Anchors of Truth

Final Revolution - Part 5

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Ty Gibson

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Series Code: AOT

Program Code: AOT000085


00:12 Welcome to Anchors Of Truth from the 3ABN Worship Center.
00:17 The Final Revolution with Ty Gibson.
00:23 We welcome you, each one of you, to this final meeting
00:29 of our Final Revolution.
00:31 And Ty Gibson has been talking to us about God
00:35 and His character, His reputation around the world,
00:40 and how important it is that we give the real true picture
00:45 of God as a loving God.
00:46 Not as someone who's seeking to have vengeance,
00:50 but someone who wants to save every single soul
00:56 who will say, "I'm willing."
00:59 And what a beautiful message we've been hearing
01:02 here in each one of the presentations.
01:06 And we look forward now to the climax of this series,
01:09 though we're sorry to see it end, to be honest with you.
01:11 We look forward to this climatic message today
01:16 about the character of our God and His Son, Jesus,
01:22 and how much they love us.
01:24 The entire Godhead; the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit,
01:28 entwined about saving mankind.
01:33 What a beautiful, beautiful message we have been receiving.
01:38 Well just before the message this afternoon,
01:42 I'm going to invite Pastor C.A. Murray to come.
01:45 He's going to be singing for us the song, Is It Any Wonder.
01:50 Just before he sings, I'm going to ask Pastor Murray
01:54 to lead us in a word of prayer.
01:57 Shall we pray.
01:59 Gracious heavenly Father, how thankful we are
02:03 for Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.
02:10 How our hearts have burned within us these last
02:14 several days as we have heard the Word of God
02:19 through the mouth of your manservant.
02:22 We thank You that You have given him truths that are
02:26 meat in due season for our thirsty souls.
02:29 And we thank You, Lord, that he has been faithful to the call
02:32 to preach the Word of Jesus.
02:35 And now Father, we ask again that You may be with him
02:40 in a special way.
02:42 Give him so that he may give to us.
02:45 Bless him so that he may be a blessing to us.
02:49 Use him to lift up the mighty and matchless name of Jesus.
02:55 And then give us again open and receptive ears and hearts
03:01 as we seek to do Your will.
03:04 And we thank You, dear Father, in Jesus' name, amen.
03:25 When I think how Jesus loved me, how He waited patiently,
03:35 even when I turned my back and walked away.
03:41 When He knew I wanted every thing this world could offer me,
03:50 well I guess He knew the price I'd have to pay.
03:56 So He watched me stumble downward,
04:01 saw each compromise I made,
04:04 heard each lie I whispered just to get my way.
04:11 Still He waited there to hear me
04:16 when I cried to Him and prayed.
04:20 Then He saved my soul and that is why I say:
04:27 Tell me, is it any wonder that I love Him
04:38 when you consider all He's done for me?
04:46 And is it any wonder that I long to do His will
04:54 and let His light shine out for all to see?
05:00 And is it any wonder that I praise Him
05:10 each time I think of how He's made me free?
05:18 And is it any wonder that I've given Him my heart
05:26 when Jesus freely gave His life for me?
05:44 When I think how Jesus loves me, how He watches patiently,
05:54 how His arms are stretched to meet me when I run,
06:01 when I'm feeling down and lonely,
06:05 how He's there to comfort me.
06:09 In the darkness He becomes my morning sun.
06:16 When I think of how He's healed me,
06:21 how He's touched me in my pain,
06:24 how His gentle hands have wiped my tears away,
06:31 how He's taken every heartache and brought happiness again,
06:39 oh I want the world to hear me when I say:
06:45 Tell me, is it any wonder that I love Him
06:56 each time I think of how He's made me free?
07:04 And is it any wonder that I long to do His will
07:12 and let His light shine out for all to see?
07:17 And is it any wonder that I praise Him
07:28 each time I think of how He's made me free?
07:35 And is it any wonder that I've given Him my heart
07:43 when Jesus freely gave His life for me?
08:11 Thank you, C.A. Praise God.
08:14 I hope you had a good afternoon.
08:16 Did you?
08:17 Did you get something yummy to eat?
08:20 Let me just look out there.
08:21 I think some of you may have got something too yummy to eat.
08:25 You might have to sit up a little straighter,
08:27 breathe a little deeper, oxygenate your frontal lobe.
08:31 Because this is the meeting after lunch.
08:34 So you know what I'm talking about.
08:36 Don't pretend like you don't.
08:38 So I'm going to be squinting occasionally and peering
08:42 out there and making sure that everybody is in tune
08:45 with the message.
08:47 I want to begin by telling an old evangelistic story,
08:50 but with a new twist.
08:53 The story is told of an old chess champion
08:56 making his way one leisurely afternoon
08:59 through an art gallery.
09:01 And as he came upon painting after painting,
09:04 admiring the work of great artists, he finally came upon
09:09 a particular painting that captured his attention.
09:14 Because the artist had portrayed in the painting
09:18 that a young man was engaged with a game of chess
09:22 with the devil himself.
09:25 And as the chess champion examined the painting,
09:29 it was obvious what the artist was trying to convey.
09:33 Because the devil, leaning over the board,
09:37 had a grin of triumph on his face.
09:41 And the young man playing the game with the devil
09:44 looked very clearly like he had lost the game.
09:48 And the artist had titled the painting, "Checkmate."
09:52 The implication being, of course, that the game
09:54 was lost, and the young man was the loser.
09:58 But as the chess master examined the painting,
10:02 there was something about it that made him uncomfortable.
10:05 He kept looking and he began to study the board itself
10:09 and the placement of the pieces.
