11. Protection
In chapter one we noted the following
Apart from the direct blessings of joy, happiness and fellowship that flow to us through this divine pattern there is also the protective blessings that we can accrue through the channel. In each case, the one “through whom” things come, is under the protection and possesses the authority of the one “by whom things come”
We see this principle of protection operating in the divine pattern with Bible passages like:
Deut 32:11 As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings:
Ruth 2:12 The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.
The protection of the “By Whom” agent occurs as they honour, respect and obey the “Of Whom” source. We see how Naomi instructed Ruth to place herself at Boaz’s feet and then ask him to spread his skirt over her as a symbol of protection and provision.
Ruth 3:9 And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman.
In laying at Boaz’s feet, Ruth revealed the spirit of submission. She was inviting his protection and provision through the channel of blessing.
It is this principle of protection that will shield God’s people during the time of trouble. We have been that Psalms 91 has application to that time. (See Education page 181 for example) Let us consider parts of this Psalm and the protection given to God’s people.
Psa 91:1-2 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. (2) I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
As God’s people come into line with the divine pattern of submission through His delegated agencies, they find themselves coming under His shadow of protection. This is the secret place of all those who put their trust in Him.
Psa 91:3-4 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. (4) He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
The earth will soon be swept with disease, natural disasters and the violence of men. Many people’s hearts will fail for fear of these things coming on the earth. Only those who know the God of Israel and His Son will receive the protection of the Almighty.
I saw that Satan was at work in these ways to distract, deceive, and draw away God's people, just now in this sealing time. I saw some who were not standing stiffly for present truth. Their knees were trembling, and their feet sliding, because they were not firmly planted on the truth, and the covering of Almighty God could not be drawn over them while they were thus trembling. Satan was trying his every art to hold them where they were, until the sealing was past, until the covering was drawn over God's people, and they left without a shelter from the burning wrath of God, in the seven last plagues. God has begun to draw this covering over His people, and it will soon be drawn over all who are to have a shelter in the day of slaughter. Early Writings page 44.
We recall how the Jewish leaders in the time of Christ refused to believe on the Son of God. Because of their refusal to accept Him, they refused his protection and provision and they were left to the mercy of Rome.
Matt 23:37 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!
Let me state it clearly so that none will misunderstand:
The protection and provision of God both now and in the crisis just ahead will only be given to those who reverence His Son. He that Hath the Son, hath life.
The issue of whether we believe Jesus is truly the Son of God involves the question of protection and provision. This is not simply an academic discussion of theological disagreement. If we place ourselves under the banner of a being that God has not explicitly revealed to us in Scripture then we are placing ourselves outside of God’s protection and provision. A rejection of God’s Son is an automatic invitation for the wicked one to confuse our thinking, twist our minds, invade our homes, entice us to myriad of temptations and ultimately to end our lives. A rejection of the Son of God has invited Rome to invade us and control many of our activities as a church.
The strong man of the house of Adventism who is our Lord Jesus has been bound by Satan through the teachings of the Trinity within our church. He has now entered the house and is spoiling the members of the house.
Mat 12:29 Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.
In this verse Jesus speaks to the principle of protection and provision. In this case the situation is reversed where Satan is the strong man or protector and he is the one that needs binding to release those under his control.
With the release of the 1980 Fundamental statement concerning God, the Adventist Church stepped out from the direct protection and provision of the God of Israel. It is from this time that we have seen many events rock the church. One event that sticks clearly in my mind as an Australian is the night I heard that Lindy Chamberlain was convicted of murdering her baby daughter and their appeal that a dingo took the child was rejected. As a 14 year old boy I looked into the heavens and wondered “where are you God?” Why have you let this happen? Is there any connection between the rejection of God’s Son and His ability to protect His people? It was also around this time that a landslide of ministers rejected the Most Holy Place ministry of our Lord Jesus. This disaster had been building for the decade before the 1980’s even as the move to install the Trinitarian god upon the throne of Adventism. Yet this disaster did not fall upon us until after our church confessed this false god. What about the strange financial dealings that arose at this time as well as the open attack on Ellen White? Is there any connection between these events? Do we see that a layer of protection was stripped away from our church when we accepted the trinity formally in 1980? It was not long after 1980 that certain doors started opening for evangelism both in direct forms and also through satellite and TV ministries. Are we sure that the miracles that started to occur at this time have a heavenly source? Could Satan be allowed to work miracles for Adventists to convince them that God was still leading them when it was Satan himself that was now the leader? Have the very elect been deceived through these miracles that have placed “Adventist Programs” in millions of homes around the world?
As we recall the experience of Israel that we are repeating, I believe there are many lessons for us.
Num 21:5-6 And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. (6) And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.
