| Book of Daniel Now Unsealed for Study |
Today's Text:
But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. Daniel 12:4
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The Message:
There is need of a much closer study of the Word of God; especially should Daniel and the Revelation have attention as never before in the history of our work. We may have less to say in some lines, in regard to the Roman power and the papacy, but we should call attention to what the prophets and apostles have written under the inspiration of the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit has so shaped matters, both in the giving of the prophecy and in the events portrayed, as to teach that the human agent is to be kept out of sight, hid in Christ, and the Lord God of heaven and His law are to be exalted.
Read the book of Daniel. Call up, point by point, the history of the kingdoms there represented. Behold statesmen, councils, powerful armies, and see how God wrought to abase pride and lay human glory in the dust. God alone is represented as great. In the vision of the prophet He is seen casting down one mighty ruler and setting up another. He is revealed as the monarch of the universe, about to set up His everlasting kingdom-the Ancient of days, the living God, the Source of all wisdom, the Ruler of the present, the Revealer of the future. Read and understand how poor, how frail, how short-lived, how erring, how guilty, are man <in lifting up his soul unto vanity.>
The Holy Spirit, through Isaiah, points us to God, the living God, as the chief object of attention-to God as revealed in Christ. "Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." [Isaiah 9:6.]
The light that Daniel received direct from God was given especially for these last days. The visions he saw by the banks of the Ulai and the Hiddekel, the great rivers of Shinar, are now in process of fulfillment, and all the events foretold will soon have come to pass.
Consider the circumstances of the Jewish nation when the prophecies of Daniel were given. The Israelites were in captivity, their temple had been destroyed, their temple services suspended. Their religion had centered in the ceremonies of the sacrificial system. They had made the outward forms all-important, while they had lost the spirit of true worship. Their services were corrupted with the traditions and practices of heathenism, and in the performance of the sacrificial rites they did not look beyond the shadow to the substance. They did not discern Christ, the True Offering for the sins of men. The Lord wrought to bring the people into captivity, and to suspend the services of the temple, in order that the outward ceremonies might not become the sum total of their religion. Their principles and practices must be purged from heathenism, the ritual service ceased, in order that heart service might be revived. The outward glory was removed, that the spiritual might be revealed.
In the land of their captivity, as the people turned unto the Lord with repentance, He manifested Himself unto them. They lacked the outward representation of His presence, but the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness shone into their minds and hearts. When they called unto God in their humiliation and distress, visions were given to His prophets which unfolded the events of the future-the overthrow of the oppressors of God's people, the coming of the Redeemer, and the establishment of the everlasting kingdom.
In giving the light to His people, God did not work exclusively through any one class of persons. Daniel was a prince of Judah. Isaiah also was of the royal tribe. David was a shepherd boy, Amos a herdsman, Zechariah a captive from Babylon, Elisha a tiller of the soil. The Lord raised up as representative leaders the prophets and princes, the noble and the lowly, and by inspiration taught them truths to be given to His people.-Letter 57, 1896 (Manuscript Releases 16:333-335).
*Note: I have added in the parts that were left out by the compilers for what ever reason, that the true sentiment of the author may be seen.
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Commentary:
My friend, in these last days the book of Daniel is now unsealed that we may understand the messages that are given in them. Especially are we to study the 12th chapter of Daniel for it is for our time. The book of Daniel was opened to us at the end of the 2,300 day prophecy. From the time of 1844 unto now is the time of the end, and it is for us to study and to know the times that we are living in.
The book of Daniel along with the book of Revelation, open to us the issues that we are to face in the last days. Especially is true is the condition of the church from the apostolic time unto the second coming of Jesus. At the time of the great disappointment the Advent movement went from a great number of people to a small handful of believers overnight. From their disappointment they continued to study their Bibles and found that the time prophesied in Daniel was correct, but that their error was in the event that was to take place. Seeing now that it was the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary that was to take place and not the cleansing of the earth, they moved to establish the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
This time period in the book of Revelation is revealed to us as the Church of Philadelphia. "I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name." (Revelation 3:8). This church had no admonition from the Lord, but was a pure church, commended by God. The church of Philadelphia is the beginning of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It had come out of the Protestant movement and God restored in her the oracles of truth that had once been given to the apostolic church. The Spirit of Prophecy marked the blessing of God in this movement.
Today we are living in the time of the end, and the church that we are living under is the Church of Laodicea. A church whos spiritual condition is nauseating to God. They believe that they are rich and increased with goods and in need of nothing. Of this the Faithful and True Witness of God says "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:" (Revelation 3:15-17).
Though this is not an easy message to receive, this is the condition of the Seventh-day Adventist Church today. How is it that a church which was once pure and without fault before God becomes a church whos spiritual condition sickens the Lord? The answer to that question is found in the remedy proscribed by God. "I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see." (Revelation 3:18).
The remedy is the trying of our faith through persecution. They do not have the righteousness of Christ and they are blind to their spiritual condition before God. They do not have the righteousness of Christ because they have forsaken the One true God for the triune god of the trinity. In essence they have a false experience of righteousness by faith because they subscribe to the false doctrine of the trinity. It is false because it denies that Jesus is the literal Son of God, and in denying the Son it denies the Father as well. Of this the apostle John said "Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also."
This is evident in the following passage in Revelation 3:20 saying "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." Jesus is depicted as standing on the outside of the hearts of His people seeking to gain entrance. He is on the outside because the church has forsaken the One true God for the triune god of the trinity. As such their condition before God is "...wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." But while their condition before God is terrible, it is not without hope for He says "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent." (Revelation 3:19).
My friend, now is the time for us to study to show ourselves approved of God. It is time for us to zealously repent of our sins and turn away from the false god of the trinity and unto the One true God through His Son Jesus Christ.
May our eyes be opened that we may see our true condition before God, that we may zealously repent and be saved.
God bless,
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Video of the Week
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| The Law of Life - David Clayton |
A sermon from the 2018 Roan Mountain Camp Meeting
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