10:11 And then it came to him that something was wrong.
10:14 He went to the curator of the museum
10:17 and he said, "Is there any way that I could have a meeting
10:21 with the artist who created this painting?"
10:24 So arrangements were made and a day was set,
10:29 and the chess master came to the home of the artist.
10:32 And he immediately said, "Something is wrong
10:35 with your painting."
10:36 And artists don't like to hear that.
10:38 "No, nothing is wrong with my painting."
10:40 And yet, there was a slight grin on the artist's face,
10:44 as if maybe he knew what the chess champion had noticed.
10:50 Immediately, this man who knew all about the game of chess
10:55 began to set up a board, putting all the pieces
10:59 in exactly the places where the artist had portrayed
11:04 them to be in the painting.
11:05 Once the board was completely set, with very measured motion
11:12 and a little bit of drama, the chess master reached across
11:16 and with one move, he moved the king
11:21 of the young man and said, "There, you see?
11:24 Now the devil is in checkmate.
11:27 When the king has one more move, the game isn't over."
11:32 And you can go a lot of places with that old evangelistic story
11:35 at that point, can't you.
11:37 I'd like to go a new place with it.
11:39 I'd like to suggest to you that there is indeed, in fact,
11:44 one move that we can make as a people that would turn
11:51 the game in favor of the kingdom of God and put the devil
11:55 and the kingdom of darkness in checkmate.
11:59 I believe that this is not a matter of multiple choice.
12:03 There aren't two or three or four or five options.
12:06 I believe with all my heart, with deep conviction,
12:10 that there is in fact only one move we could make,
12:14 as a people, at this juncture of history that would have a
12:19 telling affect upon the direction history goes.
12:24 Only one move we could make that would in fact win
12:28 the great controversy for the kingdom of God.
12:31 Now I'm going to, of course, spin this message
12:33 divulging what I believe that one move to be.
12:38 And of course I'm hoping, I'm praying, that you will
12:41 see the picture and you will resonate with me
12:44 and you will adopt this as your own conviction.
12:47 But before I actually state what that one move is,
12:53 it's necessary for us to retrace our history as a people.
12:59 Now I want to just make a front note here.
13:01 For anybody who's present who is not a Seventh-day Adventist
13:03 or any viewers who are not Adventists, you're about to
13:07 listen in on a little bit of in-house talk.
13:10 But that's okay.
13:12 You, I believe, also will be benefited by what we're
13:15 going to discover in Scripture, because the Advent Movement
13:18 has implications for the world, as we're about to see.
13:22 So again, if you're not a Seventh-day Adventist,
13:25 I'm so glad you're joining us.
13:27 But just sit back, relax, and take in a little bit of
13:30 Adventist history and begin to understand
13:33 what it is that God raised up this people to be.
13:36 Because the fact is that God is calling anyone and everyone
13:42 who so desires to become a part of this final
13:46 revolutionary movement that takes the gospel to the world
13:50 on a global scale.
13:52 Now to retrace our history, we have to immediately remember
13:57 that Adventism, we believe, holds a very specific place
14:02 in the trajectory of history.
14:05 Adventism did not come into existence in a historic vacuum.
14:10 There were specific historic phenomenon that led up to
14:15 the birth of Adventism.
14:17 And in fact, we believe that the Advent movement
14:21 is one of only a very few movements in history
14:25 that were actually foretold in Bible prophecy.
14:29 Adventism was actually seen by both Daniel and John,
14:37 and they wrote what the Lord showed them regarding
14:41 the rise of this movement.
14:43 We trace our beginnings as a people to 1844.
14:48 That won't be a surprise to any Seventh-day Adventist.
14:52 But what led up to 1844 and its significance in prophecy
14:57 is something that we need desperately to understand
15:01 and wrap our minds around.
15:03 Because leading up to 1844, Bible prophecy unfolds
15:08 before us a series of events that involved movements
15:13 that took place preparatory to Adventism,
15:18 going all the way back in Bible prophecy to the prophecies
15:22 that are brought to view in Daniel chapter 7 and 8,
15:27 onward into chapter 9 as an explanation.
15:29 You'll see in just a moment where I'm going with this.
15:31 And then jumping forward, fast forwarding to
15:34 Revelation chapters 10 through 14.
15:37 So right now we're going to consider, we're going to
15:39 paint a picture of history leading up to the
15:42 birth of Adventism...
15:43 Alright?
15:44 ...by making use of the prophetic data
15:47 in Daniel chapters 7 and 8 and Revelation chapters
15:52 10 through 14.
15:54 In Daniel's prophecies, he saw in vision the rise of a power
16:02 that would manifest itself with two very
16:07 specific characteristics.
16:09 Number one, Daniel chapter 7 says this power would speak
16:15 great words against the Most High.
16:19 Speak great words against the Most High.
16:22 The fascinating thing about this movement is that
16:25 while it was speaking great words against God,
16:29 against the Most High, it was purporting
16:32 to be God's true representative on earth.
16:37 It bore the name Christian through those middle ages,
16:40 through those dark ages.
16:42 That power was not maliciously and overtly against Christ.
16:50 It was anti-Christ in the sense that it had set itself up
16:55 in place of Christ.
16:57 It's a part of history that I refer to as,
17:00 the grand masquerade.
17:02 This is when a power claiming to be the Christian church
17:07 is simultaneously putting forth information
17:11 that speaks great words against the Most High.
17:14 A doctrinal system was formed by this movement in history
17:21 called in Daniel 7, the little horn.
17:24 Called by Paul, the man of sin.
17:27 Called by John the Revelator, the great harlot.
