee, saith the Lord of hosts." Hag. 2:22, 23.

Meeting its fulfillment at the end of the world when God is to overthrow the thrones and destroy the kingdoms of the earth, Haggai's prophecy shows that Zerubbabel, the Lord's servant is a type of His servants today, who necessarily, therefore, are the antitypical "signet." And as Zechariah's vision, moreover, has never been understood until now, it can be speaking directly only to us at this time. Since, accordingly, his illustration of "the Word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel" is to find its fulfillment today, we ought then to give the most studious attention as

Inspiration Explains the Symbolism.

"This is the Word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel." Zech. 4:6. The method which

Tract 6 19

God is to use now, in the time of the end, in communicating with Zerubbabel -- the governors or ministers of His people -- is laid down in the symbolism. So let us carefully decipher it symbol by symbol. When we understand the meaning of the "olive trees," the "candlestick," the "golden bowl," and the "tubes," then the symbolism itself will without controversy explain how the Scriptures, by which God communicates with His servants, are to be interpreted.

As all the books of the Bible meet and end in the Revelation, which is an unfolding of the prophecies, we call the reader's attention to a passage therein, in which John records the office of these olive trees:

"And I will give power unto My two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth." Rev. 11:3, 4.

These olive trees are called "witnesses," "anointed ones," "prophets." They were to prophesy in sackcloth for the space of forty-two months. This is a period equivalent to that in Daniel 7:25 and Revelation 12:14; that is, to "a time and times and the dividing of time": "a time" -- one year; "times" -- two years -- "half a time" -- half a year; -- forty-two months in total. It is

Tract 6 20

equivalent also to that in Revelation 13:5, "forty and two months"; and to that in Revelation 12:6, "a thousand two hundred and threescore days." In each instance, the time, reckoning by the Biblical rule of thirty days to a month, amount to 1260 days.

When computed in literal time, according to Ezekiel 4:6, these 1260 days of prophetic time are equivalent to 1260 years. Proceeding on the well established fact (see The Shepherd's Rod, Vol 2, pp. 126-139) that this period of time is prophetic of the 1260 years from 538 A.D. to 1798, we are brought to the consequent conclusion that whosoever or whatsoever prophesied in "sackcloth" during this period, is that which is symbolized by these "two olive trees."

The fact that nothing but the Bible Itself did prophesy for the duration of the 1260 year period, -- the Dark Ages of religion, -- automatically shows that the two "olive trees," which the angel said are the Word of God (Zech. 4:6), are figurative of the Old and New Testament Scriptures' prophesying "in sackcloth." In other words, they permitted themselves in self-abasement to be tucked away and left unstudied, although they had power to devour "their enemies," and even "to shut heaven, that it rain not."

And from these two trees (Testaments), as Zechariah saw, the golden oil runs

Tract 6 21

through "two golden pipes," which empty themselves into the "golden bowl." Then from the bowl, the "seven pipes," or "tubes," in turn supply the golden "candlesticks" with the "golden oil."

As the two olive trees stand for the Old and New Testament Scriptures, naturally the golden oil flowing from them represents "the Word of the Lord" in the Christian dispensation, not as it comes directly from heaven, but as it comes from the Bible.

Unlocking next the meaning of the candlestick, Christ (in revealing the mystery which He showed unto John), says: "The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches." Rev. 1:20.

In this brief explanatory statement, Christ tells us that the seven churches are represented by the seven candlesticks, thus establishing the truth that a candlestick is symbolical of the church -- he light of the world (Matt. 5:14).

The first part of Revelation 1:20, as already quoted, makes clear that there is an attending angel to each candlestick, and that John was instructed to write, not to the candlesticks, but to the angels who have charge over them. Thus the words, "unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write" (Rev. 3:14), make clear that

Tract 6 22

it is the angel who is "wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked."

This condemnation conclusively shows that the angel is not a heavenly being, but merely a figure of the earthly overseers who have been given charge over the church (candlestick). Their duty, as the symbolism reveals, is to supply the candlestick with oil, and to keep it trimmed and burning -- giving light. Consequently, the candlestick itself symbolizes the membership exclusive of the leadership.

In Zechariah's vision, however, the ministers are represented, not by seven angels, but by seven "tubes." They get the oil from the bowl, and feed it to the candlestick.

Clearly, then, the bowl in which the golden oil is stored, symbolizes the storehouse of Present Truth -- the Word interpreted. The only "storehouse" that contains inspired comments on both Testaments is the books of the Spirit of Prophecy. They, therefore, are the "golden bowl." The symbolism definitely points out that from them the ministers must get the light-producing truth with which to supply the church, so that it may brightly shine in this dark world, drawing to the light "all men" who hate the darkness.

The two pipes through which the oil is carried into the bowl, can represent only the channels (prophets) through whom

Tract 6 23

the oil is transferred from the Bible into the bowl, in the period during which both olive trees (Old and New Testaments) live -- the Christian era.

Let the reader take a searching look at the visual illustration on page 18, and he will see the utter impossibility of the candlestick's (the church membership's) and of the tubes' (ministers') themselves extracting oil directly from the olive trees. The interpretation of the Scriptures, therefore, being entrusted to the two pipes (prophets) in the Christian era, it shows that "no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation," but is of inspiration only.

Now, to clinch forever in our minds the truth on this all-important subject, let us view it in a

Summary of Zechariah Four.

This symbolic unit, having demonstrated that the Bible can be rightly interpreted only by the Spirit that dictated It, shows that the church can be led into all Truth only by this Spirit-controlled method: through the interpreters (the two golden pipes), who alone are qualified and inabled to bring forth meat in due season (golden oil) from the Scriptures (olive trees) into the storehouse (golden bowl) of Present Truth; and in turn through the ministers (seven tubes), who alone are to pass on from the bowl the oil to the church

Tract 6 24

(candlestick), that it might illumine with the light of life this dark and dying world of ours.

Here in pictorial lesson God is unmistakably teaching that He controls the Scriptures and that He reveals them when a need arises, just as Joseph controlled all the grain in the storehouses of ancient Egypt, to hand it out in the time of famine. And as only through him could the Israelites, as well as the Egyptians, obtain grain in time of want, so likewise only from Christ, the King, through His Spirit-filled instrumentalities -- Josephs (His specially appointed interpreters of the dreams and the visions which the Bible contains, whether they be to rebuke and enlighten the church or to forewarn the Gentiles) -- can we obtain the "oil" which God has placed in the Bible.

In revealing through Zechariah's symbolism the inspired method of interpretation of the Scriptures, God has graphically prescribed, for the present-day multifarious religious ills,

Heaven's Specific Remedy.

The many grievous spiritual epidemics now afflicting the Christian church, are caused in large part by Christians unwittingly wresting, garbling, and perverting the Scriptures. This practice, the Devil has spawned and nurtured in order to head off Present Truth, destroy faith in the Scriptures,

Tract 6 25

deceive souls, and increase infidelity, hoping thereby to cut off the human race from the knowledge of the only true and living God, and thus finally from the face of the earth.

Brother, Sister, upon each of us squarely falls the momentous responsibility of deciding whether we will choose to follow the prophets of God in both the Old and New Testament periods, or to join God's adversaries who advocate uninspired interpretations of the Scriptures, and who along with all their sympathizers will, if they continue in their evil course, become guilty, with the Jews, of the shed blood of the prophets.

These solemn considerations will impel all who are honest with themselves and with God, to act in accordance with the solemn verity that He reveals the truth as He chooses. They will lead you to take God's way for your shelter, and thus escape the swiftly gathering storm that is about to burst in all its dread fury upon sin and sinner.

Foreseeing the dark pall of confusion which men today are casting over the Bible, and their wide departure from the plain Scriptural path, as a result of their utter disregard of the gift of prophecy, God is therefore morally bound to make in His written Word some sort of prophetic announcement of this great evil and its outcome, just as He did concerning the

Tract 6 26

calamitous fate which befell His ancient people, and concerning their subsequent destiny.

To demonstrate this, let us now, with special reference to the gift of prophecy (its office, and its relation to the ministers as well as to the laity in the New Testament period), examine as to how

The Universal Dairy Enables Patrons to Refuse Evil and Choose Good.

"Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall He eat, that He may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good." Isa. 7:14, 15.

It is agreed that the child here spoken of prophetically, is Christ. And according to these verses, He was prescribed a special diet, as was John the Baptist (Luke 1:15; Matt. 3:4). Yet there is no record showing that Christ's diet was ever of literal "butter and honey." There is record, though, that He did eat of all the sanctified foods that were commonly used by the Jews in His time. And "John came," said Christ, "neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil." Matt. 11:18. Thus on the word of the Lord Himself, John did not eat everything that the Jews ate. As a matter of fact he lived on "locusts and wild honey." Mark 1:6. Nevertheless, the Jews found fault, and accused him of being fanatical and out of his mind.

Tract 6 27

On the other hand, "the Son of man," says the Lord of Himself, "came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners." Matt. 11:19. In these words, showing that He ate whatever lawful food was set before Him, Christ makes clear that He did not confine His diet to literal

Butter and Honey.

As aforestated there is no record showing that Jesus ate actual; butter and honey. But as the prophet's utterance must be correct, the only conclusion possible is that the "butter and honey" are symbolical of something which Christ freely used, and which made Him wise and able to discriminate between good and evil. Inasmuch, moreover, as these two literal articles of food -- butter and honey -- can never in themselves enable anyone to know the difference between good and bad, it therefore becomes doubly settled that they are symbolical. And of course this certitude evokes the question:

Of What Are They Symbolical?

The only way to discover what the butter and honey represent, is to determine what enabled Jesus to differentiate between good and evil, and to choose the one and refuse the other -- the reason for His eating them.

The Saviour defeated the powers of evil by being inspired to interpret the Scriptures,

Tract 6 28

which enabled Him to say: "It is written." This reveals that the "butter and honey," which empowered Him to "refuse the evil" and to "choose the good," are symbolical of the Scriptures. Thus when He said," I have meat to eat that ye know not of" (John 4:32), He must have referred to Isaiah's "butter and honey."

"And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep; and it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they shall give he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land." Isa. 7:21, 22.

Since the "butter and honey" of verse 15 are obviously intended to provide the key of interpretation for the "butter and honey" of verse 22, plainly, then, the "butter and honey" of both verses represent the Word of God. And because of sequential and natural connection with the butter, we are next led to inquire into the meaning of

The Young Cow and the Two Sheep.

As butter is churned from milk, and as the milk from which this spiritual "butter" is made, comes from the "two sheep" and the "young cow," the truth flows forth that these three milk-producing creatures symbolize three different sources from which the Word of the Lord (butter) is obtained. The cow is young; the sheep are not. Accordingly, the source of the butter, God's

Tract 6 29

Word, represented by the young cow, is of later origin than the sources represented by the two sheep. The two-of-a-kind therefore can only represent the Old and New Testament Scriptures; whereas the cow, being larger and younger than the sheep, represents sacred volumes of correspondingly larger proportions and of later origin than the Bible. These volumes manifestly are the latter-day writings of the "Spirit of Prophecy" (Rev. 19:10), which enable their patrons to "refuse the evil, and choose the good," and which bring to them

The Honey.

The key of the interpretation to this "honey" is found in Revelation 10:10. "And I took the little book," says John, "out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter." This honey-sweetness (explained in detail in our Tract No. 5, Final Warning), represents the joy that came to the believers in William Miller's time, through their whole-hearted belief that the Lord was coming in the fall of 1843 A.D. to take them to their home in "the land that is very far off," where their eyes would "see the King in His beauty." Isa. 33:17. But as the day passed, and the expected event failed to materialize, then overwhelming disappointment, as depicted by the little book's turning "bitter," came to everyone who, in honest expectancy, yearningly

Tract 6 30

anticipated that long-hoped-for journey through the starry heavens to the city "foursquare" -- the Capital of the earth made new.

The honey-sweetness of Revelation 10:10 standing as it does for great joy resulting from feasting on the Word of God, automatically imparts to the "honey" of Isaiah 7:22 the significance of joy that shall come to all who join in eating the "butter" from both the "cow" and the "sheep," which are now "come fresh." Only those who so do, shall be "left in the land."

This cordial invitation to eat of spiritual "butter and honey," hitherto never paralleled in quantity or quality, is especially extended to those who are inclined to doubt. Accept this unprecedented invitation, my brethren, and you will convince yourselves of the sincerity and judgment which prompts our plea, and will realize at first taste that the product from these noble creatures is all that you need to keep you not only alive and well but also in joy and peace from "henceforth" and forever! And though there is an innumerable multitude to be fed, you need not fear a shortage of food, for The Universal Dairy has

A World of Butter-Producing Milk.

These noble creatures give such a volume of milk that we are compelled to separate

Tract 6 31

the cream, and are able to dispense only it. The milk we preserve. This plenitude bespeaks our being blessed with such a fullness of truth (milk) that all we can do is to send out the high points -- the butter or cream. Revealed truth never before having amassed itself into such an inexhaustible store as it has today, completes the evidence that the interpretation of this prophecy is correct, and that The Shepherd's Rod, which contains the truth for this time, has caused the

Land to Flow With "Milk And Honey."

When God promised to lead ancient Israel into a land "flowing with milk and honey," such a condition did not literally obtain in Canaan, so the expression could only have been metaphorical then finding its fulfillment in the fact that there the prophets did prophecy and write the Scriptures, thus flooding the land with "milk and honey" -- truth and joy.

Why stay hungry, my brethren, when there is such a boundless supply of soul-nourishing food at your very hand? If your appetite has not be -- come too jaded, come, then, and feed on this fresh "butter and honey." "Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." Isa. 55:1. But if, perchance, you have lost your hunger and your taste for truth, call then upon our dispensing representatives. Their services are free of charge and without obligation, and guarantee sure and gratifying

Tract 6 32

results. Do not be like those who still persist in boasting that they have all the truth, and have "need of nothing." For the reason that God has sent and is still sending such a store of "meat in due season" is to demonstrate that instead of having "need of nothing," they have need of everything, and that it is their abominations and spiritual destitution which have caused Him to leave

His Vineyard Desolate.

"And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place shall be, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, it shall even be for briers and thorns." Isa. 7:23.

The fact that this vineyard (figurative of the church -- Isa. 5:7), wherein each vine was once worth a "silverling," has become a place "for briers and thorns," shows that its Husbandman has left it desolate, a type-condition which Christ more fully projected in the following words:

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate" (Matt. 23:37, 38) -- that is, it has become a place whence the divine presence and glory have departed.

Tract 6 33

The integrity and perpetuity of the Spirit of Prophecy now being unquestionable, it morally compels us to introduce Christ's own testimony concerning the spiritual condition of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination as recorded by the Spirit of Prophecy:

" 'Can you not see how they have pretentiously covered up their defilement and rottenness of character? "How is the faithful city become a harlot?" My Father's house is made a house of merchandise, a place whence the divine presence and glory have departed! For this cause there is weakness, and strength is lacking.' " -- Testimonies, Vol. 8, p. 250.

Isaiah's vision perfectly corroborates the aforequoted testimony: both prophets could not possibly, except by the same Spirit, lay open the same condition with such absolute fidelity to fact. Thus by Scripture and by logic we are carried to the peak of evidence and of conviction that Mrs. White was inspired by the same Spirit as was Isaiah.