If with all these tokens of His love the people still continued to complain, the Lord would withdraw His protection until they should be led to appreciate His merciful care, and return to Him with repentance and humiliation. Because they had been shielded by divine power they had not realized the countless dangers by which they were continually surrounded. In their ingratitude and unbelief they had anticipated death, and now the Lord permitted death to come upon them. The poisonous serpents that infested the wilderness were called fiery serpents, on account of the terrible effects produced by their sting, it causing violent inflammation and speedy death. As the protecting hand of God was removed from Israel, great numbers of the people were attacked by these venomous creatures. {PP 429.1}
Our God has given Adventism many tokens of his love and grace. He protected us from many of Satan’s attacks. But our people began to desire to be like the other protestant churches; many wanted to be educated like people in the world; we sought the accreditation standards of the world; we wearied of the 1888 teachings that Jesus truly was the Son of God and the Son of Man who took our flesh. Many of our people despised the health message and standards that were given us as a people and so when our church bowed before the trinity god in 1980, Adventism stepped out from under the protection of the God of Israel.
Brethren, I believe it is only the pleading of Jesus before His Father that has prevented many of our people from being swept away by Satan. Our Saviour knows that many of us bowed unknowingly before Baal in confusion. How many of us should have lost our lives in the last 30 year period? How much thanks and gratitude do we owe our Father for His long suffering and patience with our foolishness?
Dear Father, I pause to thank you for your mercy, your sweet mercy in not allowing us to be destroyed by the serpents that have come into our camp. I know that many have been bitten and are wounded; many have watched their children, family and friends succumb to the poison of the wicked one and turn their backs on the crucified Son of God. Oh Father, please forgive us and help us and heal us. Turn our hearts back to you and help us to see clearly the path that we must walk. We plead these things in Jesus name.
Brethren, I wondered for years why some of our leaders were letting so many evils come into our church and would seem to do nothing about it. Can we see that in accepting the trinity that the ability of God to guide our pastor’s minds is reduced and our leaders become exposed to doctrines of devils and they lose their ability to discern when Satan is stealing in upon us? Can we see that Satan has greater power to deceive our leaders because of the trinity and as he deceives them he then turns to those under their care and shows some of them what he is doing so they will rise up in anger against the leaders? We need to pray for our leaders that they will turn and look upon the Son of Man who was lifted up and be healed of their blindness. I confess I was blind for so long. I am ashamed to say that I believed in the trinity and I was reading so much Bible and Spirit of Prophecy and I just could not see that I was worshipping Baal.
I tried so hard to overcome my youthful desires for sports, appetite and keeping my mind pure, but without the protection of the Son of God within the context of the divine pattern, Satan just kept attacking me and his power over me was great and I would go into waves of despair and just feel I was never going to be saved.
It is on these issues that many Adventist pastors have been driven out of the Most Holy Place and have given up a belief that God’s people will stand without an intercession at the end of time. They start preaching “we will sin until Jesus comes” and all the people who are groaning under Adventist standards feel they are being set free from legalism when all they have done is retreated to the Holy Place where they can be breathed upon by Satan who has assumed a ministry there.
I confess that in coming back to the belief that Jesus is the Son of God, our family encountered a battering. Since I had bowed the knee to Baal as an Adventist minister, he was allowed to buffet me and my family for a period of time. This may happen for others as well, but our Father only allows these things for our character to learn to trust Him and to realise that every day that we have peace is only because of the mercy of God. I know that each day that I am able to write that I have the protection of our Father. I wish to thank many of you as readers who I know are praying. I don’t take these things for granted and I raise my heart in praise and thanks giving for our Father’s mercy and protection through Jesus – the Son of the Living God.
I just need to pause again and think about our mighty Saviour, Michael, Captain of the Lord’s host. Oh Lord Jesus, I throw myself at your feet and I plead with you to throw your skirt over my nakedness and take me into your care and protection. I know that I have sinned against heaven and earth and am no longer worthy to be called by your name, but I rest in the assurance of your Word.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
John 6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
Dear Father, please send the Spirit of your Son to protect us and our families. Please protect our leaders who are confused and blinded to the truth of your Son. Please send your angels to help them and bless them and show them the things you are showing us. We are no better than they are. We have sinned and worshipped Baal and are worthy of death even as they are. How I plead with you to speak to my fellow pastors. Lord Jesus I feel your love for them in my heart and I thank you for sharing this with me. Please Father, open the eyes of our leaders, we petition you to encourage them to let us worship your Son in the church that you established. Please erect the pole once again that we may gaze upon the Son of Man who was broken for us and truly died on Calvary, not just slept. Oh Father forgive is for degrading the atoning sacrifice of your Son and turning away from you. As Daniel prayed:
Dan 9:8-18 O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. (9) To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him; (10) Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. (11) Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. (12) And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. (13) As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth. (14) Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice. (15) And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. (16) O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem,[church Adventism] thy holy mountain: [channel of blessing]because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us. (17) Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, [through rejection of true Son of God, our priest] for the Lord's sake. (18) O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.
Brethren it is my prayer that you will join Daniel’s prayer knowing that our leaders have been blinded by a loss of protection from heaven. God has allowed a curse to fall upon our leaders so that the chief men; the mighty men of old like our pioneers have been taken away (See Isa 3:1,2) Let us pray that the leaders who have not yet determined to fight the truth about the Son of God will yet turn to Him and find protection.
Let us pray that the Spirit of Ruth will return to our leaders and that they will go and fall before the feet of our Kinsman redeemer and plead for him to place his protecting skirt over the nakedness of Adventism.