17:31 Also by John, Babylon.
17:34 This movement manifested its power in history
17:40 by speaking great words against the Most High.
17:42 That is to say, by defaming the character of God
17:47 by the formulation of a doctrinal system
17:50 that made God look to be other than what He really is;
17:55 in the simplest possible language.
17:57 The other evening, I used a word that you will not
17:59 find in your dictionary.
18:01 This system achieved the uglification of the
18:06 character of God in the minds and hearts of human beings.
18:09 And that movement that is prophesied of
18:13 in Daniel 7 and Daniel 8...
18:15 Now listen very carefully.
18:16 That movement took in a large swath of history
18:20 leading up to 1844, leading up to 1798 and 1844,
18:27 That power defamed the character of God by blaspheming His name.
18:31 And I said there were two main characteristics of the power.
18:34 The second characteristic is, that it would speak great
18:37 words against the Most High, number one;
18:39 and that it would persecute the saints of the Most High God,
18:44 and that it would make war on the saints.
18:47 And so the second characteristic is that this power would use
18:52 coercion and force in the name of God.
18:56 This power would shed blood in the name of God.
19:00 This power would co-opt, as a religious entity,
19:04 the power of the state to take the military might
19:08 of the state under its mesmerizing spell and its
19:13 coercive doctrine to use the state to exercise force
19:19 in the name of Jesus.
19:21 And so millions upon millions of people down through those
19:24 dark ages lost their lives as martyrs in the name of Jesus.
19:32 This was being done with God as the purported source
19:39 of these deeds through history.
19:41 So you've got the picture so far?
19:43 This movement we're going to simply call, bad religion.
19:47 We're talking here about a segment of history
19:48 that involves the reign of bad religion, alright?
19:52 Babylon; confusion.
19:54 Doctrinal confusion that uglifies the character of God,
19:58 that defames the character of God.
20:00 Now that movement, according to Revelation chapters 10 and 11,
20:05 that movement created a situation, psychologically
20:10 and emotionally and spiritually in the world,
20:14 that gave rise to atheism.
20:17 Modern atheism was born in the cradle of Papal dominance
20:23 in the French revolution.
20:25 According to the book of Revelation, the beast
20:28 from the bottomless pit that would make war against
20:31 God's two witnesses, the Old and the New Testament,
20:35 the beast from the bottomless pit is none other than
20:38 modern atheism.
20:40 It's crucial for us to understand atheism,
20:43 as a people, for this reason.
20:45 Atheism was not born on the scene of human history
20:49 as a scientific revolution originally.
20:53 Darwin's theory of evolution wouldn't come for
20:57 many years later.
20:59 Atheism originated as a violent emotional theological
21:06 spiritual reaction against the uglification of the
21:10 character of God, the defamation of God's character.
21:13 Doctrines like eternal torment and penance and indulgences.
21:18 The entire psycho-edifice of salvation by works
21:23 that had so squashed the human spirit capacity for loving God
21:29 and yet requiring worship of Him.
21:32 Making people slaves to a picture of God that they
21:36 could not adore, that they couldn't desire,
21:39 that they couldn't actually reverence and love.
21:43 Humanity was held captive until finally the human spirit
21:48 created in God's image, and therefore longing for
21:52 liberty and freedom, could handle the pressure no longer.
21:56 And in the French Revolution, human beings rose up against
22:01 that system and essentially said this, "If God is like that,
22:06 we want nothing to do with Him."
22:08 And that's the birth of modern atheism.
22:10 That's why philosophers and historians first referred
22:14 to the rise of atheism in human history,
22:17 not as scientific atheism, but as protest atheism.
22:22 They were protesting a picture of God,
22:26 a caricature of God, a rendering of His character that they
22:30 found mentally and emotionally untenable.
22:33 So, "If God's like that, we don't believe in God."
22:38 You see how that works?
22:39 So you have two movements now.
22:41 You have the reign of bad religion in which
22:44 God's character is severely misrepresented by a
22:47 doctrinal system and by the use of coercion and force
22:49 in the name of God.
22:51 Then out of that movement arises a second movement.
22:55 And that is modern atheism as a violent reaction of
22:59 unbelief against that false rendering of God's character.
23:04 Then Daniel 7 and 8, Revelation 10 through 14,
23:09 in this very, very specific historic lineage, brings to view
23:16 a point in history where the tables will be turned.
23:20 And we have bad religion, the birth of atheism, and then what?
23:25 Well, Daniel 7 and 8 portrays it this way.
23:28 The angel in Daniel 8 sees what has been described in
23:33 the vision of chapter 7; God's character defamed,
23:37 the persecution of the saints, the little horn misrepresenting
23:41 and blaspheming the character of God.
23:43 And then an angel in chapter 8 of Daniel and verse 13
23:48 poses a question.
23:50 "How long?" is the question.
23:52 "How long?"
23:54 Well the question refers back to what has just been revealed.
23:57 How long, listen carefully, will this system reign
24:03 misrepresenting the character of God in the name of God?
24:06 How long will the grand masquerade continue?
24:10 How long will human beings receive this horrible
24:15 misrepresentation of God's character?
24:17 "How long?" said the angel.
24:19 And another angel answered back and said, in verse 14
24:24 of Daniel 8, "Unto two thousand three hundred days.
24:27 Then shall the sanctuary be cleansed."
24:30 I want you to notice, my dear Advent brothers and sisters,
24:34 that the message of the 2300 day prophecy,
24:38 Daniel 8:14, is an angel giving a direct answer
24:42 to the question of another angel.
24:45 One angel has asked how long this darkness regarding the
24:48 character of God.