The noteworthy fact that both prophets (Isaiah and Mrs. White) are in such accord with each other as to the exact condition the church is in now, lends twofold concurrence in the indictment that the "house of God" has not only become a house of merchandise and a den of thieves but also

Tract 6 34

A Place For Casting Out Saints.

"With arrows and with bows shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns." Isa. 7:24. In other words, the vineyard has become so desolate, and so overrun with wild beasts (unconverted men), that if a saint would go into it, he would be compelled to carry with him "arrows" and "bows" (the Word of God) for self-protection (Heb. 4:12).

"But His bow abode in strength, and the arms of His hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the Shepherd the Stone of Israel)." Gen. 49:24. "Thy bow was made quite naked,...even Thy Word." Hab. 3:9.

Instead, therefore, of the church's being a refuge, holding out salvation for God's people, it has become a den of thieves and a place for the sheltering of sinners. For as soon as one is seen giving heed to the Lord's protest against the abominations, and identifies himself as a reformer, the wild beasts (the unconverted in the church) are either ready to devour him, as they tried to devour Paul (1 Cor. 15:32), or else to drive him out of the churches' assemblies! Here anyone may readily see why those who are responsible for the abominations are vociferously decrying the doctrine of a pure church.

We need not be surprised at the opposition which God's servants are receiving

Tract 6 35

from men of learning and position, for thus it has always been; and now, as in former ages, the presentation of a truth that reproves sins and corrects errors will excite opposition. "Every one that doeth evil," says the Lord, "hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved." John 3:20.

As men see that they cannot, by the Scriptures maintain their position, they determine to vindicate it at whatever cost, and as the final resort of a lost cause they indulge in personalities, assailing the character and the motives of those who cross their paths with unpopular truth. Such self-justification is the same traditional defense mechanism which has been resorted to in all ages.

"Elijah was declared to be a troubler in Israel, Jeremiah a traitor, Paul a polluter of the temple. From that day to this, those who would be loyal to truth have been denounced as seditious, heretical, or schismatic. Multitudes who are too unbelieving to accept the sure word of prophecy, will receive with unquestioning credulity an accusation against those who dare to reprove fashionable sins. This spirit will increase more and more." -- The Great Controversy, pp. 458, 459.

"Those who differed from the established doctrines have been imprisoned, put to torture and to death, at the instigation of men who claimed to be acting under the

Tract 6 36

sanction of Christ. But it is the spirit of Satan, not the Spirit of Christ, that inspires such acts. This is Satan's own method of bringing the world under his dominion. God has been misrepresented through the church by this way of dealing with those supposed to be heretics." -- Christ's Object Lessons, p. 74.

"Hear the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at His Word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for My name's sake, said, Let the Lord be glorified: but He shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed." Isa. 66:5.

And now because of this, shall we who have the light of Truth betray our trust and shun our responsibilities? "To the servant of God at this time is the command addressed, 'Lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.'

"So far as his opportunities extend, every one who has received the light of truth is under the same solemn and fearful responsibility as was the prophet of Israel, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying: 'Son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at My mouth, and warn them from Me. When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but

Tract 6 37

his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it, if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.'

"The great obstacle both to the acceptance and to the promulgation of truth, is the fact that it involves inconvenience and reproach. This is the only argument against the truth which its advocates have never been able to refute. But this does not deter the true followers of Christ. These do not wait for truth to become popular. Being convinced of their duty, they deliberately accept the cross, with the apostle Paul counting that 'our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;' with one of old, 'esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt.' " -- The Great Controversy pp. 459, 460.

Because of this deplorable condition, God now commissions His messengers to go with their "bows" and "arrows" and occupy faithfully their posts of duty

Until the Vineyard Is Fully Restored.

"And on all hills that shall be digged with the mattock, there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns." Isa. 7:25, first part.

That is to say, though the whole vineyard has become full of "briers and

Tract 6 38

thorns," God has not forever forsaken it, but will dig it with a mattock, uproot the thorns and briers, and plant it once again with the choicest vines for upon it "He bestows His supreme regard." -- Testimonies to Ministers, p. 15. And after He executes this work, "the fear of briers and thorns" "shall not come thither." Or, literally speaking, during the purification of the church, God's vengeance takes the wicked from among His people! and thereafter keeps them out and preserves His church pure forevermore, without fear of its ever becoming polluted again. In thus absolutely uprooting the briers and thorns (the wicked), He precludes even the fear of their returning.

Isaiah's vision clearly focuses on our time, for the wicked have always been in the church and will continue to be there until the final purification, which is soon to take place, and which, according to the Scriptures, is in its beginning to be

As the Mustard Seed.

"There shall not come hither the fear of briers and thorns: but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle." Isa. 7:25, last part.

The vineyard's being digged with the mattock signifies that the beginning of the work of reformation will progress slowly and that it will require hard labor, but that each "hill" or church locality being

Tract 6 39

digged will become a place "for the sending forth of oxen." In brief, at this particular time He will be sending missionaries into His neglected vineyard (church) instead of into the Gentile world.

Though the work, moreover is to have a small hard, mattock-like beginning it will gain speed and will emerge from the mattock stage into the ox-plow stage -- the stage which will see all the believers of Present Truth (except the "lesser cattle") unitedly go forth to dig or plow other "hills" until all the thorns and briers shall be uprooted throughout the land, the ground broken up, and the vineyard restored even beyond its original excellency. Thus reclaimed, it will be a place not only "for the sending forth of oxen," missionaries, but also for the

"Treading of Lesser Cattle."

Both the terms "treading" and "lesser cattle" have two meanings. "Treading" means both to step along and to trample something beneath the feet. "Lesser cattle" means both younger cattle and inferior cattle. Therefore the phrase "for the treading of lesser cattle," taken in the light of the first meaning, respectively, of each of the two terms, must refer to the children and to those newly come to the truth, who may be staying, "treading," about the newly digged hills. Taken in the light of the second meaning of each term, it must refer to the pressing or trampling, "treading"

Tract 6 40

to the ground, of all the unconverted who may seek to come into the vineyard. Of this latter class, Zechariah says: "And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the Lord: and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth." Zech. 13:3.

The direct application of the scripture, however, is to the latter pair of meanings, and only a secondary thought is that obtained from the former pair of meanings.

This final view of the vineyard compels men to choose either a glorious future or an inglorious end. Our hope is that each will

Choose the Glorious Future.

Because when He finally restores His vineyard, the Lord will nevermore desert it or permit it to be fouled by "briers and thorns," man's joy should be unbounded, causing him to praise God by day and night for His never-failing love! Still more thrilling is the thought that a multitude is now on the very stage of passing from this mortal state into immortality -- never to experience the unconscious state of the dead! May this call stir every reader from his long slumber (Matt. 25:5), and urge him to strive as never before for the "mark" of the living God (Ezek. 9:4).

Tract 6 41

"Awake, awake"; pleads the Voice of Love, "put on thy strength, O Zion, put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean." Isa. 52:1.

Be in the class of the five wise virgins, my brethren, and avail yourselves of this extra oil now before your lamps go out and the door closes forever (Matt. 25:10). "Anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see." Rev. 3:18. Sigh and cry for the abominations that be done in the church (Ezek. 9:4), that you may prove yourselves worthy to carry the message to her. Then after you have cried out, "O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off" (Nah. 1:15, last part), it shall be said of you, "Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace" (Nah. 1:15, first part), and you will be

Spared Through "Butter And Honey."

"For butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land." Isa. 7:22.

O what a soul-stirring assurance! Why should you perish when your Heavenly Father is making such an offer? Believe fully in the Spirit of Prophecy and live forever. "...believe His prophets, so shall ye prosper." 2 Chron. 20:20.

Tract 6 42

Have you not yet discovered that, whether it be in ancient or in modern times, all the Bible truths that men have ever learned, have come only through the inspired channel -- the Spirit of Prophecy? How, then, my brethren, can you longer refuse this cordial invitation? Come, eat to the full of "butter and honey," only a taste of which will start you on your way to recovery from your miserable Laodicean condition.

Though the church is now "lukewarm" (satisfied) in her "sad deception," yet if she lets this present opportunity slip from her grasp, the day will come when each member will gnash his teeth in the torment of indescribable sorrow. Yea, and all who deny either the Old or the New Testament Scriptures, or the Spirit of Prophecy, or all three, and who, by remaining in consequent ignorance, comply not with the Truth's requirements, shall not be "left," but shall perish.

If Christ, the Creator of the universe (John 1:3; Heb. 1:2), humbled Himself by believing in all the writings of the prophets, then why should men not, too? Are they greater than He? Will you be among those to whom He says, "O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken"? Luke 24:25.

If Christ Himself ate "butter and honey" in order to "refuse the evil, and choose the good," how, then, can you expect to learn what is right and wrong if you

Tract 6 43

close your eyes lest you see and stop your ears lest you hear, and thus remain in utter ignorance of His will? Without eating His "butter and honey," will not your righteousness be as but the "filthy rags" of self-righteousness (Isa. 64:6)?

Come, my brethren, while there is an abundance of butter for your upkeep, honey to make you glad, and a "golden bowl" full of "oil" to make you "shine." Why any longer languish in darkness, starving on husks, when God bids you become friends with His "young cow" and His "two sheep"? But after all, you need for your own sake, not for theirs, to feed on their butter. So come get it, for, says the Lord,

"A Man Shall Nourish" Them.

Here the Lord tells us that the milking of the two sheep and the young cow (the unfolding of the heaven-sent scrolls) is not entrusted to all, but to "a man" (prophet). This means that the one through whom the light is revealed, nourishes these sources of supply by arousing widespread interest in them, thus keeping them alive and producing. And each one who would remain in the land, must give them his steady patronage and be on the alert, of course, to interest others in their lasting, life-giving product.

Knowing that some would deny the Old Testament and others the New Testament

Tract 6 44

Scriptures, also that still others would doubt the Spirit of Prophecy, God therefore calls attention to all three. The figures, "a young cow and two sheep," unique in their milk-producing ability, make clear that their product can sustain life for eternity, and that to the "man" who nourishes them are the saints to go for their butter. Then they shall know the difference between

The Spirit of Prophecy and Its Counterfeits.

One may say, "Yes, I believe in the Spirit of Prophecy, but not as you do." Yet if what he believes to be the Spirit of Prophecy does not lead him to "keep the commandments of God" and to know that the testimony of Jesus Christ is the ever-active Spirit of Prophecy (Rev. 12:17; 19:10), then he had better forsake that and accept this, for "he that saith I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." 1 John 2:4. Likewise says the Lord: "Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." James 2:10. "Blessed are they that do His commandments that they...may enter in through the gates into the city." Rev. 22:14.

If, moreover, what such a one believes to be the Spirit of Prophecy is truly it, then it should have revealed the truths herein unfolded. Thus what he accepts

Tract 6 45

rather than what we accept as the Spirit of Prophecy would have been confirmed and exalted.

Not long ago a certain minister said: "My conception of the Spirit of Prophecy is different from yours; the prophecies in the Bible are my Spirit of Prophecy." Now so he must say if the Spirit of Prophecy were not ever-active. But if the Spirit of Prophecy begins and ends with the Bible, then all Christians have the Spirit of Prophecy. If this is so, though, why does the Revelation make a distinction between Christians who have the Spirit of Prophecy and those who do not? This minister's idea is, to say the least, illogical, for it puts Revelation 12:17 and 19:10 in the realm of the meaningless.

But what is still worse, this same minister in later speaking to his congregation, made The Shepherd's Rod teachings appear contradictory to Mrs. White's writings, which he then termed the "Spirit of Prophecy"! Yes, it is hard to believe that ministers in whom multitudes place confidence, would be so inconsistent and that these multitudes would be so blind and so ignorant about them!

Throughout these pages, the Spirit of Prophecy has, by the prophetic Word, proved Itself invulnerable to attack. It has vindicated Itself not as a voice beginning with Moses and ending before John the Baptist, but as the ever-living testimony,

Tract 6 46

beginning with creation and continuing with the patriarchs Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac Jacob; then with the prophets; next with the apostles; and finally, with the messengers of the Lord in our own day and on. Rising higher and higher with each encounter, as the reader can readily see, It will rise still higher when it is next considered that

Reflections Cast Upon One's Character Do Not Affect the Truth.

Having failed by fair means successfully to refute Sister White's work, some have long been resorting to attacking her character. Do any think that derogation of character makes one's writings untrue? If so, then what will they do with Balaam's prophecy concerning Christ our Saviour? The character of this faithless prophet was so degraded that even while he was coveting gain from the wicked king of Moab, he was in deepest hypocrisy offering up sacrifices to God for Him to curse Israel. Yet while engaged in this perfidy, he uttered the most sublime prophecy of Christ:

"...there shall come a Star out of Jacob and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth. And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for His enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly. Out of Jacob shall come He that shall have

Tract 6 47

dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city." Num. 24:17-19.

Dare any now repudiate Christ just because a wicked prophet prophesied of His coming? Here, every believer in the Word of God is compelled to admit that Balaam's covetous character did not make his prophecies false! How, then, could character considerations today, any more than yesterday, justify one's rejecting the Word of the Lord and thus sinning against the Holy Ghost?

Furthermore, those who resort to personalities will, upon examining themselves, find their own characters sevenfold worse! Yet while they are spending thousands of dollars, and years of hard labor to destroy the people's confidence in the ones against whom they prefer false charges, they in turn plead that the same multitude should accept their teachings, although in reality their own dingy characters make Mrs. White's, by comparison, as white as snow.

But the greatest mystery lies in the fact that multitudes cannot discern this mountainous inconsistency! If Mrs. White's supposedly crooked character makes her writings crooked, then how is it that they make straight, noble, commandment-keeping characters of those who love them? Too, how can we depend on the writings and the speeches of such who descend to the depths to judge her without a hearing,

Tract 6 48

while she is lying in her grave unable to defend herself?

They have no more refuted her writings than did the Pharisees refute the teachings of Christ. And as Christ's enemies could not by their criticisms change His character from holy to unholy, neither can Mrs. White's adversaries make her crooked if she is straight. As the true follower of Christ cannot, however, afford to waste his time in either running down or defending human beings, our sole purpose, therefore, is to vindicate the Truth of God, and to expose the fact that the opposition has done nothing more than to demonstrate

A Pseudo Refutation.

To expose this, we need simply to call the reader's attention to their strongest attempt, the one which is the hub of the whole controversy, and which exemplifies their tactics as well as the brand of their refutation. This effort will bring to the surface any error, whether it be Mrs. White's or her opponents'.

In a booklet published against her interpretation of the 2300 days of Daniel 8:14, the author says:

"Let us compare these statements of Mrs. White's and see how they compare with the Bible or foregoing scriptures; First the scriptures tell us positively that when Jesus went into heaven he went into the

Tract 6 49

presence of God and sat down on his right hand. Mrs. White denies this and says that Jesus went into heaven into the first apartment of the sanctuary and ministered before the veil which was before God for eighteen centuries. How could Jesus be in the presence of God and on his right hand and at the same time be ministering before him with an intervening veil between? Would it not be much better to reject what Mrs. White says on this point and accept the Word of God? If we accept Mrs. White's statement do we not have to deny the Bible?

