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"In the closing work Life and Death Message Rev 14:6 "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people," No one left out. All will have an opportunity. All must Choose Rev 14:7 "Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him [let no glory be given to erring, sinful men]; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." "The duty to worship God is based upon the fact that He is the Creator and that to Him all beings owe their existence. ....'Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for Thou hast created all things.' Revelation 4:11." Great Controversy pg. 436,437 Fear God means to recognize two things We Fear God in a different way than we fear an Enemy. When God or His Angel encounters man what is typically His first Words. Fear not! The fear God want us to have empowers not incapacitates. Not an emotional fear but an intellectual realization of who He is. 63 "fear not" in the bible Judg 6:22 And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the LORD, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord GOD! for because I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face. Judg 6:23 And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die. Dan 10:18 Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me, Dan 10:19 And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me. Recognize who He is "for the hour of his judgment is come ...The announcement, "The hour of his Judgment is come," points to the closing work of Christ's ministration for the salvation of men The work of judgment which began in 1844, must continue until the cases of all are decided, both of the living and the dead; hence it will extend to the close of human probation. That law will be the standard of character in the Judgment. The apostle Paul declares, "As many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; . . . in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ." And he says that "the doers of the law shall be justified."[ ROM. 2:12-13] Faith is essential in order to the keeping of the law of God; for "without faith it is impossible to please him."[ HEB. 11:6] And "whatsoever is not of faith is sin."[; ROM. 14:23.] GC88 p435,436 "worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters" Exo 20:8 "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. This is a clear elusion to the 4th commandment. John doesn't quote complete passages in Rev but pick words and phrases to elude to a passage. It was a memorial of the work of creation, and thus a sign of God's power and His love. Psa 111:4 "He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the LORD is gracious and full of compassion." Rom 1:20 "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:" All things were created by the Son of God. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. . . . All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made." John 1: 1-3. And since the Sabbath is a memorial of the work of creation, it is a token of the love and power of Christ. Exo 31:13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you. Exo 31:16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. The Sabbath is therefore a sign of our connection with The Loving and Powerful God. This is why it follows the warnings of the Judgment John 15:1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman." With this connection we have Live. Without this Connection we are Dead. Which is dead the green beautiful vine freshly cut of the vine trunk or the dormant brown leafless vine still connected in Dec. 1 John 5:11 "And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son."1 John 5:12 "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." . "It is through the Spirit that Christ dwells in us; and the Spirit of God, received into the heart by faith, is the beginning of the life eternal." DA 388 Gen 2:17 "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." The day Adam and eve sinned they became disconnected. As in the case of the vine punned away. "An aimless life is a living death." Review and Herald- 7-29-1984 Luke 9:60 "Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God." John 6:51 "I am the living bread which came down from heaven:
if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my
flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." Having no life in you, what are you? DEAD "Many hold faith as an opinion. Saving faith is a transaction by which those who receive Christ join themselves in covenant relation with God. Genuine faith is life. A living faith means an increase of vigor, a confiding trust, by which the soul becomes a conquering power." Desire of Ages pg. 347 - It is impossible for finite minds to comprehend the work of redemption. Its mystery exceeds human knowledge; yet he who passes from death to life realizes that it is a divine reality. The beginning of redemption we may know here through a personal experience. Its results reach through the eternal ages. DA 17 Let us make an effort to comprehend the impossible. The promises are, "A new heart will I give you;" "I will put my Spirit within you." 1. His merit, his righteousness, are imputed to the believing soul, and the believer has inward peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. 2. Trusting in Christ, he dwells upon pleasant things of a spiritual character, and his great desire is to keep the heart right with God. 3. Through this new motive [great desire is to keep the heart right with God], he will by faith in Christ "keep the heart with all diligence," realizing that ...promises of God will furnish a continual feast to his soul, and by faith he looks up, exclaiming with joy, "The Lord, my righteousness." The Youth's Instructor-DT- 05-18-1893 . "The new birth consists in having new motives, new tastes, new tendencies. Those who are begotten unto a new life by the Holy Spirit, have become partakers of the divine nature, and in all their habits and practices they will give evidence of their relationship to Christ. . . . ." Maranatha-CN- 229 "A new heart will I give you. This is a work that no finite man can do. Men and women are to begin at the beginning, seeking God most earnestly for a true Christian experience. They are to feel the creative power of the Holy Spirit. They are to receive the new heart, that is kept soft and tender by the grace of heaven. The selfish spirit is to be cleansed from the soul. (Letter 224, 1907).4BC-PG- 1165 I saw how this grace could be obtained. Go to your closet, and there alone plead with God: "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me" (Ps. 51:10). Be in earnest, be sincere. Fervent prayer availeth much. Jacob like, wrestle in prayer. Agonize. Jesus, in the garden, sweat great drops of blood; you must make an effort. Do not leave your closet until you feel strong in God; then watch, and just as long as you watch and pray you can keep these evil besetments under, and the grace of God can and will appear in you."