24:50 The other angel answers, "Unto two thousand three hundred days.
24:54 Then the sanctuary will be cleansed."
24:57 Another version says, "The sanctuary will be made right."
25:00 Well this power had interposed itself between human beings
25:04 and the true sanctuary of God from whence forgiveness
25:08 of sins comes by grace through faith alone in Christ.
25:11 So there was this dark interposition of an earthy
25:16 system that set up its colossal masquerade in the name of God,
25:20 and people's vision of the true gospel and the plan of
25:24 salvation was blocked.
25:27 The movement that is prophesied of in Daniel 8:14,
25:31 listen carefully now, is in direct response
25:34 to that reign of darkness.
25:38 Adventism is foretold in Daniel 8:14,
25:42 "Unto two thousand three hundred days," 2300 years,
25:46 then something new is going to happen in history.
25:50 There will be the birth of a new movement
25:52 that will rectify human understanding regarding
25:57 the true sanctuary of God, the true heavenly priesthood,
26:01 The entire plan of salvation will be restored to its
26:05 rightful place in the minds and hearts of human beings
26:09 to correct this reign of spiritual darkness.
26:13 Do you see that history and how it flows?
26:15 Well then, when we go forward to Revelation 10,
26:20 we have the apostle John receiving a vision.
26:23 In that vision, he sees Jesus having a little
26:28 book in His hand.
26:30 The little book that Jesus, in chapter 10 of Revelation,
26:34 has in His hand is none other than the book of Daniel.
26:37 Which Daniel was told would be sealed until the
26:40 time of the end.
26:41 "Shut up the prophecies of your book, Daniel,
26:44 until the time of the end."
26:45 The book is shut, it's sealed.
26:47 But now in Revelation 10, Jesus is standing before John
26:51 and the little book is opened.
26:55 He hands the little book to John.
26:57 John, at this point, is a microcosm in prophecy
27:00 of the advent movement.
27:01 He hands the book to John and He says, "John, I want you to
27:04 do something with this book.
27:05 Eat it."
27:06 Oh, that's a strange request.
27:08 John eats the little book, only to discover that it is
27:12 sweet to the taste, but bitter in the belly.
27:15 And this is Bible prophecy foretelling that there would
27:18 be a Bible study movement that would arise on the scene of
27:22 human history at the end of time that would have a specific
27:26 interest in studying the prophecies of Daniel;
27:28 processing, digesting, masticating, believing
27:32 the prophecies of Daniel, eating them.
27:34 They would make a discovery that would be sweet,
27:37 that would end in bitterness.
27:40 And we rightfully call this experience,
27:42 the Great Disappointment, because those early advent
27:44 believers, they thought that Jesus was going to come in 1844.
27:50 And He did not.
27:52 Hence, the great disappointment.
27:53 This was not a movement that was formed by a few
27:59 fanatical Bible students.
28:01 This was a worldwide phenomenon that was made up of Baptists,
28:06 Seventh-day Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians,
28:09 Catholics, even some devout Jews.
28:13 And that movement that is described experienced that
28:17 great disappointment when Jesus didn't come.
28:19 At that point you think that's it, it's over.
28:21 The advent movement scatters and it fractures.
28:24 But then something happens.
28:26 When you come to the end of chapter 10 of Revelation...
28:28 And this is the verse I want you to see right now
28:31 and focus on.
28:32 When you come to the end of Revelation chapter 10...
28:36 This is astounding.
28:38 The great disappointment has occurred.
28:40 And then you think, well that's the end of it.
28:44 And that advent people begin to scatter and fragment
28:48 and feel like, "Wow, we were wrong, that's the end of it."
28:51 But look at verse 11.
28:54 The angel says...
28:55 And the angel in this particular context is none other than Jesus
28:59 as a messenger, the divine Son of God.
29:01 He's not an angel in the sense that we think of angels
29:04 as created beings.
29:05 But He's the one holding the little book
29:07 that gave it to John.
29:09 And He says to him in verse 11, "You must prophesy..."
29:14 What's the word?
29:15 "...again..." On what scale?
29:19 "...unto many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings."
29:23 In other words, the movement is not over.
29:26 It's just beginning.
29:28 And now it's to take on worldwide scope,
29:31 and it is to prophesy again.
29:34 It had prophesied before.
29:36 The disappointment occurred.
29:38 And now it was to prophesy again before the world.
29:42 Which begs the question immediately,
29:44 "What were they to prophesy?"
29:46 To prophesy means to proclaim a message,
29:49 a heaven sent message.
29:52 What were they to prophesy?
29:53 What would be the content of that message?
29:56 Well it's very fascinating.
29:58 Because as that advent movement regrouped and began to restudy,
30:04 truths began to unfold to their minds, as chapter 11
30:09 of Revelation verse 19 began to occur.
30:12 "Then the temple of God was opened in heaven,
30:15 and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple."
30:19 Notice something.
30:20 That these people who have now regrouped and they're
30:24 beginning to restudy and figure out what went wrong,
30:27 why the disappointment, they receive the mandate from Christ,
30:31 "prophesy again," and Jesus leads them to discover
30:34 the Most Holy Place.
30:36 The temple of God is opened in heaven.
30:38 They step in by faith and by Bible study,
30:40 into the Most Holy Place.
30:42 Not geographically literally, of course.
30:43 But through Scripture, they make their way
30:45 into the Most Holy Place.
30:47 We know it's the Most Holy Place because it says
30:50 the temple of God was opened in heaven,
30:51 and His ark was seen, the ark of the testament.
30:55 This is the Most Holy Place.
30:57 That's our location in history now.