"If Mrs. White's statement is true that Jesus ministered before God as the priest ministered daily in the first apartment of the earthly sanctuary presenting before God the blood of the sin offering then where was God? Was he not in the second apartment? Can anyone deny that he was there according to the type when the Scriptures teach that he was overshadowing the mercy seat while priests were ministering before the veil daily?" -- The Twenty-three Hundred Day 1844 Doctrine Weighed and Found Wanting p. 44.

Having heard the plaintiff's charge, let us now hear

The Defendant's Answer.

As the author of the two italicized paragraphs feels positive that the throne of God has always been in the heavenly sanctuary,

Tract 6 50

he therefore takes the position that when Christ ascended on High, He could not have sat at the right hand of God anywhere else than in the Most Holy place of the heavenly temple. This position leads him hastily to conclude that Christ, immediately after His ascension, entered into the Most Holy apartment and there sat down at the right hand of God, rather than that He immediately ascended to the right hand of His Father's throne elsewhere in heaven, as Mrs. White's writings explain.

If it is true that God's throne has always been in the sanctuary, then, of course, the position of Mrs. White's opponents is justified, and the error should be exposed. But before we accept them and reject her, let us first ascertain whether or not God's throne was in the sanctuary when Christ ascended on High. To this end, we call attention to two thrones each in a different place.

"After this I looked," says John, "and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. And immediately I was in the Spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.

"And He that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight

Tract 6 51

like unto an emerald. And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.

"And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.

"And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.... And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands." Rev. 4:1-6; 5:6, 11.

Belonging only in the Sanctuary, the bleeding lamb and seven lamps therefore show that John was given a preview of a prophetic event to take place in the sanctuary above, when the "door" there was to swing "open." Furthermore, inasmuch as the throne was set up in the sanctuary after the door was opened, there could not have

Tract 6 52

been any throne there previously. Accordingly after His ascension Christ did not sit on the sanctuary throne, at the Father's right hand, but rather on the one where was "a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life." Rev. 22:1, 2.

Remember, before the sanctuary throne is the "sea of glass," and before the throne of God and the Lamb is "the river...of Life." Now, only a foolish person would attempt to explain that these two thrones (the one of Revelation 22:1, 2 and the other of Revelation 4 and 5) are one and the same, or that Christ, after His ascension, sat on the throne in the sanctuary.

In connection with the latter throne, there remains to be answered the two questions:

When Did the Door Open? When Was the Throne Set Up?

We have already seen that in John's time the door was not yet opened and that the throne was not yet set up. Though these events did not take place then, they must take place before the close of probation, for the Lamb "as it had been slain" was brought there to atone for sinful man -- a work which cannot be done after the close of probation.

Its therefore being a fact that this particular

Tract 6 53

throne had to be set up after John's time and before probation's close, then if it were not set up in 1844 A.D., as Mrs. White declared that it was, will her opponents please tell when it was? While waiting for an answer, the reader may consider

The Object of Setting Up the Throne.

John's description of this particular throne, about which were multitudes of angels, the Lamb, the elders, the beasts, and the candlesticks, admits but one conclusion that it is a throne of judgment. It is this same judicial setting that was also shown to Daniel:

"I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, Whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like the pure wool: His throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.... I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days and they brought Him near before Him." Dan. 7:9, 10, 13.

By reading verse 8, the student will notice that the throne which Daniel saw, was set up after the persecuting horn-power

Tract 6 54

(which had the "eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things" -- Dan. 7:8, last part) had done its wicked work. The words, "I beheld till the thrones were cast down" (set for use), show that the thrones were not there before; again forcing the conclusion that centuries after Christ's ascension, these thrones were "cast down," "the judgment was set, and the books were opened."

Verse 13 of Daniel 7 and verse 6 of Revelation 5 show that "One like the Son of man" is before the judgment throne, as a lamb slain, ready to atone for sinful men. After the close of probation, however, He is no longer as a sin-pardoning Saviour, but is then as "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS," "out of" Whose "mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations." Rev. 19:16, 15. And further through Daniel, the Spirit explains that during, not before, the judgment, there is "given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: [and that] His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." Dan. 7:14.

The Scriptures make clear that while in the sanctuary, Christ receives the Kingdom after "the thrones [are] cast down," and

Tract 6 55

after the investigative judgment is completed -- before His second coming. That this is so, is further evidenced by the parable of Luke 19:15, which states that Christ receives the kingdom, and that afterwards He comes to slay His enemies.

Daniel 7:22 shows that the "judgment" was given to the saints of the Most High and that after the judgment, they possessed the Kingdom. Whereas the executive judgment of all the wicked -- of those who did not rise in "the first resurrection" (Rev. 20:5, 6) -- takes place afterwards, while the wicked are in their graves, for, says John: "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works." Rev. 20:12.

After this judgment, "the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works." Rev. 20:13. And "whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." Rev. 20:15. "...This is the second death." Rev. 20:14.

Tract 6 56

Since there are two judgments, each for a different time and class, and two resurrections a thousand years apart (Rev. 20:5), there are therefore

Two Different Thrones--One Administrative and One Judicial.

The administrative throne is at the head of the "river...of Life" (Rev. 22:1, 2), in Paradise; the judicial throne, at the head of the fiery stream (Dan. 7:10), the "sea of glass" (Rev. 4:6) "mingled with fire" (Rev. 15:2), in the sanctuary. The latter's not having been set up until years after Christ's ascension, precludes the possibility of its being the one upon which He sat at the right hand of God. Consequently, after His ascension, Christ must have sat upon the throne that is at the head of the river of life -- a circumstance which invests the throne with the title, "the throne of God and of the Lamb." From this administrative throne the Father arose, and in a flaming chariot (Isa. 6:1) went into the Holy of Holies within the veil where the fiery stream, the sea of glass, is, and there sat down upon the throne (Rev. 4:2). Following this, Christ also rose up from the same throne and, in "a cloudy chariot, with wheels like flaming fire, surrounded by angels," was brought, not to the right hand of God, but "near before Him" (Dan. 7:13) -- to the

Tract 6 57

judicial throne where He was in the sanctuary. Thus was the solemn event signalized in 1844, when the judicial ceremony took place. (This subject is elaborated in our Tract No. 3, The Judgment and The Harvest.)

Here are the simple facts of these prophetic events, and he who doubts the plain truth of them will later have to confess his mistake, but perhaps to no purpose, for then it may forever too late to profit him, though he confess it "carefully with tears."

Now, the reason that God's throne has not always been in the heavenly sanctuary and that it will not always be there, is simply that the sanctuary was built only for the disposal of sin, as one can easily recognize through the service of the earthly. Looking forward to the time that there will be sin no more, John says: "And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof." Rev. 21:22, 23.

By the chain of facts here linked, the "1844 doctrine," instead of being "weighed and found wanting," now stands more substantial, solid, and sure than ever, showing

Tract 6 58

that like oil on water, inspired revelations always rise to the top of private theories, the theories sinking down and away into oblivion. (For further study of Revelation 4 and 5, the Judgment, read The Shepherd's Rod, Vol. 2, pp. 187-201.)

My brethren, be not like the Jews of old, angered against the Truth, hating its blazing light, but praise God for giving you another opportunity to reform while mercy yet lingers. And although heart-felt confession may humble one's pride of opinion, yet it will enhance his character and cause God to exalt him "in due time" (1 Pet. 5:6) with eternal life. If personal opposition to the message has stemmed purely from misapprehension and misunderstanding, engendered not by self-interest but solely by a conscientious desire to avoid error, there is no condemnation to be laid to one's charge: only as one would stubbornly continue to reject evidence, would condemnation be upon him. The unfolding of the prophetic scroll will reveal to all "what manner of spirit" (Gospel Workers, p. 302) they are of -- whether willing to exchange error for truth, or whether determined to identify themselves with the class who will forever be found

Ignorantly Fighting the Truth.

The opponents of the truth, ignoring Inspiration

Tract 6 59

and failing to give the matter painstaking thought, were naturally led to reject the doctrine of the 2300 days; first, upon the excuse that William Miller proclaimed the Lord's coming to earth instead of His coming to judgment; and second, because of being prejudiced against Sister White's Inspiration. But as Miller's religious connections were prominent, God could not have consistently left His people to grope and stumble in darkness concerning his work. Good or bad, it, too, like Sister White's, must be found in the "more sure word of prophecy." 2 Pet. 1:19. So our attention is now called to

Zechariah, Chapter One.

"I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him were there red horses, speckled, and white. Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will shew thee what these be. And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These are they whom the Lord hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth. And they answered the angel of the Lord that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest." Zech. 1:8-11.

Tract 6 60

Tract 6 61

The "two sheep" and the "young cow" (Isa. 7) are, as already shown, giving a more abundant supply of milk than we can immediately deliver. So in the ensuing study of Zechariah 1, we are compelled just as we were in the study of Isaiah 7, also in that of Zechariah 4, to dispense only the "butter" (cream) and to preserve the milk.

In the vision of Zechariah 1, we note that the "horses" "whom the Lord hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth," have the gift of speech, for "they answered the angel of the Lord...and said, We have looked to and fro through the earth." The obvious import of this symbolism is that these "horses" can talk and that they are serving the Lord in going where He sends them. They therefore can be symbolical only of the Lord's servants, the ministry that is "sent."

Inevitably, then, the symbolism depicts a Movement which goes forth with a message and which, upon finishing its work of going "to and fro through the earth," returns.

Without clashing with logic, one cannot suppose that this symbolism is prophetically descriptive of the gospel workers who are foreshadowed in Christ's prophecy that "this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." Matt. 24:14. For after the horses

Tract 6 62

answered "We have walked to and fro through the earth" -- meaning, "We have finished our work," -- the Lord commands them to "Cry yet;" that is, proclaim again! And this command moreover, shows that the Lord was yet to bestow His mercy upon His people, and yet to finish His work of salvation, for He says: "My cities...shall yet be spread abroad; and the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem. " Zech. 1:17.

Necessarily, therefore, the "horses" here in view depict a Movement on foot, which is organized to proclaim the gospel throughout the earth. The horses' answer, "We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest," reveals that the movement thought its work finished and probation closed. In other words, it thought that salvation through the gospel had closed and that the preaching of it could no longer make the earth produce converts. (The subject of the symbolism being the production of spiritual life, it necessarily calls for the salvation of souls not for the production of vegetal or animal life.) Whereas, in fact, the Lord commissioned them to "cry yet," showing them that they were mistaken.

To determine whether this symbolical prophecy points to God's servants of the past, of the present, or of the future, one must consult church history. Its pages record

Tract 6 63

that the Millerite Movement is the only one which has gone with a message to every Christian mission in the world (The Great Controversy, p. 368), and thought, mistakenly, that in so doing, the last gospel invitation had been sounded to every living creature under heaven, thereby signalizing the close of human probation. On the contrary, the gospel invitation for this time, instead of then being finished, had just begun, and instead of the Lord's coming then to earth, He went to His heavenly temple!

The peculiar set of circumstances surrounding the Millerite Movement prior to 1844, certifies that it is the one which is depicted in the symbolism of Zechariah 1. And it should be remembered that the Lord did not on the one hand attach the warning, "Look out, for these horses are false (mistaken) prophets," or on the other hand rebuke the horses or command them to keep silence, but that instead He commanded them that they cry the more. And the angel of the Lord, in confirmation, declares: "These are they whom the Lord hath sent."

John the Baptist preached that Christ was to establish a literal kingdom at His first advent, and though John was mistaken, the Lord said of him: "There hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist." Matt. 11:11. And in view of the light now shining from the Scripture, anyone can

Tract 6 64

see that those who are continually crying out "Wolf! wolf!" in derision of the 2300-days doctrine, are, wittingly or unwittingly, working against God by attempting to silence His voice. They are doing the bidding of him who is trying to conceal the truth that the next after the Millerite movement must proclaim the gospel

To Many But Not To All.

The Revelator also having been given a vision of these two movements (recorded in chapters 10 and 11), we direct the reader's attention to the "little book" which he was asked to eat. In his "mouth" it was as sweet as honey, but in his "belly" it became very bitter. This rapt experience, in vision, of sweet foretaste turning into bitter disappointment, exactly foretells the 1844 experience of God's people. Their sweet and all-consuming hope in the Lord's promise, "I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also" (John 14:3), was then expected to become a reality, whereas, instead, it turned into bitter disappointment.

Following this sweet-bitter experience, came the fulfillment of the angel's words: "Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings." Rev. 10:11.

Here, too, as in Zechariah's prophecy, the Movement was to "prophecy again" or to "cry yet"; that is, repeat its mission, showing that probation was not closed.

Tract 6 65

So on the authority of these scriptures, the movement was again, after the disappointment, to proclaim the gospel, but only to "many," not to "all." Accordingly, the Seventh-day Adventist denomination in its 1844 commission, was to "prophesy" (teach), not to "all," but simply to "many," nations. Necessarily, then, it must receive another commission, one to go to "all nations."

There is, therefore, another message; it is to join the Third Angel's Message, just as stated by the Spirit of Prophecy:

"Then I say another mighty angel commissioned to descend to the earth, to unite his voice with the third angel, and give power and force to his message. Great power and glory were imparted to the angel, and as he descended, the earth was lightened with his glory.... This message seemed to be an addition to the third message, joining it as the midnight cry joined the second angel's message in 1844." -- Early Writings, p. 277.

"When light goes forth to lighten the earth," says the Spirit of Prophecy, concerning the church's reception of the message, and the way in which the Lord shall then work, "instead of coming up to the help of the Lord, they will want to bind about His work to meet their narrow ideas. Let me tell you that the Lord will work in this last work in a manner very much out of the common order of things, and in a way that will be contrary to any human

Tract 6 66

planning. There will be those among us who will always want to control the work of God, to dictate even what movements shall be made when the work goes forward under the direction of the angel who joins the third angel in the message to be given to the world. God will use ways and means by which it will be seen that He is taking the reins in His own hands." -- Testimonies to Ministers, p. 300.

Turning again to the "more sure word of prophecy," in search of the commission to all nations, we also find that

Before the Gospel Goes to All Nations, a Great Slaughter Takes Place.

"For by fire and by His sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many." Isa. 66:16.

Here we see that very thing -- a great slaughter; and that by the Lord Himself. But what the reader is naturally most concerned to know is where and when this destruction is to take place. Verses 19 and 20 state that those who escape the slaughter, the Lord shall send to all nations that have not as yet heard of His "fame, neither have seen" His "glory."

From the commission to the great world-wide missionary movement which is here brought to view, and which necessarily takes place before the close of probation, the slaughter is plainly seen to have been executed before the "gospel of the kingdom

Tract 6 67

shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and...the end come." Matt. 24:14. "And they [the escaped ones] shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord out of all nations...in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord." Isa. 66:20.

Remember that those who escape the slaughter are the ones who do this soul harvesting. The slaughter, therefore, is the destruction of the "tares" who are among God's people -- the church. Should it be of the heathen (those outside the church), then those who escape would have to be heathen themselves. And such could not either proclaim His glory and His fame or bring all their brethren into the house of the Lord. Neither could there be any nation left to which the escaped ones could go!

Couple with this the fact that those who escape the slaying are they who go to all nations and bring all their brethren (all who are to be saved) into the Lord's house, and you have an unbreakable sequence of evidence that this destruction takes place just before the gospel goes in its final surge to all the world.