- God's Amazing Grace-PG- 318 "One of the strongest evidences that the new birth has taken place is that the new-born soul is not self-centered" - The Signs of the Times-DT- 11-30-1891 By looking constantly to Jesus, from morn till eve, with the eye of faith, we shall be strengthened. ...They feed upon His word, for it is spirit and life. This word kills the natural, earthly nature, and a new life in Christ Jesus is created. "As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:12,13). This is the new birth. Like grass food kill weed and fertilizes grass ." New thoughts, new feelings, new motives, are implanted. A new standard of character is set up--the life of Christ. The mind is changed; the faculties are roused to action in new lines. Man is not endowed with new faculties, but the faculties he has are sanctified. The conscience is awakened. We are endowed with traits of character that enable us to do service for God." Christ Object Lesions pg. 98+99 New soft ware not new hard ware. The software is in the word of God /Nature / Spirit of prophecy - The Holy Spirit is the installer. Satan is the Virus maker and we avoid this virus by not down loading program that have not been checked for virus "All the faculties should be cultivated, all the powers of the mind exercised. Perception, judgment, memory, and all the reasoning powers should have equal strength in order to have a well-balanced mind. ." MR13 341+342 . When this mighty change has taken place in the sinner, he has passed from death unto life, from sin unto holiness, from transgression and rebellion to obedience and loyalty. The old life of alienation from God has ended; the new life of reconciliation, of faith and love, has begun. ." Psalm 119:97- The Great Controversy pg. 468 "Jesus has loved men, and has made every provision that the blood-bought soul shall have a new birth, a new life derived from His own life. . . . "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." Those who believe in Christ derive their motive power and the texture of their characters from Him in whom they believe." SD 299 - " There must be a new birth, a new mind through the operation of the Spirit of God, which purifies the life and ennobles the character. This connection with God fits man for the glorious kingdom of Heaven. No human invention can ever find a remedy for the sinning soul. Only by repentance and humiliation, a submission to the divine requirements, can the work of grace be performed. Iniquity is so offensive in the sight of God, whom the sinner has so long insulted and wronged, that a repentance commensurate with the character of the sins committed often produces an agony of spirit hard to bear." 2SP 132,133 "This new birth looks mysterious to Nicodemus. He asks, "How can these things be?" Jesus, bidding him marvel not, uses the wind as an illustration of his meaning. It is heard among the branches of the trees, and rustling the leaves and flowers, yet it is invisible to the eye, and from whence it comes and whither it goeth, no man knoweth. So is the experience of every one who is born of the Spirit. The mind is an invisible agent of God to produce tangible results. Its influence is powerful, and governs the actions of men. If purified from all evil, it is the motive power of good. The regenerating Spirit of God, taking possession of the mind, transforms the life; wicked thoughts are put away, evil deeds are renounced, love, peace, and humility take the place of anger, envy, and strife. That power which no human eye can see, has created a new being in the image of God. . . ." The Signs of the Times -DT- 11-15-1883 "Jesus has loved men, and has made every provision that the blood-bought soul shall have a new birth, a new life derived from His own life. . . . "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." Those who believe in Christ derive their motive power and the texture of their characters from Him in whom they believe." Son and Daughters of God pg. 299 Rev 14:8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. Babylon is that religious system that prevent the dead from receiving life. It does this by deception and confusion. "They grafted the truth into their natural hearts, and then went on as before, manifesting the same unhappy traits of character. What is now needed is the plain testimony borne in love from lips touched with living fire." - Reflecting Christ-pg.- 208 "There must be a new birth, a new mind through the operation of the Spirit of God, which purifies the life and ennobles the character. This connection with God fits man for the glorious kingdom of heaven. No human invention can ever find a remedy for the sinning soul." The Faith I Live By pg. 96 Babylon But let us consider, What reason has man to be puffed up? What reason has he to be proud
of his religion? He has nothing but that which he has received from God the Redeemer. "Is
not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my
power, and for the honor of my majesty?" The Lord heard the proud monarch, and
while the words were "in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O