31:01 They step into the Most Holy Place,
31:03 and as they begin to examine their surroundings,
31:06 a series of truths begin to unfold.
31:09 They open the content of the ark, they open the lid,
31:12 and they see the Ten Commandments.
31:15 The Law of God, the immutability of the Law of God is recovered
31:18 as a vital Bible truth.
31:20 They notice particularly one of the commandments that
31:23 has been laid aside; the Sabbath commandment.
31:25 And it becomes a Sabbath keeping movement.
31:28 They notice the two covering cherubs intently looking
31:31 on the mercy seat and the Law and the Shekinah.
31:35 And they turn around and they see that the veil of the
31:38 Most Holy Place is embroidered with angelic figures.
31:43 And they realize that this is cosmic in scope
31:47 and they begin developing the great controversy motif.
31:51 And realize that this great controversy involves
31:55 heaven and earth.
31:56 And there's an intersection between the two.
31:58 And that there's something greater at stake than merely
32:01 individual salvation.
32:03 The character of God has been defamed in history.
32:06 There's a violent cultural and religious reaction
32:09 against the falsification of God's character
32:13 with atheism rising against it.
32:15 They realize now that they live at a time in history when
32:18 the character of God is to be vindicated and exonerated.
32:22 Beautified rather than uglified before the world.
32:25 That men, women, and children the world over are in desperate
32:29 need of seeing the truth about God with unprecedented clarity.
32:36 What is the movement to prophesy?
32:38 The movement is to prophesy a message that exonerates the
32:43 character of God.
32:45 A whole new system of truth begins to form.
32:49 A chain of truth link by link.
32:52 The Sabbath, the state of the dead, the judgment.
32:55 All of these truths begin to be formulated
32:58 in this budding phase of the advent movement.
33:03 But here's the thing.
33:04 As that movement got off the ground, God specifically
33:09 conveyed to the movement early on that there was
33:12 to be a particular focus.
33:15 And the particular focus was brought to view in what I call,
33:18 two early course setting visions; visions that set
33:24 true north for the movement, theologically.
33:27 The first vision was given to William Miller.
33:29 And you can read it for yourself in the book Early Writings,
33:32 pages 81 through 84.
33:34 William Miller received a vision, and in that vision
33:38 he saw a room with a single table.
33:43 And on that table, a jewel box.
33:46 He walked into the room and he saw this beautiful box.
33:49 He called it in his vision, in the vernacular of the time,
33:52 a casket.
33:54 He opened the jewel box, the casket, and in it
33:57 he saw in his vision, he saw rubies, and sapphires,
34:03 and emeralds, and diamonds, and gold coins, and silver coins.
34:07 And he describes this beautiful collection of jewels,
34:11 and how that they were placed in a certain order.
34:15 And then as he kept looking, people began to enter the room
34:19 and to handle the jewels, and to move them around the room,
34:22 and to scatter them throughout the room with the debris that
34:25 they brought in on their feet, Miller says.
34:27 And they were scattered on the floor and all over the table.
34:31 And some people brought in similar jewels that
34:34 were counterfeits and you could hardly tell the difference.
34:37 And Miller began to lament the horrible situation.
34:40 And just then, as he was on the verge of tears because
34:44 these priceless jewels had been scattered among
34:47 false counterfeits, just as he was on the verge
34:51 of total discouragement, Miller says, "And in my vision,
34:54 a man with a dirt brush entered the room."
34:57 A broom.
34:59 And this man begins to sweep the room clean of all the
35:02 false jewels, the counterfeits.
35:04 He begins to sweep out all the debris that was tracked in
35:07 on the feet of the many people handling the jewels.
35:10 This is none other than Jesus sweeping out of the house
35:15 all of these false ideas that were being mingled
35:20 with the true jewels.
35:22 And then once all the false was swept out,
35:25 Miller said that the man with the dirt brush gathered up the
35:28 true jewels and put them in a larger casket this time,
35:33 and placed them in an order.
35:36 And then these words from Miller, "They shown forth
35:41 with ten times their former glory in the vision."
35:47 Miller had just seen that there would be down through history
35:52 a mingling of false and true doctrines that would
35:56 obscure the truth of the gospel and the character of God.
36:00 That there would be a cleansing movement in history that
36:03 would sweep out the counterfeits and bring in, restore the true
36:08 jewels to their proper setting.
36:10 And once the true jewels of truth were restored
36:13 in proper relation, one to another, they would
36:16 shine forth with ten times their former glory and power.
36:20 In other words, there would be a final movement
36:22 that would render the truth to the world with unprecedented
36:27 power and illumination.
36:30 That's the first vision that I refer to as a
36:33 course setting vision.
36:34 God was saying to the early advent movement,
36:36 "You need to go in the direction of gathering up the jewels
36:39 of truth and put them in the right relation, one to another."
36:44 And as we're going to see, something significant is
36:46 being conveyed here.
36:47 The second course setting vision was one held by a young
36:50 teenage girl named Ellen White.
36:52 Ellen White received this vision and it is recorded in
36:55 the book Early Writings, pages 78 and 79.
36:58 Now watch this.
36:59 In this early vision, the teenage Ellen White
37:04 saw a large temple structure in the distance.
37:08 She made her way to the temple and she entered the building.
37:16 Now if there are any engineers or builders here,
37:18 you'll understand the significance of this vision.
37:21 She says, "As I entered the temple, as I entered the
37:25 structure, the building," she said, "I saw that the entire
37:28 structure was supported by one immense pillar."
37:32 Quote, unquote.
37:34 She examined the building, the structure,
37:38 and just one central pillar is supporting the entire edifice.