Though this engrossing subject is but briefly treated herein, yet for lucidity, harmony, and logic, the truth of it stands peer to any. It gives a prophetic outline of church history from Miller's time to the present day, showing the opening and

Tract 6 68

closing of each Movement, also its work and destiny: that is, the mistake attending the Millerite Movement (understanding the cleansing of the "sanctuary" to be the of the earth); the limited commission of the Seventh-day Adventist Movement (authorizing it to go, not to "all" nations, but simply to "many"); its purification (removing the tares from its midst); its being launched as a new, a purified, movement, presenting the church of Christ worthy of His blessed name for the first time since apostolic days. At last a light unto all the world, it proclaims the gospel with a loud cry "for a witness unto all nations:" then comes the finale -- the inevitable end (Matt. 24:14).

This composite pictorial revelation of gospel work and workers, contributed to by the prophets, discloses a church that keeps "the commandments of God" and has "the testimony of Jesus Christ." It is "clad in the armor of Christ's righteousness,...'fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners,...to go forth into all the world, conquering and to conquer." -- Prophets and Kings, p. 725.

On one hand, the light of Present Truth now enables the eye to see both the work of William Miller and that of Sister White deeply rooted in the "more sure work of prophecy." On the other hand, it lays open the spiritual poverty and nakedness of

Tract 6 69

their critics. The Lord's voice is also heard saying against them: "I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied." Jer. 23:21.

The eyes of the Lord, piercing everywhere throughout the earth, failed not to foresee these uncalled workers who, notwithstanding His sounding far and near the solemn warning that "the great and dreadful day of the Lord" is here, are in blind defiance trying to out-din the voice of Truth with their mounting cry of "peace and safety." Let us, my brethren, turn our ears from the multitude of voices devoid of the Holy Spirit, and diligently give heed to

The Lord's Final Plea.

"Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say still unto them that despise Me, The Lord hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you. For who hath stood in the counsel of the Lord, and hath perceived and heard His Word? who hath marked His Word, and heard it?" Jer. 23:16-18.

"Behold," answers the Lord Himself, "a whirlwind of the Lord is gone forth in

Tract 6 70

fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked. The anger of the Lord shall not return, until He have executed, and till He have performed the thoughts of His heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly. I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in My counsel and had caused My people to hear My words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings." Jer. 23:19-22.

Obvious it is that the opposition is engendered and nurtured by self-appointed leaders who avowedly laying no claim to "inspiration" are thereby unwittingly crying out that the Lord has not sent them! Yet neither they nor their adherents perceive either the irony or the folly of their position! Hence "sleeping preachers preaching to a sleeping people!" -- Testimonies, Vol. 2, p. 337.

When they find themselves face to face with either the "overflowing scourge" (Isa. 28:18) of the final visitation of "the wrath of God" (Rev. 15:1), they will be stabbed with the tragedy of futile realization. That which now from a distance appears to them, mirage-like, an ocean of grace, will then inescapably engulf them in abysmal ruin -- eternally!

"For the Lord shall rise up as in mount Perazim He shall be wroth as in the valley

Tract 6 71

of Gibeon, that He may do His work, His strange work; and bring to pass His act, His strange act.

"Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord God of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth. Give ye ear, and hear My voice; hearken, and hear My speech" (Isa. 28:21-23), lest your hope of grace "be as when an hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion.

"Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered. And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: and the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned." Isa. 29:8-12.

"Men and women are in the last hours

Tract 6 72

of probation, and yet are careless and stupid, and ministers have no power to arouse them; they are asleep themselves. Sleeping preachers preaching to a sleeping people!" -- Testimonies, Vol. 2, p. 337.

"Doubt and even disbelief of the testimonies of the Spirit of God, is leavening...churches everywhere. Satan would have it thus. Ministers who preach self instead of Christ would have it thus." -- Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 217.

Brethren, because the Lord loves you, and because he is loath to make of you a vessel of dishonor, He addresses this tract to you. We, too, are heart-sick that you have, as the Jews of old, deeply involved yourselves in a war against the Spirit of Prophecy -- a war which you cannot win. In rejecting heaven-sent messages, in ignoring the wise counsel of the learned Gamaliel (Acts 5:34-39), and in persistently trying to support with scriptures your questionable interpretations of the Bible, as do Sabbath-breakers in evading the Sabbath truth, you are following in a course which, if persisted in will lead you to commit the sin against the Holy Ghost.

Rather than raising your voices against the truth, raise them in praises of it and of the Lord, for He has charged your folly to your ignorance of the truth. If you return to Him at this final warning, He will gladly receive you and command His servants to clothe you with His best "robe"

Tract 6 73

(Christ's righteousness -- Isa. 52:1), set a "ring" on your finger (the evidence of your princehood -- Esther 3:12; 8:2; Gen. 41:42, 43), put "shoes" on your feet (prepare you for the proclamation of the gospel -- Eph. 6:15) and then "bring hither the fatted calf" (welcome you home to His house -- the Kingdom -- to celebrate "the marriage supper of the Lamb" -- Luke 15:23; Rev. 19:9)!

But though our prayers go out for you, they will not be effective if you continue to withstand the Spirit's warning injunctions and pleadings as well as your own convictions, and longer refuse or neglect to acquire a full knowledge of the Bible truths for this time.

(Those who desire further to study Revelation 11, may obtain free copies of our Tracts No. 5, Final Warning, and No. 2, The Warning Paradox, which amass detailed evidence that these three Movements are found in prophecy.)

My brethren, "arise, shine; for the light is come" Isa. 60:1. "Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace!" That saith, "O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off." Nah. 1:15. Walk in the light, and allow not those who are always questioning and criticizing everything in which they have not a part, to jeopardize your

Tract 6 74

eternal reward by their vain questions, such as

What About Women Teaching?

When brought face to face with the truth, some act like men who have lost their reason. As fish jump at bait, they foolishly jump at conclusions. And when they are mercifully freed from the hook and given a chance to live, instead of departing from their greedy, selfish policies, and keeping themselves from being caught again, they rush at another bait, only to find themselves hooked again and again. When they find that they have thus repeatedly brought themselves into disrepute, they even then do not resolve to get right and stay right.

Those who get themselves cornered and cut off from every avenue of escape from the truth, instead of surrendering their erroneous ideas, make a desperate effort to dodge out of their plight, through the shift of isolating the scripture: "Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law." 1 Cor. 14:34.

This resort, however, only gives sharper point to the truism that it is never fair for one to assume a stand on an issue, solely on the weight of opinion derived from one or two verses, without first considering the verses in the light of the whole chapter,

Tract 6 75

yes, even of the entire Bible; for if one's interpretation of the Scriptures is not supported by every sentence of Holy Writ, it is a fallacious interpretation, a blind conclusion, without Bible foundation.

In 1 Corinthians 14, we find that many of the women had gone "mad" (verse 23) over speaking in unknown tongues. Hence Paul is endeavoring to dispel the confusion, not to silence anyone who has an inspired message to deliver. An attempt to stop women from teaching would not be in harmony with the following scriptures:

"And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time. And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment." Judges 4:4, 5. "And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; and she was a widow of about four-score and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day." Luke 2:36, 37. Also "Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum" taught Israel (2 Kings 22:14-16). And "Philip the evangelist,...had four daughters, virgins, which did prophecy." Acts 21:8, 9.

So those who think that Paul forbids a woman to teach, are not in the slightest

Tract 6 76

bit discrediting and impeaching Mrs. White's office, but rather are unwittingly casting reflection upon Paul's writings -- endeavoring to bring them into apparent conflict with the writings of his fellow-writers of the Scriptures.

Those who carefully study will learn not to jump at baited hooks, but rather humbly to submit themselves to the teachings of the Spirit of Christ if they expect Him to save them from the curse of sin and from the wrath of God.

(As to the consequences of rejecting the prophets of God at this time, study our Tract No. 4, The Latest News for Mother, 1941 edition, pp. 53, 54.)

Just as in the sermon on the day of Pentecost, the Spirit reasoned with the Jews, to save them from eternal ruin, so in these pages He reasons with you, my brethren. In substance He said to them: "As David prophesied of One Who would see no corruption, it could not be possible that his prophecy applied to himself, as you suppose, for his body lies corrupted in his sepulcher to this day. God has raised but One [Christ] without His body seeing corruption" (Acts 2:22-32); therefore He must be the only one to whom David's prophecy can apply.

Peter's reasoning that David's prophecy applies to Christ's resurrection, does not have any plainer supporting evidence than

Tract 6 77

this tract does in showing that Mrs. White's writings, along with what is revealed here, are the Spirit of Prophecy -- the "testimony of Jesus." Rev. 19:10. So if you also pursue the dishonorable course which those wicked Jews pursued, will your guilt be any less than theirs? Why, then, so act now as to share in that guilt? Why not instead right now make the better choice, and let the Spirit of God put the same words in your mouths as He did in the mouths of the few penitent Jews, who solemnly inquired, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Acts 2:37.

Be not like the "almost persuaded" Agrippa. Do not go contrary to your convictions, as did Felix, saying: "Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee" (Acts 26:28; 24:25), for says the Lord: "Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts." Heb. 4:7.

Now, brethren, well do you know that you have not in truth been able to refute any part of The Shepherd's Rod. Why, then, continue with your criticism in the "unfolding of truth," until finally you find yourselves irretrievably in the class whose evil works were foreseen and recorded by Inspiration:

"They will question and criticize everything that arises in the unfolding of truth, criticize the work and position of others, criticize every branch of the work in which

Tract 6 78

they have not themselves a part. They will feed upon the errors and mistakes and faults of others, 'until,' said the angel, 'the Lord Jesus shall rise up from His mediatorial work in the heavenly sanctuary, and shall clothe Himself with the garments of vengeance, and surprise them at their unholy feast; and they will find themselves unprepared for the marriage supper of the Lamb.' Their taste has been so perverted that they would be inclined to criticise even the table of the Lord in His Kingdom." -- Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 690.

So of the whole matter now, let the saints hear and give heed to

The Conclusion.

In the fullness of light prevading these pages, the reader should see, as in noonday brightness, that the ever-present Spirit of Prophecy, alone is able to cope with the confusion in the world today, resulting from the many "winds of doctrine."

"Behold," says the Word, "I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord." To him shalt thou hearken. "And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall." "Behold, the name of the Lord cometh from far, burning with His anger, and the burden

Tract 6 79

thereof is heavy: His lips are full of indignation, and His tongue as a devouring fire: and His breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err," "because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved." Mal. 4:5; Isa. 30:25, 27, 28; 2 Thess. 2:10.

Here it is seen that the prophecies and the correct interpretations thereof are "profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect." 2 Tim. 3:16, 17.

Therefore, brethren, settle it once and forever, that with the Lord's help you will no longer be carried away by winds of doctrine that are created and driven by the spirit of error, not by the Spirit of Truth, but that you will always look for, and stand by, the Inspired Word of God -- "the testimony of Jesus," delivered to you by "the Spirit of Prophecy" (Rev. 12:17; 19:10); that you will "hear the rod, and Who hath appointed it." Micah 6:9.

2. Answerer #1, pp. 39-59

WHAT IS THE PHENOMENON OF INSPIRATION?

Question No. 3:

What is private interpretation? In what manner is one inspired? And through whom does Inspiration work? {ABN1: 39.1}

Answer:

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." 2 Tim. 3:16, 17. {ABN1: 39.2}

"Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." 2 Pet. 1:20, 21. {ABN1: 39.3}

Affirmatively stated, all Scripture (not merely a part of It) is inspired. Negatively stated, none of It is privately interpreted, for the reason that It did not come of men but of God. And It can be interpreted by men only as and when God's Spirit decrees. Accordingly, every jot and tittle of Scripture and Its interpretation is of Inspiration, and thus wholly profitable to guide the man of God doctrinally, to reprove and to correct him, and righteously to instruct him, unto perfection of faith and works. {ABN1: 39.4}

Answerer Book 1 39

Let us therefore covenant with the Lord that henceforth we shall neither accept nor advance as revealed truth any private interpretation of the Scriptures. And to keep understandingly inviolate this solemn promise to the Lord, we must first, of course, understand

The Phenomenon of Inspiration. {ABN1: 40.1}

In Its Scriptural sense, Inspiration is defined as "a divine influence directly and immediately exerted upon the mind or soul of man" (The New Century Dictionary); in other words, It is a special function of the Spirit of God. It is, therefore in Its divers manifestations, set in operation, not by the working of the mind itself, but by the power of the Spirit. To get a correct understanding of this process, however, one must necessarily see it in historical perspective, operating in the midst of the human race from the beginning of creation. {ABN1: 40.2}

In His own image God created Adam, and gave him sovereign "dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." Gen. 1:26. {ABN1: 40.3}

Accordingly, as He made Adam the king of earth's first dominion, and all living creatures the subjects thereof, Adam's natural ability to rule them, and their natural submission to him, show that all creation,

Answerer Book 1 40

man and beast, fowl and creeping things, were divinely influenced or endowed--inspired. So when Adam reviewed the whole animal creation as it passed before him, he spent no time in studying the nature of the creatures in order to identify them, but instantaneously gave every species its name; they, in turn, immediately recognized him as their king--gave submission to him. This Super-intelligency (such as is vouchsafed in Matthew 10:19) clearly shows that all creation was influenced by a power above and beyond its own. In short, both Adam's and the animals' understanding came by Inspiration. {ABN1: 40.4}

Inspiration, consequently, is not limited in Its manifestations, to man alone. And sacred history reveals that neither is it limited to visions (Dan. 7:2), or dreams (Gen. 28:12), or indirect communication (Ex. 40:35; 28:30), or direct face to face conversation (Gen. 18:2) with divine beings, or to any other form of expression. Rather It comes "in divers manners." Thuswise, God "at sundry times...spake in time past unto the fathers." Heb. 1:1. {ABN1: 41.1}

This fundamental truth was, perhaps, best exemplified in Noah's work, particularly in its climax, when special intelligence was imparted to selected members of the animal creation, so that from near and far they could find their way into the ark and keep peace one with another. (See Genesis 7:1-4.) {ABN1: 41.2}

Answerer Book 1 41

But having survived the flood, the descendants of Noah's family straightway forgot the priceless lesson. So it came to pass that the post-diluvians were as determined to believe that there could be a second universal flood as the antediluvians were that there could not be a first one. Thus unbelief in Noah's inspiration became as pronounced after the flood as it had been before, with the result that in the effort to gain security of life, men attempted to build the tower of Babel, the world's first skyscraper and the earliest monument to the folly of man's prodigious labors to secure his salvation without the assistance of Divine Inspiration. This insulting attitude of the builders toward the Lord's promise through Noah, so aroused His displeasure that He blotted from their memory the language which He had given them through Adam and, in its stead, inspired in them all the diverse languages of earth, with the result that the builders became confused among them selves and could no longer continue building (Gen. 11:7-9). {ABN1: 42.1}

In this preternatural event which so radically changed the course of human society, we see another form of Inspiration revealing that while one individual or a group of individuals may deliberately work at cross-purposes with God, He can bestow His gift even on them, to frustrate their own evil designs (Gen. 11:1-9) while promoting