king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. It is a system that promise the selfish hearted- "they can live forever". Jesus continued: "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." By nature the heart is evil, and "who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one." Job 14:4. No human invention can find a remedy for the sinning soul. "The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. "Rom. 8:7 " "The fountain of the heart must be purified before the streams can become pure. He who is trying to reach heaven by his own works in keeping the law is attempting an impossibility. There is no safety for one who has merely a legal religion, a form of godliness. The Christian's life is not a modification or improvement of the old, but a transformation of nature. There is a death to self and sin, and a new life altogether." Desire of Ages pg. 17 Evolution = improving that which is good by small steps Creation = Starting from dead stuff (Clay) or nothing and causing life . . "Pride and self-love resist the Spirit of God; every natural inclination of the soul opposes the change from self-importance and pride to the meekness and lowliness of Christ" The Faith I Live By-pg- 137 "This scripture points forward to a time when the announcement of the fall of Babylon, as made by the second angel of Revelation 14 (verse 8), is to be repeated, with the additional mention of the corruptions which have been entering the various organizations that constitute Babylon, since that message was first given, in the summer of 1844. A terrible condition of the religious world is here described. With every rejection of truth the minds of the people will become darker, their hearts more stubborn, until they are entrenched in an infidel hardihood. In defiance of the warnings which God has given, they will continue to trample upon one of the precepts of the Decalogue, until they are led to persecute those who hold it sacred. Christ is set at naught in the contempt placed upon His word and His people. As the teachings of spiritualism are accepted by the churches, the restraint imposed upon the carnal heart is removed, and the profession of religion will become a cloak to conceal the basest iniquity. A belief in spiritual manifestations opens the door to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, and thus the influence of evil angels will be felt in the churches." The Great Controversy pg. 604,604 A the freshly cut vine becomes dryer and deader with time, so is the description of Babylon and less and less of the residual life. A lesson from the conduct of the king of Babylon. As the enemy sought to make God-given light serve his own purposes, by leading the
king to work for his own glory instead of working for the glory of God, so he works
to-day to pervert truth in order to hinder God's purposes. Rev 14:9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, Rev 14:10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: Rev 14:11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Those who fail hear the first 2 Angles will worship the beast either by excepting there theology (evolution and amalgamation] (Forehead) or conforming to their demands and laws (hand). The whole world has heard the messages and have reacted in Four ways Mat 13:18 "Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower." understandeth it not Mat 13:20 "But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;" Mat 13:21 "Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended." offended Mat 13:22 "He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful." Fails to give up earthy treasure Mat 13:23 "But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty." It is said of herod after he killed John the Baptist "a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind: and thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life: in the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see." Deut. 28:65-67. The sinner's own thoughts are his accusers; and there can be no torture keener than the stings of a guilty conscience, which give him no rest day nor night. Desire of Ages pg. 223 "Oh God, the word is about to be pronounced: "He that is unjust, let him be
unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous,
let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still." Awful words
to hear, to those that are unready! This no rest day or night is referring to the condition of the wicked prior to the 2nd Coming and possibly to some prior to their close of probation. a last effort to bring to repentance. Rev 14:12 "Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. " "A glorious light then rested down upon these companies, to enlighten all who would receive it. Some of those who were in darkness received the light and rejoiced. Others resisted the light from heaven, saying that it was sent to lead them astray. The light passed away from them, and they were left in darkness. Those who had received the light from Jesus joyfully cherished the increase of precious light which was shed upon them. Their faces beamed with holy joy, while their gaze was directed upward to Jesus with intense interest, and their voices were heard in harmony with the voice of the angel, "Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come." As they raised this cry, I saw those who were in darkness thrusting them with side and with shoulder. Then many who cherished the sacred light, broke the cords which confined them and stood out separated from those companies. As they were doing this, men belonging to the different companies and revered by them passed through, some with pleasing words, and others with wrathful looks and threatening gestures, and fastened the cords which were weakening. These men were constantly saying, "God is with us. We stand in the light. We have the truth." I inquired who these men were, and was told that they were ministers and leading men who had rejected the light themselves, and were unwilling that others should receive it." Early Writings pg.240,241 No one sees the hand that lifts the burden, or beholds the light descend from the courts above. The blessing comes when by faith the soul surrenders itself to God. Then that power which no human eye can see creates a new being in the image of God. Desire of Ages pg. 17 Its mystery exceeds human knowledge; yet he who passes from death to life realizes that it is a divine reality. .... Its results reach through the eternal ages. Desire of Ages pg. 17 Not through controversy and discussion is the soul enlightened. We must look and live. Nicodemus received the lesson, and carried it with him. He searched the Scriptures in a new way, not for the discussion of a theory, but in order to receive life for the soul. He began to see the kingdom of heaven as he submitted himself to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Desire of Ages pg. 17
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