37:43 Amazing.
37:45 She looks at the one immense pillar wondering what its
37:48 significance is, and she sees...
37:51 Her words, not mine.
37:53 ...that to it, to the pillar, was tied a lamb
37:58 all mangled and bleeding.
38:01 And those who entered the building, she says,
38:05 quote, unquote, "seemed to know that he was wounded
38:10 on their account."
38:11 And everybody who entered the temple, she says,
38:13 must make their way to that one immense pillar,
38:17 to that lamb, and confess their sins.
38:22 What had she just seen?
38:24 The temple represents the entire structure of truth
38:27 that was being recovered at this critical juncture of history.
38:31 This great building of truth, this structure, however,
38:37 is supported by one immense pillar of truth.
38:42 That one immense pillar of truth that supports the entire
38:45 structure of truth is none other than the cross of Jesus Christ.
38:52 The lamb is tied to the pillar, bleeding and mangled.
38:56 And so God had just communicated to the advent movement
39:00 true north.
39:01 The entire edifice of truth must be kept in perspective.
39:05 It must be kept in clear relation to the cross,
39:10 to the gospel, to the great love of God demonstrated
39:14 at Calvary.
39:15 Every truth of Scripture would find its significance and its
39:20 power in direct relation to the cross.
39:24 The Faith I Live By, page 50, later on, years later,
39:27 Ellen White would put this very idea received in that
39:30 vision in perspective.
39:31 And she said, and I quote, "There is one..."
39:34 Note the language.
39:36 "There is one great central truth to be kept ever
39:43 before the mind in the searching of the Scriptures;
39:46 Christ and Him crucified.
39:49 Every other truth..."
39:52 Put whatever you want there in the...
39:54 Not whatever you want, put what belongs there.
39:56 The Sabbath, the state of the dead, the judgment,
39:58 the immutability of God's law, the health message.
40:02 The entire structure of truth.
40:04 Notice she says, "Every other truth is invested
40:09 with influence and power, corresponding to
40:15 its relation to this theme," end of quote.
40:18 In other words, the truth of God's matchless love
40:24 revealed in the supreme sacrifice of Calvary
40:28 is the one truth that gives power and influence
40:34 to every other truth.
40:35 Think of it this way.
40:37 That temple vision is helpful here.
40:39 Imagine a physical structure, a building, and let's just say
40:43 it's an octagon structure.
40:45 It has eight sides with eight windows.
40:48 And you can make your way around this building
40:51 to each of the windows.
40:53 And in the building, there is one object.
40:58 And it is the cross of Christ where God's love was manifested.
41:03 Wherever you go around this structure, if you go to
41:07 any one of the windows on the building and you look
41:10 through that window, you are looking at
41:13 the cross through different windows of understanding.
41:18 Let's call those windows, the various key truths
41:22 that were recovered in the advent movement.
41:24 You're looking through one window and it is the
41:26 immutability of God's law.
41:29 But you're looking through the law to see the cross.
41:32 You move to this side and you're standing before the
41:35 window that we're going to label, the Sabbath truth.
41:37 But the Sabbath has no influence or power.
41:40 It has no significance except as it bears relation
41:44 to the love of God manifested at Calvary.
41:47 So I'm looking through the Sabbath truth to understand
41:50 the significance of the rest that I have in Christ
41:55 that the Sabbath signifies.
41:57 I move around the building and I come to the window
41:59 that we're going to label, the judgment.
42:01 But think about it, if you communicate to the world,
42:04 if you preach to the world, if you preach to yourself,
42:07 the truth of the judgment but you withhold
42:10 the gospel of Christ, you have rendered the judgment
42:13 in a way that can only instill fear and apprehension,
42:17 but not a sense of desire to want to be a participant
42:21 in the final judgment.
42:22 The Old Testament prophets saw the judgment as good news.
42:27 They asked for it.
42:28 They said, "God, when are You going to judge?
42:30 When are You going to make things right?
42:31 When is it all going to be straightened out
42:33 and rectified, Lord?"
42:35 The Old Testament prophets, they wanted judgment.
42:38 Daniel chapter 7 and 8 says that when the judgment occurs,
42:41 that it's a positive event.
42:43 It's not a negative event.
42:44 Why? Because Daniel says that when the judgment is
42:47 set and the books are opened,
42:50 judgment will be made in favor of the saints
42:53 of the Most High God.
42:54 So there's good news in the judgment truth
42:56 if you look at the judgment through the window
42:59 and see the cross through that doctrine.
43:03 And walk to any of the windows of truth,
43:05 walk around the building.
43:06 Whatever the message is, the message is the gospel.
43:10 Whatever the truth is that we're preaching at any given
43:13 point in our communication of the gospel, our message,
43:19 whatever it is that we're preaching, there's only...
43:22 What does she say?
43:24 "...one great central truth ever to be kept before the mind in
43:29 the searching of the Scriptures; Christ and Him crucified."
43:32 This isn't just Ellen White's view.
43:35 This is exactly what the apostle Paul said.
43:38 Paul said, "I have determined not to know anything
43:41 among you but Jesus Christ and Him crucified."
43:45 Was Paul simply saying in a very simplistic sense,
43:49 was Paul saying, "I'm not going to deal with any other
43:52 subject matter at all."
43:55 No, he dealt with a large body of subject matter
43:59 if you read his writings.
44:00 His point is not that, "I won't talk about anything else.
44:04 I won't preach anything else."
44:06 His point is, "I won't preach anything else except for
44:09 in the light that shines from Calvary.
44:11 Calvary will be the informational bank
44:16 of data that will give significance
44:19 to everything I preach."