Answerer Book 1 42

His eternal purpose and getting praise to His name (Ps. 76:10). {ABN1: 42.2}

Another example of this marvelous manifestation is seen in the contravention of Balaam's evil intent. The Lord so controlled Balaam's tongue that though his mind was bent on cursing Israel, he could pronounce only blessings (Num. 22, 23, 24). {ABN1: 43.1}

Let these "ensamples" be our constant reminder that anyone who undertakes to work against the Lord's revealed will is doomed to failure and shame. {ABN1: 43.2}

In later postdiluvian days the Lord appeared and said unto Abram: "Unto thy seed will I give this land." Gen. 12:7. Then some years afterwards "three men stood by him," and one of them said to him, "Sarah thy wife shall have a son." Gen. 18:2, 10. Thus through Divine agency, in some respects different from that which controlled Adam and Noah, was Abraham enabled (inspired) to understand what the future held for him and for his posterity. {ABN1: 43.3}

Then, too, there was the time when Balaam (who, at the instance of King Balak, was on his way to Moab) whipped his faithful ass, which thereupon received the gift of speech, and said to his abusive master: "What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?" Num. 22:28. The dumb creature, we see,

Answerer Book 1 43

was enabled (inspired) to speak by the Power which created him. Hence, it will be well, indeed for every man to give heed to what the Lord says and does regardless how, when, where, or through whom He says or does it. {ABN1: 43.4}

Again, years before Israel went into Egypt, God in His providence (Gen. 45:5) influenced Jacob to make a coat of many colors for his youngest son, Joseph. This seeming partiality, along with Joseph's dream and his father's interpretation of it (Gen. 37:10), provoked the jealous brothers to sell him as a slave, to be carried away into Egypt so as to prevent his supplanting them in influence or position. But there in Egypt the Lord in His own time raised him to the second throne of the realm, then brought the years of plenty, also the years of famine, as the means to remove the whole household of Jacob into Egypt. {ABN1: 44.1}

In their desperate endeavor to be rid of Joseph so as to avoid being ruled by him, his brethren succeeded only (by stirring up the ever-attentive potential of Providence) in exalting him to the administrative throne of Egypt, and in bringing themselves down in humiliation at his feet. Here is marked evidence that he who attempts to defeat God's purposes succeeds only in defeating his own and in promoting God's. {ABN1: 44.2}

Answerer Book 1 44

When, as a fugitive from Egypt, Moses was attending his father-in-law's flocks in Midian, "the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed." Ex. 3 :2. By this manifestation, Moses was inspired to liberate Israel from their hard Egyptian bondage. And then as the leader of the Hebrews during their forty years of wandering in the wilderness, he communed with the Lord face to face (Ex. 34:30-35), and departed with his countenance divinely irradiant. Thus his experience was anomalous to that of others before him. {ABN1: 45.1}

Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar had dreams. Joseph and Daniel interpreted them (Gen. 40:8-12; 41:25-38; Dan. 2:28; 4:20, 24). Daniel the prophet, John the Revelator, and other holy men of God had visions. Each was the special recipient of Inspiration in a distinctive form, and to a greater or less degree. {ABN1: 45.2}

From these and many other examples, we see that Inspiration works in divers ways Its wonders to perform. Through man and through beast, in fact through all creation, Its work is seen in many forms. Some have heard It in audible voice, both through agents seen (Ex. 34:30-35) and agents unseen (Ex. 3:2). Others have witnessed It through definite impressions,

Answerer Book 1 45

dreams, visions, providences, preternatural and instantaneous speech endowments. {ABN1: 45.3}

In all diligence, therefore, give heed to any supernatural manifestation in the church of God, irrespective of source, whether it be human or brute, small or great, black or white, rich or poor. Unbiasedly compare its work with the Scriptures, and if it is in harmony with them, if it finds its foundation and prediction there, makes men loyal to the law and to the prophets, and adds light to the present truth, accept it whatever the cost in money, property, position, friends, and relatives, for it is your very life. He who will prove faithful in this responsibility will receive a hundredfold for the sacrifice it has cost him to be true to the Lord's voice (Matt. 19:29). {ABN1: 46.1}

But to be true, and thus to save oneself from the unpardonable sin, one must be constantly on guard. And this he can do only by prayerfully investigating the spirit that purports to come in the name of the Lord. Failing to do this, he stands in greatest peril of rejecting the pleading of the Holy Ghost (Inspiration), and thus of indifferently tossing away his very life. {ABN1: 46.2}

"When a message comes in the name of the Lord to His people," says the Spirit of Truth, "no one may excuse himself from an investigation of its claims. No one can afford to stand back in an attitude of indifference

Answerer Book 1 46

and self-confidence, and say: 'I know what is truth. I am satisfied with my position. I have set my stakes, and I will not be moved away from my position, whatever may come. I will not listen to the message of this messenger; for I know that it cannot be truth.' It was from pursuing this very course that the popular churches were left in partial darkness, and that is why the messages of heaven have not reached them."--Testimonies on Sabbath-School Work, p. 65; Counsels on Sabbath-School Work, p. 28. {ABN1: 46.3}

Inspiration makes very clear that the Lord's messenger dare not in any way improvise upon revelation (Rev. 22: 18-20), although often privileged to articulate it in his own words. Judged by the same standard, no one else dare meddle with the inspired writer's work. This rational sequence consistently concludes that when a point in one's writings is not clear, then only the writer himself should be consulted concerning it, if he is living. Otherwise, only the same Spirit of Inspiration, the original Author of the writings, can clarify whatever is involved. Indeed, "if a message comes," as Inspiration says, "that you do not understand, take pains that you may hear the reasons the messenger may give, comparing scripture with scripture, that you may know whether or not it is sustained by the Word of God."--Testimonies on Sabbath-School Work, pp.

Answerer Book 1 47

65, 66; Counsels on Sabbath-School Work, p. 29. {ABN1: 47.1}

In no case is it a moral and safe procedure to appeal to an opposer of one's writings to illuminate any part of them. A Democrat would not think of appealing to a Republican to illuminate the Democratic platform, or vice versa, if each wished to know the truth. Remember that Eve's placing credence in the Enemy's interpretation of the Lord's Word (an act which led both her and Adam to their transgression and fall, and to their consequent banishment from Paradise) is what brought the curse of sin and death upon all earthly creation. Rather, it is for us now to avoid this old stumbling block to the pit and thereby make it a stepping stone to the Kingdom. {ABN1: 48.1}

Remember, too, that the practice of comparing statements stripped of their context is fundamentally disingenuous, and leads today to as many perversions and misapplications of truth as does the deliberate wresting practiced in Satan's challenge to Christ: "If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down: for it is written, He shall give His angels charge concerning Thee: and in their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest at any time Thou dash Thy foot against a stone." Matt. 4:6. {ABN1: 48.2}

From the points thus far adduced, we see clearly enough that the end-products of Inspiration fall into one of two categories--

Answerer Book 1 48

either Inspiration of words or Inspiration of ideas. To illustrate specifically: an angel appears and says to one, "The Lord is at such and such a time to do thus and thus with His people. Speak unto them this message, and show it unto them from the Scriptures of truth, for the prophets have therein spoken it of old." The angel's message must be delivered with fidelity to the idea; though obviously the choice of words, aside from the quotations, is necessarily left to the messenger. Consequently, anytime he sees the possibility of making the inspired idea stand forth more clearly and powerfully, the messenger is under deepest moral obligation to revise his language. Only thus can the stream of inspired ideation become progressively more lucid and beautiful. {ABN1: 48.3}

Still further, there are circumstances in connection with certain aspects of every message which necessitate clarification. Such clarification, however, can be no greater than the light which shines at the time. And the light may come solely from within the message itself, or, again, it may derive from a limited understanding common to the time "then present"--an understanding which the messenger himself shares. {ABN1: 49.1}

Such a case was John the Baptist's. Inspired to declare only the coming of the King, John was squarely confronted with the question concerning the setting up of

Answerer Book 1 49

the kingdom. He answered in keeping with the common understanding which he as well as the people had of the kingdom--that when the King arrived He would doubtless set up His kingdom and thus free His people from the Roman yoke. But when Christ finally appeared, He explained that the time for the kingdom to be set up, and for the Roman yoke to be removed from His people's shoulders, was not yet come. And the truly "wise" gave no concern to these discrepant teachings, but gladly accepted the truth in its progressive form, and went on to higher and higher spiritual attainments, whereas those who stumbled on this disparity either rejected John as a false prophet and accepted Jesus as the Christ, or accepted John as a true prophet and rejected Jesus as a false Christ, and consequently slipped farther and farther backwards and downwards until they were no longer followers of either Christ or John. {ABN1: 49.2}

The ways of Inspiration are constant, the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Questions concerning revealed truth must therefore be answered in the same way today as they were in John's time. And thus now as then, the critical, the skeptical, and the doubting will find many hooks upon which to hang their doubts. But likewise now as then, the doubters will be taken in their own craftiness. {ABN1: 50.1}

Answerer Book 1 50

Inspiration, moreover, always brings the messengers of God into perfect harmony, never into division. This prime truth is seen beautifully illustrated in the experience of the apostle Peter, a Jew, with Cornelius, the Roman Centurion, a Gentile. The Lord knew that Peter would never receive a Gentile, and that Cornelius would never present himself to a Jew. So both were given a vision instructing them what to do. (See Acts 10.) And obeying the heavenly vision to which they had mutual respect, they without trouble drew into mutual accord. {ABN1: 51.1}

Then there is the marvelous experience of Paul. While he was engaged in the unholy work of persecuting the Christians, the Lord met him on the road to Damascus, converted him, and gave him instructions to interview Ananias. But knowing that Ananias, who knew Paul only as a persecutor of the faithful, would never receive the latter on his own profession of conversion and friendship, the Lord gave Ananias a vision likewise, revealing to him Paul's conversion. And thus they, too, like Peter and Cornelius before, were not disobedient to their heavenly vision (Acts 26:19). {ABN1: 51.2}

In the days of Moses, some rose up claiming that the Lord was speaking through them as well as through Moses (Num. 16:2, 3). Their agitation, however, instead of bringing order and harmony

Answerer Book 1 51

between themselves and Moses, brought confusion and dissension, with the tragic result that thousands lost their lives (Num. 16:32, 35, 49). Had the Lord spoken to those men, He would certainly have made known the fact to Moses. But the very absence of any such revelation, made clear to Moses that the Lord was not exalting Korah, Dathan, and Abiram as they claimed He was, but rather that they as jealous upstarts and imposters, were exalting themselves. Had Moses, as a servant of God, acceded to their demands, he most assuredly would have met with some such retribution as did the "man of God" who, persuaded by the "old prophet" to turn out of the way and eat bread with him, when the Lord had charged him not to do so, was slain by a lion. Solemn lesson! Give no heed to human voices contrary to God's. (See 1 Kings 13.) {ABN1: 51.3}

Those, furthermore, whom the Lord promotes, ever shrink from putting themselves forward. Though David, for example, had been anointed by Samuel to be king over Israel, he never attempted to take the throne. As a matter of fact, he did not even so much as make known his elevation. And then at the risk of death at Saul's own hand, he even protected him. In all this beautiful chivalry, David showed forth the love, humility, meekness, and righteousness born (inspired) of the Spirit of God. His was the calm, kind, forbearing patience

Answerer Book 1 52

which comes with the sure knowledge that God is in control. Knowing that the Lord had anointed him to be king, he happily waited until the Lord saw fit to put him on the throne. {ABN1: 52.1}

From these and many other examples, we see that God not only never delegates one agent to alter, to reset, or to countermand the message with which He has charged another agent, without His first making the matter known to both, but also that He never honors with promotion those who seek to uplift and aggrandize self, but that He exalts in due season those who humble themselves under His mighty hand (1 Pet. 5:6). {ABN1: 53.1}

As a logical corollary to the foregoing phases of the subject of Inspiration, it is to be recognized that all who become converted and submissive to the Lord are recipients of Divine illumination. For none but the Holy Spirit can convince one of the Truth, convict him of his sins, give him repentance, and empower him to obey God's laws, His statutes and His ordinances. Man himself can no more effect these transformations than the leopard can change his spots. {ABN1: 53.2}

"If you see your sinfulness, do not wait to make yourself better. How many there are who think they are not good enough to come to Christ. Do you expect to become better through your own efforts? 'Can the

Answerer Book 1 53

Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.' There is help for us only in God. We must not wait for stronger persuasions, for better opportunities, or holier tempers. We can do nothing of ourselves. We must come to Christ just as we are."--Steps to Christ, pp. 35, 36. {ABN1: 53.3}

"You can not atone for your past sins, you can not change your heart, and make yourself holy. But God promises to do all this for you through Christ. You believe that promise. You confess your sins, and give yourself to God. You will to serve Him. Just as surely as you do this, God will fulfill His word to you. If you believe the promise,--believe that you are forgiven and cleansed,--God supplies the fact; you are made whole, just as Christ gave the paralytic power to walk when the man believed that he was healed. It is so if you believe it."--Id., p. 55. {ABN1: 54.1}

Thus every true follower of Christ is inspired in his own lot--one to interpret, another to study, still another to teach, and yet still another to discern, and all to act and to sacrifice for His sake. {ABN1: 54.2}

So also is every true Christian divinely enabled to suffer or to rejoice. Hence, whatever betide him, whether it be suffering and sorrow, or well-being and joy, the trusting child of God dare credit only the

Answerer Book 1 54

Lord and none other for his portion. And remember that "there hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." 1 Cor. 10:13. {ABN1: 54.3}

"Behold, He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: He shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore." Ps. 121:4-8. {ABN1: 55.1}

Be ye therefore not murmurers as were those who "despised the pleasant land," and "believed not His Word; but murmured in their tents, and hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord. Therefore He lifted up His hand against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness." Ps. 106:24-26 . {ABN1: 55.2}

But be like the faithful apostle: "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry,

Answerer Book 1 55

both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Philip. 4:11-13. {ABN1: 55.3}

But while there flows from the golden bowl (Zech. 4:2) that Inspiration which enables one to be a true Christian, there flows from the cauldron of hell that opposite inspiration that works to make one a false Christian. The one saves, the other destroys. Needing as much as we do to become fully conscious and respectful of the one, the Divine, we at the same time have equal need to become fully alive to its counterfeit --

Satanic Inspiration. {ABN1: 56.1}

Tragically, this Satanic power has invariably throughout the ages been notoriously successful among the church leaderships. Unwittingly, they have all along the way been inveigled into following Satan's designs and efforts to tear down (new-model) the very work they thought to be building up. {ABN1: 56.2}

At Christ's first advent, the leaders of the church were so inspired with the spirit of Satan that, as church history reveals, they at times acted like demons, like men who had lost their reason. Impervious themselves to the rain of Truth as it fell in that day, the priests, scribes, and Pharisees were naturally imbued with the zeal to keep the people from the showers of

Answerer Book 1 56

Truth. So it was that they employed every possible means to pitch an umbrella, as it were, over the heads of the people, so as to prevent even a drop of the life-saving showers of the early rain from falling upon them. Consequently though drops of Truth were falling all around them as never before, they were content to remain in drought under the priests' Truth-proof umbrella. {ABN1: 56.3}

It was in these dark hours of human history, that Truth and error, light and darkness, freedom and bondage, were joined in what perhaps was the greatest conflict of all time. Up to the Pentecost, only 120 persons out of the millions then living were rescued from the spiritual dearth throughout the land. And not until they were baptized with the Holy Ghost and filled with power on the Pentecost were they enabled to help other thirsty ones to break out of the Satanic circle. {ABN1: 57.1}

Defeated in this effort to quench the Truth forever, Satan quickly renewed his efforts. Come the Dark Ages, and he is again seen inspiring hostilities against Truth and its adherents. Turning loose all his demons in all their fury upon the church, he brought in the "great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." And had those days not been shortened, there would have been no flesh saved, "but for the elect's sake those days"

Answerer Book 1 57

were shortened (Matt. 24:21, 22) by the Reformation. Accordingly, only Divine intervention prevented him from silencing the Reformation's voice and dissipating its power. Thus it has always been, is today, and will be to the bitter end. {ABN1: 57.2}

As a result, despite all the light now shining, multitudes foolishly go on huddling under Satan's canopy, at the same time helping to pull and hold multitudes of others under with them. Nevertheless

God's Promise Stands Fast. {ABN1: 58.1}

"Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of My mouth. My doctrine shall drop as the rain My speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass." Deut. 32:1, 2. {ABN1: 58.2}

"Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for He hath given you the former rain moderately, and He will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil....And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those

Answerer Book 1 58

days will I pour out My spirit." Joel 2:23, 24, 28, 29. {ABN1: 58.3}

"Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes." Isa. 35:6, 7. {ABN1: 59.1}

In spite of Satan's striving to canopy all earth with his Truth-resistant device, "in the last days it shall come to pass that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and 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. {ABN1: 59.2}

"And He shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of

Answerer Book 1 59

the Lord of hosts hath spoken it. For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever." Mic. 4:1-5 . {ABN1: 59.3}

3. Answerer #1, p. 77, question 7

CHRIST OR HIS SERVANT?

