| The Death Decree Against God's People |
Today's Text:
And the letters were sent by posts into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day. Esther 3:13
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The Message:
Satan will excite the indignation of apostate Christendom against the humble remnant who conscientiously refuse to accept false customs and traditions. Blinded by the prince of darkness, popular religionists will see only as he see, and feel as he feels. They will determine as he determines, and oppress as he has oppressed. Liberty of conscience, which has cost this nation so great a sacrifice, will no longer be respected. The church and the world will unite, and the world will lend to the church power to crush out the right of the people to worship according to His Word.
The decree that is to go forth against the people of God in the near future is in some respects similar to that issued by Ahasuerus against the Jews in the time of Esther. The Persian edict sprang from the malice of Haman toward Mordecai. Not that Mordecai had done Haman harm, but he had refused to flatter his vanity by showing him the reverence which belongs only to God. The king's decision against the Jews was secured under false pretenses, through a misrepresentation of that peculiar people. Satan instigated this scheme in order to rid the earth of those who preserved the knowledge of the true God. But his plots were defeated by a counter-power that reigns among the children of men. Angels that excel in strength were commissioned to protect the people of God, and the plots of their adversaries returned upon their own heads.
History repeats itself. The same masterful mind that plotted against the faithful in ages past is now at work to gain control of the fallen churches, that through them he may condemn and put to death all who will not worship the idol sabbath. We have not to battle with mortals, as it may appear. We war not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against wicked spirits in high places. But if the people of God will put their trust in Him and by faith rely upon His power, the devices of Satan will be defeated in our time as signally as in the days of Mordecai.
The decree is to go forth that all who will not receive the mark of the beast shall neither buy nor sell and, finally, that they shall be put to death. But the saints of God do not receive this mark. The prophet of Patmos beheld those who had gotten the victory over the beast and over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having the harps of God and singing the song of Moses and the Lamb.
To every soul will come the searching test, Shall I obey God rather than men? The decisive hour is even now at hand. Satan is putting forth his utmost efforts in the rage of a last despairing struggle against Christ and His followers. In this closing scene false teachers are employing every possible device to stimulate the hardened sinner in his rebellious daring, to confirm the questioning, the doubting, the unbelieving, and by misrepresentation and falsehood to deceive, if it were possible, the very elect. Who are prepared to stand firmly under the banner on which is inscribed, "The commandments of God and faith of Jesus"? [Revelation 14:12.]
Christ never purchased peace and friendship by compromise with evil. Though His heart overflowed with love toward the human race, He could not be indulgent to their sins. Because He loved them He was a stern reprover of their vices. The life of Jesus, the suffering which He endured from a perverse nation, demonstrate to His followers that there must be no sacrifice of principle. God's tried people must maintain continual watchfulness, with fervent prayer, lest in their eagerness to prevent discord, they surrender truth, and thus dishonor the God of truth. Peace is too dearly obtained if purchased by the smallest concession to Satan's agencies. The least surrender of principle entangles us in the snare of Satan.
Paul writes to the Romans, "If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men." But there is a point beyond which it is impossible to maintain union and harmony without the sacrifice of principle. Separation then becomes an absolute duty. The laws of nations should be respected when they do not conflict with the laws of God. But when there is collision between them, every true disciple of Christ will say, as did the apostle Peter when commanded to speak no more in the name of Jesus, "We ought to obey God rather than men."-Manuscript 51, 1899 (see also The Signs of the Times, November 8, 1899).
*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. These parts are underlined.
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Commentary:
My friend, there is coming a time when each of us will have to make a decision to stand true to God or to compromise with the world to escape persecution and privation. While this final decision is still a little way off, the decision that we will make then is in reality being made today. If we are compromising with the Word of God today, we will compromise when the mark is implemented upon the world.
The Jews in the time of Christ were so wrapped up in their rituals and traditions that they rejected the Son of God who had come to save them. In the same way the Seventh-day Adventist church has lost its way and has been deceived into embracing the traditions of man over the plain teachings of the Scriptures. Since the passing of our church pioneers, the church has been led little by little to accept the teachings of men over the Bible. In order to be accepted by the Christian world the church has staidly sympathized with the fallen churches and has been influenced by them. Today, the trinity, which was rejected by our pioneers, is now embraced by the church and we are in harmony with the Protestant world and with Rome.
The persecution that is to come upon the people of God will be manifested in the day we worship, but will ultimately be about who we worship. If we are worshiping God as a trinity, we will as readily receive the mark of the beast as will those who worship on Sunday. The trinity is a false representation of God and as such leads us to a false experience of righteousness by faith. Of this the warning from God is that we are "wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:" (Revelation 3:17). The church is in the Laodecian condition because it has forsaken the righteousness of Christ for the false righteousness of the trinity. The warning of the Faithful and True Witness must be heeded, least we be spewed out of His mouth.
For many in the church today, they have a false belief that the SDA church will not fall. Though they see the abominations that are coming into the church, they still hold on to the belief that God will not forsake His chosen people. This is the same position that the Jews held after they had killed the Son of God and were led into captivity at the destruction of Jerusalem. The same fate awaits the Seventh-day Adventist church when the mark of the beast is impressed upon the world.
My friend, the true church of God is not made up of a denomination, but by the presence of Christ in their midst. This is no longer true for the corporate SDA church today, for it has forsaken the One true God for the triune god of Babylon, and as such Christ is on the outside pleading with the hearts of His people. The message to us today is "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." (Revelation 18:4).
Since the church has aligned itself with the fallen daughters of Babylon it has become a daughter of Babylon, and will as readily receive the judgment of God as will the Mother of Harlots. The question that you must answer today is will you come out of Babylon or remain.
My prayer for you is that you will heed the warning of Jesus and come out of her today.
God bless,
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
The Trinity is the foundational teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, by it comes all of her doctrines, to include Sunday sacredness. While the Seventh-Day Adventist Church states that their trinity is different from the Catholic trinity, why does the Catholic Trinity look the same as the Seventh-day Adventist trinity?
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Video of the Week
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| Does God Change? - Pastor Allen Stump |
Does God Change? The question seems simple enough to answer when God says in Malachi 3:6, "I change not." However many people believe that God does change when it comes to the way he views the professed remnant. This message sustains God's position that he does not change!
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