44:21 But what happened in Adventist history,
44:23 as God gave us these early course setting visions,
44:27 something happened.
44:28 As early as 1852, in Review And Herald, December 31, 1852,
44:34 Ellen White identified this early advent movement
44:38 as settling in to the Laodicean condition.
44:41 1852.
44:43 We've not gone that far down the history of this movement.
44:47 From 1844 to 1852, and already she says,
44:51 the words addressed to the Laodicean church describe
44:54 their present condition perfectly.
44:58 What's the Laodicean condition that begin to settle in
45:02 among God's people, among the advent movement?
45:05 Well, Revelation chapter 3 tells us what that
45:08 Laodicean condition is.
45:10 It is the ultimate self-delusion in which the True Witness,
45:15 Jesus Christ, says to the Laodicean church,
45:18 "You think that you are rich and increased with goods
45:22 and have need to nothing.
45:23 That's your self perception."
45:25 Now He's not talking about material wealth.
45:28 He's talking about doctrinal wealth, theological wealth.
45:31 "Yes, all of these truths have been recovered, but now
45:34 having recovered these truths, you think that these truths
45:38 in and of themselves make you rich and increased
45:41 with spiritual goods."
45:43 But simultaneously, something was happening.
45:46 "You think that you're rich and increased with goods
45:48 and have need of nothing.
45:49 But I say unto you that you are miserable,
45:53 poor, blind, and naked.
45:56 That's My assessment," Jesus says.
45:59 But what constituted this condition?
46:03 Well Jesus goes on to describe the remedy.
46:06 He says, "You need three things.
46:08 You need gold tried in the fire, you need white raiment,
46:12 and you need eye salve."
46:13 Three symbols that convey something very, very important.
46:17 Gold tried in the fire is defined in Scripture
46:20 as faith operating or working by love.
46:26 The white raiment symbolizes the righteousness of Christ
46:29 as our only hope of salvation.
46:31 And the eye salve represents the ministry and work
46:34 of the Holy Spirit to give discernment,
46:37 spiritual discernment, so we can see our true condition
46:41 as a people.
46:42 The True Witness says that, "You, as a people,
46:45 are in the Laodicean condition.
46:47 You have inflated your sense of self, you've blown up
46:53 this picture of yourself in which you think
46:56 that you're rich and increased with goods.
46:57 But the fact is, you're missing vital elements.
46:59 Yes, you believe and preach that the law is not done away with.
47:03 'It's not abolished, it's not nailed to the cross.
47:05 And we can prove it.
47:06 The seventh day is the Sabbath and not the first day.'
47:08 And you're doing a good job all lawyer like of proving it.
47:13 But you're missing some vital elements.
47:15 You need faith that works by love.
47:17 You need the righteousness of Christ.
47:18 You need the ministry of the Holy Spirit
47:20 to clear your vision.
47:22 You need Christ central to every doctrine you hold as a people.
47:28 That I have given you as a people.
47:30 I tried to tell you early on in those course setting visions
47:34 that there's one immense pillar of truth that invests
47:37 the others with power and influence.
47:40 But you have now become a people who are
47:45 rich in doctrinal knowledge, but you're missing
47:49 vital elements."
47:50 Later on, the advent movement, as it progressed,
47:54 there were two pieces of art that were developed
47:57 in Adventist history that are more significant
48:00 than any other art in the history of this movement.
48:05 The first piece of art was issued in the year 1876.
48:12 And you're looking at it on the screen.
48:15 This piece of art was created as an evangelistic tool.
48:20 James White commissioned it and it was to be set up on an easel.
48:25 The same thing that we do today when we use PowerPoint slides.
48:28 It was just a teaching tool.
48:29 And this picture was intended to convey the message
48:34 so that the evangelist and preacher would point to
48:36 various elements in the message as he was preaching.
48:39 You will notice in the picture, look at it very carefully,
48:42 that the Ten Commandments are front and center
48:45 hanging on the tree of life, no less.
48:49 And the cross is kind of off to the side and
48:52 portrayed as receding.
48:55 The Ten Commandments hanging on the tree of life.
48:58 The painting was, or the engraving, as it was called,
49:02 was entitled, "The Way Of Life,
49:05 From Paradise Lost To Paradise Restored."
49:08 Now here's what happened.
49:11 This tool was used for years in Adventism
49:16 "to preach the message," quote, unquote.
49:19 After James died in 1882, Ellen White was devastated.
49:26 Because James and Ellen had been having personal discussions
49:31 in which they were longing for justification by faith,
49:36 righteousness by faith, the grace of God,
49:39 the gospel, the love.
49:40 What she called, "the matchless love of God."
49:44 They were longing for this emphasis to be brought
49:48 front and center in the Adventist theological structure.
49:51 James died before he could launch the second version
49:55 of this evangelistic tool, which you'll look at now.
49:59 So after his death, Ellen White took the old picture with
50:04 the Law of God hanging on the tree of life
50:07 front and center, she took that picture out of commission,
50:11 out of circulation.
50:12 Ellen White then commissioned a new picture in 1883.
50:19 And that new picture that was commissioned,
50:22 you'll notice that there's a difference.
50:24 First of all, what's the title now?
50:26 Can you see the title?
50:27 "Christ, The Way Of Life," is the new title.
50:31 You'll notice now that the cross of Jesus Christ
50:35 is looming large front and center in the picture of truth.
50:40 Where's the Law of God?
50:41 Well don't say it's not there.
50:43 It is there exactly where it ought to be.
50:45 It's portrayed in the upper left hand corner of the picture
50:49 with the dark clouds, the thunder, the lightening,
50:52 and the Mount Sinai.