Question No. 7:

How do you harmonize "Gospel Workers,'' p. 44, par. 2, with "The Shepherd's Rod," Vol. 2, p. 240, par. 2, presented comparatively as follows: {ABN1: 77.3}

"The messenger is not the Lord Himself,...he is the one who shall prepare the way for the Lord."--"The Shepherd's Rod," Vol. 2, p. 240. {ABN1: 77.4}

"Christ, the Messenger of the covenant brought the tidings of salvation."--"Gospel Workers," p. 44. {ABN1: 77.5}

Answerer Book 1 77

Answer:

While on page 44, Gospel Workers applies the title "Messenger of the Covenant" to Christ, on page 20 it applies it to Moses. In juxtaposition, these are seen as follows: {ABN1: 78.1}

"When Moses was chosen as the messenger of the covenant, the word given him was, 'Be thou for the people to Godward.'" -- Gospel Workers, p. 20. {ABN1: 78.2} "Christ the messenger of the covenant, brought the tidings of salvation." -- Gospel Workers, p. 44

Whereas Gospel Workers applies the term to both Moses and Christ, Christ Himself applies it to John the Baptist. He said "unto the multitudes concerning John...But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send My messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come." Matt. 11:7, 9, 10, 14. {ABN1: 78.3}

As God had made both spoken and written covenants with His ancient people that He would send them Moses, John, and Christ, they came in fulfillment of those covenants. And each having brought a message, each in his own time was the Messenger of the Covenant. Nevertheless, the words of Malachi make plain that the Messenger of the Covenant is, in the strictest sense Elijah the prophet (Mal. 3:1-5; 4:5), the last messenger who prepares the

Answerer Book 1 78

way of the Lord. (See Testimonies to Ministers, p. 475.) {ABN1: 78.4}

In the last analysis, however, the title Messenger of the Covenant belongs to the Holy Spirit. For example, 1 Peter 3:18-20 states that Christ preached to the antediluvians by the same "Spirit" Who "quickened" Him. But as He preached by the Spirit in the person of Noah, not of Himself, He thereby unfolded the truth that the Holy Spirit is in all His messengers alike. {ABN1: 79.1}

Thus "holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." 2 Pet. 1:21. Briefly summarized, the term Messenger of the Covenant means the Holy Spirit (the invisible Christ) in Heaven's visible representative--be it Moses, John, Christ, Elijah, or some other. {ABN1: 79.2}

4. Answerer #3, pp. 28-40, question 55

SHALL WE BELIEVE OR SHALL WE DOUBT?

Question No. 55:

It is difficult for me to go all-out for any Bible interpretation for which claim is made to Inspiration. Does not one's making such claim bring into jeopardy the entire structure of his

Answerer Book 3 28

message, opening the way for it to be summarily swept away through any one error it may happen to contain? {ABN3: 28.4}

Answer:

The questioner's difficulty stems from the hard fact that the Protestant world has long held the concept that God does not in this age employ an inspired mouthpiece to interpret the Scriptures and to declare His will but invests and leads each Christian individually. This theory, however, is universally exploded when viewed in the light of the fact that those individuals claiming to be personally led of God, disagree among themselves just as much as the various sects disagree one with another. {ABN3: 29.1}

Before taking His departure, the Saviour declared: "When...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. Without controversy therefore, the Divine will is that we have all Truth and only Truth. And it must be remembered that "no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." 2 Pet. 1:20, 21. {ABN3: 29.2}

Indeed, the very word, Inspiration, in its theological significance, means to communicate

Answerer Book 3 29

Divine instructions free from men's adulteration. Hence, any objection to Inspiration, can only, in the last analysis, be an attempt to put God out of sight and to bring men to the front, to cut off the only channel through which God can interpret the Scriptures, communicate with His people--"reveal truth and unmask error."--Testimonies to Ministers, p. 107. "The Lord has often made manifest in His providence," says the Spirit of Prophecy, "that nothing less than revealed truth, the word of God, can reclaim man from sin or keep him from transgression."--Testimonies to Ministers, p. 80. {ABN3: 29.3}

So, very plainly, the Word of God cannot be rightly interpreted privately--without the aid of Inspiration (2 Pet. 1:20, 21). Any who thus attempt to interpret the messages which the Lord sends to them, will find themselves serving Satan instead of serving Christ, and will surely cause both themselves and their followers to make shipwreck of faith. {ABN3: 30.1}

To safeguard the faith of the honest, the Lord figuratively demonstrates in the fourth chapter of Zechariah, the method by which He communicates truth to His people. The accompanying plate is an exact objectification of what the prophet was shown. {ABN3: 30.2}

Answerer Book 3 30

Answerer Book 3 31

Here it is seen that the candlestick, as interpreted by Revelation 1:20, is symbolical of the church membership; the tubes extending from the golden bowl to the candlestick, are symbolical of the ministry (Testimonies to Ministers, p. 188); the olive trees are symbolical of the Old and New Testament Scriptures (The Great Controversy, p. 267); and the two golden pipes, which carry the golden oil from the trees to the bowl, are symbolical of the Bible interpreters, the inspired messengers from God, for the symbolism immovably shows that they are the only ones whom Inspiration enables to draw the oil from the olive trees--to interpret the Scriptures. And the bowl, the container of that which the pipes (interpreters) place therein, can be only the writings of the Spirit of Prophecy. {ABN3: 32.1}

As a necessary and natural sequent, God will have but one mouthpiece to teach His people in the establishing of His Kingdom, as He prophetically tells us in unmistakable language: "And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even My servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the Lord will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it. And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the

Answerer Book 3 32

wilderness, and sleep in the woods. And I will make them and the places round about My hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing." Ezek. 34:23-26. "The Lord's voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the Rod, and Who hath appointed it." "Feed thy people with thy Rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old. According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvelous things." Mic. 6:9; 7:14, 15. {ABN3: 32.2}

For the message in The Shepherd's Rod, we simply give the credit to Whom it belongs. And if there be any who desire us to give it to ourselves, they do so, not because they love us or want to exalt us above themselves, but evidently because they are unwittingly echoing the voice from beneath, which hates God and the revelation of His Word, and which ever speaks only to tempt men to exalt themselves instead of God, thereby blindly deceiving themselves and leading others away from the truth, all because they chafe at bringing themselves under the rule of Christ now when "He is taking the reins in His own hands."--Testimonies to Ministers, p. 300. {ABN3: 33.1}

Let those who resist giving full submission to Inspiration, ask themselves

Answerer Book 3 33

what they would have done had they lived under Moses and his rod. He acknowledged himself to be the mouthpiece of God just as today's Rod does. As a consequence, would not these recusants have risen up with Korah against Moses and Aaron, just as they are doing now against the Rod, saying: "Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord?" Num. 16:3. {ABN3: 33.2}

If such are not willing whole-heartedly to accept an Inspired message today, would they have accepted the Baptist's message, Christ's or the apostles'? No, indeed not, regardless of their profession. And if they will not submit themselves to Inspiration, how will they ever know the truth? And how will they ever get into the Kingdom? For the Bible says: {ABN3: 34.1}

"Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets." "By a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophets was he preserved." "Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe His prophets, so shall ye prosper." Amos 3:7; Hos. 12:13; 2 Chron. 20:20. {ABN3: 34.2}

"And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover:

Answerer Book 3 34

for they are a rebellious house. But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house." Ezek. 3 :26, 27. {ABN3: 34.3}

It is the ideas of uninspired men that have chopped the Christian church into chips of all kinds and sizes, and have made her a "habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird" (Rev. 18:2), instead of making her a place of truth and of salvation, and a habitation of saints. {ABN3: 35.1}

Let all who share the questioner's sentiments, take pause, and ponder the question: How can an uninspired message be from God--be the truth--be worthy of acceptance? Obviously, disapproval of one's claiming Inspiration for his message, and suspicion of its having in it a taint of error, is not suggested by Him who says: "Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." 1 Thess. 5:19-21. {ABN3: 35.2}

"As never before, we should pray not only that laborers may be sent forth into the great harvest-field, but that we may have a clear conception of truth, so that when the messengers of truth shall come.

Answerer Book 3 35

we may accept the message and respect the messenger."--Testimonies, Vol. 6, p. 420. {ABN3: 35.3}

In Christ's day, the Inspiration-doubters assailed both the messengers and their messages for that time. On one hand they found fault with John the Baptist because his diet consisted of wild honey and locusts (Matt. 3:4). Because he "came neither eating nor drinking,...they say, He hath a devil." Matt. 11:18. On the other hand, because Christ "came eating and drinking," they accused Him of being "a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners" Matt. 11:19. Denying that He was sent of God, they tauntingly asked Him: "By what authority doest Thou these things? or who is He that gave Thee this authority?" Luke 20:2. {ABN3: 36.1}

And now to His church in these last days, His Spirit declares: "Prophecy must be fulfilled. The Lord says: 'Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.' Somebody is to come in the spirit and power of Elijah, and when he appears, men may say: 'You are too earnest, you do not interpret the Scriptures in the proper way. Let me tell you how to teach your message.'"--Testimonies to Ministers, p. 475. {ABN3: 36.2}

To the doubters of the possibility of a message containing nothing but truth, comes the warning: "God and Satan never

Answerer Book 3 36

work in co-partnership. The testimonies either bear the signet of God or that of Satan. A good tree cannot bring forth corrupt fruit...."--Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 98. "We believe the visions," say the Inspiration-doubters, "but Sister White, in writing them, put in her own words, and we will believe that portion which we think is of God, and will not heed the other."--Testimonies, Vol. 1, p. 234. {ABN3: 36.3}

"Then He said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken." Luke 24:25. "And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." Rev. 22:19. {ABN3: 37.1}

Symbolically addressing His people as sheep and shepherds, in the thirty-fourth chapter of Ezekiel, the Lord asks: "Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?" Do they indeed think it tolerable to accept only a part of the truth He sends to them, and to tread down with their feet the residue? Then He adds, "As for My flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet."

Answerer Book 3 37

And because of those who accept only that part of the message which suits their unregenerate tastes, which does not cross their perverse wills, the Lord forewarns: "I will judge between cattle and cattle." {ABN3: 37.2}

Among God's people, there has always been a class disposed to question and to criticize everything in the "unfolding of truth."--Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 690. "We accept this and that," they say, "but we will not accept the other." Most of them think it a mark of intelligence to question and to criticize, to judge the message which God has sent them. These self-centered souls are so foolish and so blind to their folly that even though fifty centuries and more of human tragedy terribly reprove and warn against their evil and soul-destroying course, yet they remain deaf to the cry and blind to their way. And what is even worse their doubts and criticisms have scattered weak souls from Christ, with the consequence that God has pronounced the judgment: "Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad; therefore will I save My flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle." Ezek. 34:21, 22. {ABN3: 38.1}

Be warned, therefore, that "as the disciples declared that there is salvation in no other name under heaven, given among men, so, also should the servants of God

Answerer Book 3 38

faithfully and fearlessly warn those who embrace but a part of the truths connected with the third message, that they must gladly receive all the messages as God has given them, or have no part in the matter."--Early Writings, pp. 188, 189. {ABN3: 38.2}

"'Satan has ability to suggest doubts and to devise objections to the pointed testimony that God sends, and many think it a virtue, a mark of intelligence in them, to be unbelieving, and to question and quibble. Those who desire to doubt will have plenty of room. God does not propose to remove all occasion for unbelief. He gives evidence, which must be carefully investigated with a humble mind and a teachable spirit; and all should decide from the weight of evidence.' 'God gives sufficient evidence for the candid mind to believe; but he who turns from the weight of evidence because there are a few things which he cannot make plain to his finite understanding, will be left in the cold chilling atmosphere of unbelief and questioning doubts, and will make shipwreck of faith.'"--Testimonies, Vol. 5, pp. 675, 676. {ABN3: 39.1}

Not one dares compare his prerogatives with those of Jesus, yet He believed all the writings of the prophets, and those who consider themselves too wise, and think it too humiliating, to believe all, He calls "fools." Luke 24:25. They have made themselves incapable of comprehending

Answerer Book 3 39

these facts now as the Jews made themselves incapable of comprehending Jesus' teachings concerning the "kingdom" then. {ABN3: 39.2}

Every age has had its multitude who, instead of being baptized to follow Christ and His Truth, were baptized to follow man. They joined the multitude in the church instead of the multitude in heaven. Consequently, Christ is a stranger to them, and when truth unfolds, they call it error, then follow men and reject the truth. This folly has been repeated again and again, with the result that the few faithful ones who have followed Christ and His truth, have been cast out of the churches and compelled to start all over again. So it is today. But to these outcasts of Zion, comes the solacing voice: "Hear the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at His word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for My name's sake, said, Let the Lord be glorified: but He shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed." Isa. 66:5. "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of Him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!" Isa. 52:7. {ABN3: 40.1}

"Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe His prophets, so shall ye prosper." 2 Chron. 20:20. {ABN3: 40.2}

Answerer Book 3 40

5. Answerer #5, p. 27 question 110

IS A VISION NEEDED?

Question No. 110:

Is it necessary to have a mental picture of the things for which we pray? {ABN5: 27.1}

Answer:

If we have no such vision, we shall have nothing concrete and tangible to pray and work for. And naturally, then, neither our prayers nor our efforts will accomplish anything. Everyone must have a clear vision of his needs and his aims; lacking such, he goes about blindly, and gets nowhere. Remember that "where there is no vision, the people perish." Prov. 29:18. {ABN5: 27.2}

All should know beforehand what they are to do, and what they are to become. They should then make certain that their will is God's will, set their goal high, and see that they reach it. {ABN5: 27.3}

Answerer Book 5 27

6. Answerer #5, pp. 28, 29 question 111

CAN ONE FIND THE TRUTH WITHOUT HAVING TRANCE-VISIONS?

Question No. 111:

Concerning what she writes, Sister White says, "I was shown" or "taken in vision." May I ask how we can believe in "The Shepherd's Rod" literature if its contents were not revealed in like manner--by a miracle? {ABN5: 28.1}

Answer:

It is never safe for one to base his decision regarding a message from the Lord on the manner in which it is received. Supernatural experiences are not the strongest evidence of one's connection with Divine power. In fact, they are not necessarily proof at all, for there are many doctrines and faiths built upon one miracle or another and yet wholly devoid of truth. And no one should overlook the fact that the forthcoming delusion which is to sweep the world is to be empowered by miracles, even to bringing fire from heaven (Rev. 13:13, 14). Nevertheless, by the Word of God we are warned not to be led away with it. {ABN5: 28.2}

Neither should one forget that not all the prophets of the Bible had trance-visions. David and Solomon recorded, not what was given them in vision, but what they received through other means. And John the Baptist was called even more than a prophet, yet there is not a single prophetic utterance recorded by him, nor is there any record that he was ever taken into trance and given visions. He was

Answerer Book 5 28

merely an interpreter of the writings of the prophets. Thus God spoke at sundry times in divers manners to His prophets (Heb. 1:1). {ABN5: 28.3}

It should be noticed, though, that only a small portion of Sister White's writings was received through trance-vision. And the things shown in such visions are, as a rule, prophetic--looking forward to some future event--and, more or less, an addition to the prophecies, not interpretative of them. {ABN5: 29.1}

Evidently God's people at this particular time are not in need of visions, but rather of interpreters of the visions of the prophets of old which are not as yet understood. And that is what He has seen fit to give us so that we may understand the Bible. This is the greatest miracle connected with The Shepherd's Rod, (See illustration in Tract No. 6, Why Perish, 1944 edition, p. 18.) {ABN5: 29.2}

But let your faith be not in miracles or in man's experiences, but in the revelations of His prophetic Word. {ABN5: 29.3}

And now the only safe and sane procedure is to read closely every page of the solemn message contained in The Shepherd's Rod publications. Let not a line escape your attention. Study every word carefully and prayerfully. Be earnest and diligent in your perusal of Truth, and "prove all things; hold fast that which is good." 1 Thess. 5:21. {ABN5: 29.4}

Answerer Book 5 29

7. Timely Greetings vol. 1 # 14

ISMS, AND THE REMEDY

TEXT OF ADDRESS BY V.T. HOUTEFF,

MINISTER OF DAVIDIAN 7TH-DAY ADVENTISTS

SABBATH, NOVEMBER 9, 1946

MT. CARMEL CHAPEL

WACO, TEXAS

Let me introduce my subject by telling you a simple story. {1TG14: 12.1}

Once upon a time six brothers were building a bridge, supposedly to the god of Justice. The purpose of the bridge was to unite the east with the west. {1TG14: 12.2}

They had no difficulty laying the foundations and setting the pillars. But, lo, when they came to join the east wing with the west one, they found themselves confronted with a phenomenal obstacle: What they had built up during the day was torn down during the night. This miracle continued day after day. Finally the brothers sat down in a council meeting to discuss how they might solve their harrassing problem. Feeling that to quit would be the greatest folly they could ever commit, that it would bring their names into disrepute, they studied and they prayed. {1TG14: 12.3}

At long last they concluded that the god of Justice was for some reason displeased with them and that a human sacrifice would appease him. So it was that they resolved to sacrifice the best one of their wives. This however, was not to be divulged to the women. In order to make an impartial and acceptable selection, they further resolved that on the morrow each would instruct his wife to prepare the best possible

12

breakfast and dinner, and to take the meals to him at the bridge as early as possible. They were to explain to their wives that they must needs eat and pray at the bridgeside to the glory of the god of Justice, and for the success of their project. The woman to arrive with the meals first was to be the victim. {1TG14: 12.4}

Five of the men, though, did not stick to their solemn oath. Each of them straightway told their wives what was to be done, and that therefore they should not hurry to the bridge with the meals. {1TG14: 13.1}

In the morning, at the appointed time, the men were at the bridge site. Shortly afterwards they saw in the distance someone coming to the bridge. For a few moments no one knew for sure who it was, but soon the man who had kept his part of the agreement recognized it to be his wife. He, of course, immediately burst into tears, and with groans he fell to the ground. Seeing her husband's strange behaviour, the wife dropped her basket of food and ran to the scene to learn what was the trouble. But while she was attempting to comfort her husband, the other five brothers seized her, carried her to a gap in the bridge, and there they cemented her alive. Now, the brothers confidently expected the bridge to stay up, for they felt that they had done all they could to appease the god of Justice. {1TG14: 13.2}

Thus it was that while the five dishonest men that night returned home in happiness, the honest one returned to his home in grief. {1TG14: 13.3}

On the following morning, all the men hurried to the bridge, expecting to find it standing intact. But to their surprise and consternation they found the whole bridge lying flat on the ground! {1TG14: 13.4}

13

Naturally, the incident was rumored throughout the city, and the judges of that city went to see what the great excitement was about. As they listened to the builders argue and philosophize from cause to effect, they learned that the unfortunate woman was not sacrificed by fair chance, but by fraud! Thus they judged that the whole disaster was due to the fact that unjust men were trying to build a bridge in the honor of a just god! The matter was brought to court and the judges finally decreed that Justice must be satisfied, else not only the bridge, but even their city might fall to the ground. Accordingly, on that very day the five unjust men were executed, and the honest one was made mayor of the city. {1TG14: 14.1}

Christians have been building a bridge, so to speak, to the God of Justice for many years. But they do not seem to be any more successful than were the six bridge-builders. And for what reason? -- For the very same reason the six builders were unsuccessful: Selfish men are engaged in the work, and though they see the need for a sacrifice, yet they somehow always manage to make others do the sacrificing. {1TG14: 14.2}

And you remember that though the building of the tower of Babel was counter to God's will and His order, still all the while the builders worked harmoniously among themselves, their project prospered -- their tower skyrocketed. But when their language was confused and they could no longer understand one another, then the progress of the tower stopped. And to show them that He was displeased with their project and that He was the One Who had confounded their language, God blasted the tower so that it crumbled to the ground. That which happened to the bridge happened also to the tower. {1TG14: 14.3}

14

Christians are working at cross-purposes among themselves. One Christian brother is betraying another. Christian ministers, rather than preaching the Truth, are preaching against one another. One goes ahead to build up, and another trails behind to tear down. They do not see eye to eye; nor do they understand one another even as much as did the confused tower-builders. {1TG14: 15.1}

Just so long as such selfishness and dishonesty, confusion and animosity, exist among Christians, their bridge and their tower, so to speak, will come to naught as certainly as did the bridge of the six covenant-breakers and as did the tower of the prophet Noah's mockers. There is no way of stopping ism trouble without removing the cause -- no, no more than a splinter wound can heal before the splinter has been removed. {1TG14: 15.2}

You are familiar with the fact that there was no ism trouble in Moses' day as long as Moses alone interpreted the Word of God to the people. But just as soon as Korah, Dathan, Abiram and others aspired to Moses' office ism trouble started. And the only remedy that even God Himself could find was to cause the earth to open her mouth and to swallow the ism-breathing multitude, the self-appointed representatives of God. {1TG14: 15.3}

In our day there is an even greater flood of private interpreters of the Scriptures (the cause of today's isms) than there was in Moses' day. And according to Revelation 12:15, 16, the Lord warns that He will again use a remedy similar to the ancient remedy against today's ism-breeding flood. Then some may learn to respect the office of the Spirit of Prophecy. Let us now read of the fate of

15

those who chose to continue walking in sparks of their own kindling. {1TG14: 15.4}

Rev. 12:16 -- "...and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth." {1TG14: 16.1}

Here we see that a similar remedy which caused isms to cease in Moses' day, is again to be used to cause isms to cease in our day, the only means by which harmony can be restored among fellow-members in the church itself, as well as among Christians in general. {1TG14: 16.2}

2 Tim. 3:16, 17 -- "All scripture is given by Inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." {1TG14: 16.3}

2 Pet. 1:20, 21 -- "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." {1TG14: 16.4}

Affirmatively stated, all Scripture, not merely a part of It, is inspired. Negatively stated, none of It is privately interpreted, for the reason that It did not come of men but of God; that is, as the Spirit of God dictated to men the Scriptures, so the Spirit of God must interpret the Scriptures to men, that no man privately (without Inspiration) is capable of disclosing the sealed prophecies or interpreting any part of them or even capable of understanding their importance after they are interpreted except it be by the gift of the Spirit of Truth "None of the wicked," therefore,

16

"shall understand; but the wise shall understand." Dan. 12:10. {1TG14: 16.5}

We should now be convinced that as long as this Divine command and principle of interpreting God's Word is overlooked and abused, and as long as selfishness and bigotry exist among Christians in general and among Bible students in particular, isms will continue to increase, and the strength of the people will continue to be wasted just as was the strength of both the builders of the bridge and the builders of the tower. Yes, just as certainly as night follows day, just that certain will their efforts come to naught, and their shame be uncovered. {1TG14: 17.1}

That we cannot be led into all Truth without the gift of the Spirit of Prophecy, Inspiration symbolically forewarns through the prophet Zechariah. Let us turn to Zechariah 4, and begin with the first verse. {1TG14: 17.2}

Zech. 4:1-4 -- "And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep, and said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and has seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: and two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my Lord?" {1TG14: 17.3}

The illustration here exhibited, you note, is an exact reproduction of Zechariah's symbolism. In order that our study be simplified and vivid, we shall study the chapter along with the illustration. {1TG14: 17.4}

17

PICTURE

Now let us hear the angel's explanation of this symbolism. {1TG14: 18.1}

Zech. 4:5, 6 -- "Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my Lord. Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the Word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." {1TG14: 18.2}

The angel disclosed two things: First he made known that the symbolism is concerning the Word of the Lord (the Bible) to the servants of God; second, that His Word is revealed, not by man's might nor by power, but by the Spirit of God. {1TG14: 18.3}

Plainly this symbolism as a whole represents the system by which the Lord transmits His revealed Word to His people. That we might have a thorough understanding of this Divinely designed system, we need to know what each component part of the illustration stands for. The Spirit of Prophecy gives the clue. {1TG14: 18.4}

18

In The Great Controversy, page 267 is explained that the "olive trees" represent the "Old and New Testaments;" Testimonies to Ministers, page 188, says that the golden oil represents the Holy Spirit; and on page 337 of the same book, along with Revelation 1:20, says that the seven lamps represent the church, and that the seven tubes (the ministry) convey the oil to the churches. {1TG14: 19.1}

Now study the illustration itself as you would study any cartoon. First of all, the trees represent the Word of God (the Bible -- both Old and New Testaments -- two trees). {1TG14: 19.2}

Here is seen that the whole symbolical set up is for the purpose of depicting the accomplishment of but one thing -- of keeping the seven lamps (the entire church membership) supplied with spiritual oil (Bible Truth) so that it might give spiritual light all round about, that the church might lighten the world with the revealed Word of God. And since the ministry's duty is to feed the church with spiritual food, the fact is that the seven tubes represent the ministry at work, taking the oil (revealed Truth) from the bowl to the seven lamps, the churches. Now the truth that in the illustration the tubes (the ministers) do not take the oil directly from the olive trees (the Bible), it positively indicates that the bowl in which the oil is deposited represents the container or the store in which the compilations of Inspired Bible interpretations are stored, and that from it, not from the olive trees, the ministers help themselves with oil and carry it to the seven lamps (to the church). {1TG14: 19.3}

The two golden pipes, therefore, can be only a representation of the inspired channels which are capable to extract the oil (light of Truth) from the

19

trees (from both Testaments) and store it in the bowl (books) for the tubes (ministers) to convey it to the candlestick (to the churches). {1TG14: 19.4}

The symbolism, therefore, points out the system which Heaven has ordained for dispensing the Word of the Lord to His church: that the Spirit of Prophecy at work is the only remedy against isms in the church and in the world. {1TG14: 20.1}

Those who do not avail themselves of the golden oil, and those who continue ever to hunt for some kind of oil, or whoever try to extract their own, will, of course, drop into the pit when the earth opens her mouth to swallow up the flood. Then it is that ism-breathers and ism-seekers shall forever pass away. {1TG14: 20.2}

Zech. 4:8, 9 -- "Moreover the Word of the Lord came unto me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you." {1TG14: 20.3}

These scriptures positively imply that there are doubts in the minds of some as to whether antitypical Zerubbabel, or some other shall finish the work which Zerubbabel has started. Whom does Zerubbabel represent? -- {1TG14: 20.4}

The Word of God explains that ancient Zerubbabel is a signet, type, at the time God overthrows the thrones of the kingdoms, at the time their armies are destroyed by one "brother" Christian's sword cutting down another brother Christian. (Haggai 2:22, 23). Zerubbabel, therefore, represents God's servant at a time the crowned kings, "throne of kingdoms," are overthrown, and in which time one Christian nation

20

is at war with another Christian nation. Since the crowned kingdoms are fast passing away, and other forms of governments are taking their places, all proves that antitypical Zerubbabel's appearance is now due. And the Lord's own answer is "the hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it." {1TG14: 20.5}

Zech. 4:10 -- "For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth." {1TG14: 21.1}

The day this scripture is fulfilled, is the day in which the Lord of hosts starts a reformatory work in an apparently very small and insignificant way, and those who despise small and insignificant beginnings will at last rejoice and shall see that antitypical Zerubbabel is the one to direct the work along with all (seven) his helpers. They are the eyes of the Lord. What a momentous day! What a great people! Evidently they constitute the "stone" of Zechariah Three which we studied several weeks ago, and learned that it has seven eyes, complete spiritual vision. Obviously this is the stone that smites the great image of Dan. 2:45. {1TG14: 21.2}

Zech. 4:11, 12 -- "Then answered I, and said unto Him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof? And I answered again, and said unto Him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?" {1TG14: 21.3}

All these taking place at this particular time, and the prophecies now unfolded, prove that antitypical Zerubbabel must now be here, and that as he has

21

started the work, he also must finish it. The fact that Inspiration takes the pains to tell who is to finish the work in itself is proof that there must be active usurpers of his office as there were of Moses' office. {1TG14: 21.4}

Zech. 4:13, 14 -- "And He answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my Lord. Then said He, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth." {1TG14: 22.1}

From the angel's information it is now clearly seen that the symbolism depicts the system of interpreting the written Word of God, and of transmitting It to the church. The time of which is in the New Testament era, when both trees are in existence. {1TG14: 22.2}

Let us now summarize the lesson by the aid of the illustration. Here we see a candlestick (a church) all of gold, the finest of all candlesticks (no "tares" in it). It constitutes the remnant (those that are left after the sinners are done away with) which indeed keep the commandments of God, and have the Testimony of Jesus Christ, the Spirit of Prophecy (Rev. 12:17; 19:10). This fine candlestick is fully trimmed and burning. The two golden pipes (God's inspired interpreters) store the golden oil in the golden bowl (Spirit of Prophecy publications). And the seven tubes (the entire ministry) convey from the golden bowl the golden oil to the seven golden lamps (to the entire laity). {1TG14: 22.3}