50:54 In other words, it was to be communicated that the
50:58 Law of God in and of itself had no saving power,
51:01 saving virtue.
51:02 That the Savior is Jesus Christ.
51:05 The law, quoting Paul in Galatians, is a schoolmaster
51:09 to bring us to Christ.
51:12 So the law, Romans chapter 3, is a functional device
51:17 by which, Paul says, "By the law is the knowledge of sin."
51:22 It exposes our need.
51:24 It's a tutor.
51:25 It's a disciplinarian to bring us to the Savior.
51:28 But it has no saving virtue in and of itself.
51:32 So this new picture was put into circulation.
51:35 This is a very critical thing to understand in Adventist history.
51:39 Be we, as a people, launched the movement
51:43 with a very specific historic and prophetic mandate.
51:48 "Prophecy again."
51:50 A message was to be given.
51:52 A structure of truth was formulated.
51:55 God said to this people, one immense pillar of truth.
52:00 Hold Christ central and the rest of it will make saving sense.
52:04 And then we, as a people, began to formulate
52:07 a method of communication and preaching and evangelism
52:12 that caused Christ to recede from view
52:16 and the doctrines, in and of themselves,
52:18 to be brought front and center as mere doctrinal facts
52:21 to be proven rather than as truths through which
52:27 the character of God could be vindicated and understood.
52:30 So Ellen White began to make a series of diagnostic statements.
52:37 I'm going to give you three or four of them
52:39 as I watch the clock.
52:41 Diagnostic statement number one from the book,
52:43 Faith And Works, pages 15 and 16.
52:45 Don't miss a word of this.
52:48 "On the one hand," she says, "religionists generally have
52:52 divorced the law from the gospel,
52:54 but we, while we on the other hand,"
52:58 we Adventists on the other hand, "have almost done the same
53:01 from another standpoint.
53:04 We have not held up before the people the righteousness of
53:08 Christ and the full significance of His great plan of redemption.
53:12 We have left out Christ and His matchless love,
53:15 and brought in theories and reasonings,
53:19 and preached argumentative discourses."
53:21 End of quote.
53:23 Adventism began to develop what Ellen White called,
53:25 the "argumentative discourse."
53:29 We began to develop a method of preaching that...
53:33 In the simplest way I can portray it
53:35 in the time that we have.
53:36 We began to view, for example, the Sabbath truth as merely
53:40 right day versus wrong day, "And we can prove it
53:43 with these 46 verses.
53:45 Let us close with prayer."
53:48 But no, it wasn't time to close with prayer
53:50 once you simply demonstrate right day versus wrong day.
53:54 The Sabbath truth is a larger truth that preaches the gospel
53:58 of rest in Christ for a completed salvation
54:04 to which I can't contribute as a fallen human being.
54:08 So she says we, as a people, began to leave out the
54:11 matchless love of Christ.
54:13 Diagnostic statement number two.
54:15 Selected Messages, Volume 2, page 87.
54:18 "The truth for this time," she says, "is broad in its outlines,
54:21 far reaching, and embracing many doctrines;
54:26 but these doctrines are not detached items,
54:31 which mean little.
54:32 They are united by golden threads, forming a complete
54:37 whole, with Christ as the living center."
54:41 End of quote.
54:42 What did she just say?
54:43 She said, "Do not configure your understanding of the truth.
54:49 Don't look at it as a series of detached items
54:53 that are separated from one another.
54:55 The system of truth God has given us as a people
54:58 is to be viewed as connected with golden threads
55:02 of grace and gospel significance with Christ
55:05 as the living center."
55:07 Then Adventism begins to make brilliant sense.
55:12 Brilliant intellectual sense, brilliant emotional sense,
55:15 brilliant relational sense.
55:17 It becomes much more understandable and transforming
55:23 when every truth is viewed in Christ.
55:27 She went on in a third diagnostic statement
55:31 in the 1888 materials, page 810.
55:36 She says that basically, quote unquote, that Adventist
55:41 preaching of that era had become as void of Christ
55:46 as was the offering of Cain.
55:48 Quote unquote.
55:50 Diagnostic statement number four, is it?
55:53 She said in 1888 materials, page 842, "The preaching of Christ
55:57 crucified has been strangely neglected by our people."
56:02 I'm simply giving you a sampling of what was happening
56:05 historically in Adventism.
56:07 We had settled into the Laodicean condition.
56:09 And having done so, we had emasculated the message.
56:13 We had drained it of its power by making it merely
56:17 a series of factual argumentative sermons
56:20 void of the gospel.
56:22 And then as that history unfolded, a new picture
56:26 began to emerge in the preaching of a few individuals
56:29 in Adventist history, namely A.T. Jones and E. J. Waggoner
56:33 in 1888 at the General Conference session,
56:35 and Ellen White.
56:37 As they travelled the camp meeting circuit, they began to
56:40 preach justification by faith.
56:43 And as that era came to a conclusion, or was coming to
56:46 a close, Ellen White would make this statement,
56:50 Review And Herald, December 23, 1890,
56:54 that in the final revolution, the final movement,
56:57 the loud cry, the latter rain, that movement that
57:00 brings to closure the great controversy and
57:03 hastens the coming of Jesus, she said and I quote,
57:05 "One interest will prevail, one subject will swallow up
57:11 all others; Christ our Righteousness."
57:16 End of quote.
57:18 And it is that message that constitutes the one move
57:24 that we, as a people, must make, that we desperately need
57:27 to make, to turn the game and to win the great controversy.


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Revised 2014-12-17