Under this perfect system of preparing, and dispensing the Word of God, "meat in due season," to His people, there need be no fear that the reservoir will run dry, or that the lamps will grow dim. This is the only system, moreover, that can make the church perfect, without spot, wrinkle, or any such thing -- a people without guile in their mouths, all seeing eye to eye,

22

all saying the same thing. Truly "a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like." Joel 2:2. This beyond doubt is the mighty power that lightens the earth, it is the Loud Cry. Indeed this symbolism reveals the church at the time she is endowed with the Spirit of Prophecy and with the righteousness of Christ. {1TG14: 22.4}

Obviously, the system of Bible interpretation, described by Zechariah, is the Lord's only system. It is the only remedy for isms and discord among Christians. Thus it is that His "watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion." Isa. 52:8. {1TG14: 23.1}

8. Timely Greetings vol. 2 # 29

THE ONLY PEACE OF MIND

Volume 2

Numbers 29, 30

Copyright, 1953 Reprint

All rights reserved

V.T. HOUTEFF

TRUTH'S DECREE ON EARTH IS THE DECREE IN HEAVEN

THE REVIVAL AND REFORMATION CROWNED WITH THE PURIFICATION

1

TEXT FOR PRAYER

Our Dependence Is In God

I shall read from "Christ's Object Lessons," p. 63, beginning with the first paragraph: {2TG29: 2.1}

"The parable of the seed reveals that God is at work in nature. The seed has in itself a germinating principle, a principle that God Himself has implanted; yet if left to itself the seed would have no power to spring up. Man has his part to act in promoting the growth of the grain. He must prepare and enrich the soil and cast in the seed. He must till the fields. But there is a point beyond which he can accomplish nothing. No strength or wisdom of man can bring forth from the seed the living plant. Let man put forth his efforts to the utmost limit, he must still depend upon One who has connected the sowing and the reaping by wonderful links of His own omnipotent power." {2TG29: 2.2}

We shall kneel and pray for wisdom, skill, and good judgment in planting the seeds of Truth, to know that beyond this we can do nothing. The Omnipotent One in Whom we live and move and have our being is to do the rest. {2TG29: 2.3}

2

TRUTH'S DECREE ON EARTH IS THE DECREE IN HEAVEN

TEXT OF ADDRESS BY V.T. HOUTEFF,

MINISTER OF DAVIDIAN 7TH-DAY ADVENTISTS

SABBATH, FEBRUARY 28, 1948

MT. CARMEL CHAPEL

WACO, TEXAS

Our text is in the sixteenth chapter of Matthew. I shall begin with verses 13 and 14. {2TG29: 3.1}

Matt. 16:13, 14 -- "When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that Thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets." {2TG29: 3.2}

Here Jesus asks a vital question: Who do men think I am? The answer given Him reveals the people's ignorance, for it seems that they should have known that Christ could not have been John the Baptist; they surely should have known that John had baptized Him at the beginning of His ministry. Moreover, Jesus was preaching even before John was beheaded. {2TG29: 3.3}

Matt. 16:15, 16 -- "He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God." {2TG29: 3.4}

The disciples themselves seemed to have been uncertain as to who Jesus was. Peter alone without a moment's hesitation replied, "Thou art the Son of the Living God." {2TG29: 3.5}

3

Matt. 16:17 -- "And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father which is in heaven." {2TG29: 4.1}

Peter received the blessing because he was the one to whom the Father had revealed His Son, because he had been impressed by the Spirit of the sacred Truth, and because he freely voiced the Truth. Having been endowed with this gift to his credit, Peter was told: {2TG29: 4.2}

Matt. 16:18 -- "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." {2TG29: 4.3}

The words "thou" and "this" comprehend two objects -- Peter and the truth he uttered. The name "Peter" in Greek means "stone." And so what Jesus was actually saying was not to name the man, but rather to tell him that he was selected to be one of the stones in the spiritual structure -- the church. But "On this rock [not on a stone] I will build My church," Jesus declared. On which rock? -- Obviously on the solid rock of Truth, the truth which Peter uttered -- the truth that Jesus Christ is the "Son of God." {2TG29: 4.4}

Then Jesus made known that the gates of hell could not prevail against the Truth, that the gates could not keep in hell (in the grave) even the dead in Christ, that they, too, are to be a part of the ever-living church, the church that stands on the solid Rock of Truth. {2TG29: 4.5}

Matt. 16:19 -- "And I will give unto thee the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven." {2TG29: 4.6}

4

Jesus here declares that Peter is become the figure, the type, of all those who declare Divinely-revealed truths. To them, as to Peter, are given the keys of the Kingdom; that is, the promulgators of Inspired Truth are authorized to bind and to loose by the power of the Truth. That which they bind on earth is so recognized in heaven. Elijah bound that there should be a famine for three and one half years, and so it was. Said he, "unto Ahab...there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word." 1 Kings 17:1. {2TG29: 5.1}

Matt. 16:20 -- "Then charged He His disciples that they should tell no man that He was Jesus the Christ." {2TG29: 5.2}

Since the people knew not that Jesus was the Son of the living God, Jesus realized that to flatly tell them so, would only make them the more prejudiced. He, therefore, charged the apostles to do the same as that which we today are charged to do. Not to say flatly: "We have the Truth, the message of the Eleventh Hour." Instead we are to teach the Divinely-revealed Bible truths, thus giving our hearers the opportunity to draw their own conclusions, to make up their own minds. If they are honest searchers for Truth, the Father Himself will reveal in their hearts that this is the Eleventh Hour message. {2TG29: 5.3}

We must not therefore bluntly speak forth the all-important Truth of God. We must use good judgment and tact. We must sow the seed in well-prepared soil if we expect God's blessing, if we expect His rain and sunshine to cause it to spring forth and bear fruit. If the seed is not sown deep enough, the plant will wither away with the rising of the sun; if we merely drop the seed on the top of the ground, the birds will pick it up. {2TG29: 5.4}

5

Matt. 16:21-23 -- "From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto His disciples, how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took Him, and began to rebuke Him, saying, Be it far from Thee, Lord: this shall not be unto Thee. But He turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind Me, Satan: thou art an offence unto Me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men." {2TG29: 6.1}

Here is magnified the aforesaid truth. Peter's binding or loosing on earth was acceptable in Heaven only when done by means of Divinely-revealed Truth. When speaking from his own impulses and sentiments, Peter was sharply rebuked, and told plainly that his suggestions were not the Truth, but were prompted by Satan. It is therefore plain that the followers of Christ may bind or loose only with the keys of Truth. They are to realize that Truth alone swings open the gates of Heaven. {2TG29: 6.2}

Finally, if we have Heaven's Truth for the hour, as Peter had It in his day, we then have the keys of Heaven and can with It bind or loose -- Truth's decisions on earth are the decisions in Heaven. {2TG29: 6.3}

Matt. 16:24 -- "Then said Jesus unto His disciples, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." {2TG29: 6.4}

This verse implies that Peter's concern was more for his own life than for the life of Jesus, for Peter knew that if Jesus were slain, then his own life would be in jeopardy. Hence Peter was told that if any man would follow Jesus, he, too, would voluntarily consent to carry his own cross if Truth so decrees. The

6

Apostles, we are told, did this very thing, and were faithful unto death. {2TG29: 6.5}

Matt. 16:25-27 -- "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then He shall reward every man according to His works." {2TG29: 7.1}

The followers of Christ are here told not to shun Truth's decree though they be required to surrender their own life, for thus losing their lives they will be actually saving them for eternity -- they will rise in the resurrection of the just. But for them to forsake Truth in order to appease the enemies of Truth, and thus save their temporal lives would eventually result in their dying the death from which there is no resurrection. {2TG29: 7.2}

It should be of interest to know whether the Apostle Peter was the first to be given the Keys of Heaven, or whether others had the Keys before him. Since Present Truth committed to an individual is the Keys of Heaven, and since the teaching of It binds and looses things on earth and is so sanctioned in Heaven, then others must have had the Keys before they were passed on to Peter, for the earth, the church, and Heaven-revealed Truth existed before Peter's time. {2TG29: 7.3}

Take for example Noah. He declared that there was to be a flood, that everything outside of the ark which he was building would perish, and that everything that entered into it would live. Then the fact that Heaven sent the flood immediately after Noah

7

preached of it is proof in itself that that which Noah bound on earth was bound in Heaven also. Peter, you, see, was not the first to be given the Keys of Heaven. {2TG29: 7.4}

After Noah, we shall see that the Keys were passed on to Abraham: since that which was to be bound or loosed on earth had to be bound or loosed in Heaven, the three messengers from heaven consulted Abraham concerning the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. It was then covenanted that if there be ten righteous persons in the city where Lot lived they should not destroy it. And so it was. Logically, after Abraham the Keys should have been passed on to Isaac: Isaac ruled that Jacob should receive the promised blessings even though by birthright they were to be Esau's. And in spite of the fact that Jacob obtained the promised blessings by a fraud, Heaven still sanctioned that which Isaac bound on earth -- Jacob became the progenitor of Christ. {2TG29: 8.1}

Thus it is that down through the line of Jacob came the Lord, and thus it is that Jacob's descendants inherited the Promised Land. Having in possession the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, Jacob at the closing hours of his life decreed that Manasseh's birthright should be given to Ephraim; to this Joseph protested by endeavoring to persuade his father to put his right hand on Manasseh's head (Gen. 48:17-19), but what Jacob bound on earth was bound in Heaven, for years later, after the death of Solomon, the tribe of Ephraim, not of Manasseh, ruled the kingdom of Israel. We see, then, that what Jacob bound on earth was also bound in Heaven. {2TG29: 8.2}

Contemporaneously with Jacob, Joseph by interpretation of Pharaoh's dream bound that there should

8

be seven years of plenty, and seven years of famine. Thus it was that Joseph's decree was carried out (bound) by Heaven. {2TG29: 8.3}

And Moses said, "If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the Lord hath not sent me. But if the Lord make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the Lord." Num. 16:29, 30. {2TG29: 9.1}

Moses' decree was bound in Heaven, for "the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods." Num. 16:32. {2TG29: 9.2}

The Keys of Kingdom you see, passed along from one generation to another -- from the Patriarchs to the Prophets, to the Apostles, and on down to our day. For instance, about three score years ago the founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Denomination declared that the General Conference was no longer Heaven's highest authority on earth (General Conference Bulletin, 34th. Session, Vol. 4, Extra #1, April 3, 1901, pg. 25, Cols. 1 & 2). And thus it was that when the time arrived for the additional message (which gives power and force to the Third Angel's Message -- "Early Writings," p. 277) to be proclaimed to the church, it came, not through the General Conference but through the laity. This is proof positive that the Keys with which Peter was invested are at work today. {2TG29: 9.3}

Plainly, then, the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven are in the hands of those who have the Truth for the day. Consequently just as plain as Heaven can make

9

it, the Truth stands out that the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven today have passed from the hands of the General Conference to the hands of the General Association of Davidian Seventh-day Adventists, as verily as they passed from the Sanhedrin to Peter in the days of Christ's first Advent. So it is that Truth's decree on earth today is the decree in Heaven. {2TG29: 9.4}

10

9. Answerer #4, pp. 37-41, question 95

WHAT ABOUT PETER AND THE "KEYS"?

Question No. 95:

Please explain Matthew 16:15-19. Why did Christ give the Keys to Peter? Why not to another, or to all? {ABN4: 37.4}

37

Answer:

Peter was the only one who gave the right answer to the question, "But whom say ye that I am?" Therefore to Peter and to none other, Jesus said, "I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven," having first assured him that "flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto" him but His Father which is in heaven. {ABN4: 38.1}

When God makes man to understand something which is beyond finite knowledge, the Bible terms the act, Inspiration. Hence, Jesus pronounced Peter inspired. This Inspiration and Jesus' testimony, therefore, were the Keys to the central theme of man's salvation--knowledge of the Son of God. This is the truth, the gospel, that had to be proclaimed. It was the Present Truth--an inspired message direct from God. Thus possessed of a revelation by which every man was to be judged either for salvation or for condemnation, Peter and his associates became responsible either to lock or to unlock salvation to every living soul under heaven. {ABN4: 38.2}

Consequently, when Christ gave the Keys to Peter, He gave him the gospel and a divine commission to preach it. And so long as Peter and his co-workers were true to this charge, just so long did they possess the Keys to lock or to unlock to men the kingdom of God, and to have sanctioned in heaven whatever they bound or loosed on earth. Accordingly, with Inspiration

38

and progressive revelation, Present Truth, go the Keys. {ABN4: 38.3}

Obviously, therefore, a message from heaven, proclaimed by God's chosen servants, is all-powerful, and by it man's eternal destiny is decided. {ABN4: 39.1}

Plainly, then, the Keys are not the church herself, but are in the message which she proclaims. So no man or set of men has power to loose or bind with Heaven's approval save at the instance of a message vouchsafed directly from Heaven for them to bear for the time then present: "Different periods in the history of the church have each been marked by the development of some special truth, adapted to the necessities of God's people at that time."--The Great Controversy, p. 609. It has been so from time immemorial. {ABN4: 39.2}

Noah, too, had the Keys, and was thus able to loose or bind both in heaven and on earth. The fact that even "the gates of hell" could not prevail against the ark, bears witness to this. {ABN4: 39.3}

And God's promise to Abraham, "I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed" (Gen. 12:3), shows that he, too, had the Keys of heaven. {ABN4: 39.4}

Also, in the Providentially controlled hand of Moses, the Keys swung open the gates of the kingdom to the freedom and

39

salvation of the righteous, and closed them in doom upon the wicked. Thus "Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the Lord hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind. If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the Lord hath not sent me. But if the Lord make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all the appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the Lord. And it came to pass as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them: and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods." Num. 16:28-32. {ABN4: 39.5}

Through Moses God committed the Keys to the Hebrew host, and withdrew them in Christ's day when the Jews rejected Him. Then He transferred the Keys to the founders of the Christian church. {ABN4: 40.1}

But notwithstanding the example of the past the adherents of the apostles eventually also repeated the mistakes of Moses' followers. Yet throughout the Dark Ages, and especially during the Reformation period, God continued to entrust messenger after messenger, and Movement after Movement, with the Divine legacy. But again

40

and again down through the Reformation to the call of William Miller, each successive group repeated the folly of becoming satisfied with a static message, until finally when all the Protestant churches of Miller's day rejected the message for that time, they, too, unwittingly refused to be any longer the custodians of the sacred Keys. {ABN4: 40.2}

Thus Miller and his associates possessed them until the time of God's next message, the judgment of the dead, when the sacred Keys passed from the Millerite Movement to the Seventh-day Adventist denomination. But if it now rejects God's pleadings to anoint its eyes with the eyesalve which He is offering to it, it too, will let the Keys slip from its grasp and pass into the hands of those who are to proclaim the additional message, the judgment of the living, the message of the Loud Cry. (See Early Writings, pp. 277-279). And, tragedy of tragedies! this very thing the Laodiceans are in their blindness doing, thereby repeating the history of God's people through the ages. {ABN4: 41.1}