Character Perfection and the Harvest
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Character Perfection and the HarvestDear [Contact.First Name], What is the event that causes the harvest of the righteous to take place?"When the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come." Christ is waiting with longing desire for the manifestation of Himself in His church. When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own. It is the privilege of every Christian not only to look for but to hasten the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, (2 Peter 3:12, margin). COL 69 It is the manifestation of the character of Christ in the hearts of men that triggers the harvest. The challenges and adversity of the final events do not trigger the events of the harvest, they simply accelerate the growth towards the harvest. But the seed which must sown in the hearts of men for them to be sealed is the character of God as manifested in His Son revealed to us on earth. This is the seed that must be planted. When the seed is planted and we have the absolute assurance that we are forgiven and that our Father does not condemn us then we will shine as the brightness of the firmament. Dan 12:3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. It is this revelation of the joy of forgiveness manifested in the hearts of God's children that a persecution leading to a death decree will take place. We see this principle in the life of Mary when she washed the feet of Jesus Matt 26:6-14 Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, (7) There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat. (8) But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste? (9) For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor. (10) When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me. (11) For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. (12) For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial. (13) Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her. (14) Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests,
Letters have come to me asking me if I have any special light as to the time when probation will close; and I answer that I have only this message to bear, that it is now time to work while the day lasts, for the night cometh in which no man can work. Now, just now, it is time for us to be watching, working, and waiting. The Word of the Lord reveals the fact that the end of all things is at hand, and its testimony is most decided that it is necessary for every soul to have the truth planted in the heart so that it will control the life and sanctify the character.1SM 191.2 The Spirit of the Lord is working to take the truth of the Inspired Word and stamp it upon the soul so that the professed followers of Christ will have a holy, sacred joy that they will be able to impart to others. The opportune time for us to work is now, just now, while the day lasts. But there is no command for anyone to search the Scriptures in order to ascertain, if possible, when probation will close. God has no such message for any mortal lips. He would have no mortal tongue declare that which He has hidden in His secret councils (RH Oct. 9, 1894). 1SM 192.1 God has not given anyone a message in regard to the close of probation. This is not the work of any human agency or mortal lips. Our work is to preach the loving, forgiving character of God as revealed in His Son and to preach the third angels message that reveals the Father and His Son, the manner of the judgment and the power of the Spirit as revealed in the Sabbaths, new moons and feasts. When this work is done, then the church - like Mary - will manifest the alabaster fragrance and this will trigger the final events. Any proclamation of final events without the seed of the non-violent, non-judgmental character of God cannot produce the fruit of agape - it can only produce the fruit of fear. But fear has torment. 1 John 4:19 Once again in regard to the excitement to reapply the prophetic time periods, inspiration clearly tells us The world placed all time-proclamation on the same level and called it a delusion, fanaticism and heresy. Ever since 1844 I have borne my testimony that we were now in a period of time in which we are to take heed to ourselves lest our hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon us unawares. Our position has been one of waiting and watching, with no time-proclamation to intervene between the close of the prophetic periods in 1844 and the time of our Lord's coming. We do not know the day nor the hour, or when the definite time is, and yet the prophetic reckoning shows us that Christ is at the door. {10MR 270.1} There is no time proclamation between 1844 and the second coming. The prophetic time periods finished in 1844. But what about the claim that we must study Daniel 12 as related to the 1335 and 1290? Here is the quote: The people of God need to study what characters they must form in order to pass through the test and proving of the last days. Many are living in spiritual weakness and backsliding. They know not what they believe. Let us read and study the twelfth chapter of Daniel. It is a warning that we shall all need to understand before the time of the end. There are ministers claiming to believe the truth who are not sanctified through the truth. Unless a change comes in their lives, they will say, "My Lord delayeth His coming." {15MR 228.2} (1903) The context of this quote is in relation to the characters that we must form. It says nothing about the 1290 or the 1335 days for in other places she clearly says that these time periods are ended. The Spirit of prophecy does not contradict itself. As she states, we need to study what characters we must have. Daniel 12 gives to us the certainty that Michael will stand up - meaning that He will cease His work of intercession for sin and this reveals what characters we need - we need to have the character of Christ manifested in us. We must study what that character is and how to receive it - this is the burden of our message for the world. The Spirit of prophecy indicates that the 1335 days are past not in the future. We told him [Brother H] of some of his errors in the past, that the 1335 days were ended, and numerous [other] errors of his.--Letter 28, 1850, pp. 1-3 Some take this statement to suggest the opposite but this does violence to the English and opposes what we know about what the pioneers believed. If the above quote suggests that the 1335 days were not ended then it should state: We told him [Brother H] of some of his errors in the past, such as that the 1335 days were ended,... But it does not say this and the fact that James and Ellen told this person about the 1335 days, we only need to look to the Review AFTER this event to see what James White believed. When did those days end? Evidences are conclusive that the 1335 days ended with the 2300, with the Midnight Cry in 1844. Then the angel [Rev.x,1-6] swore that time should be no longer. Time here cannot mean duration, as measured in months and years, for 1000 years are measured after this; but it must refer to prophetic time, which was the burden of the angel's message. As Daniel was to stand in his lot at the end of the days, we must conclude that the judgment of the righteous dead commenced at that time, and has been progressing more than twelve years. James White, RH January 29, 1857 Those who continue to seek to reapply these time periods are working at cross purposes with the pioneers and the Spirit of Prophecy. It is also clear that such messages work against the freedom from fear that comes with the truth about the character of God. Messages that suggest that our Father is arbitrary in deciding when people are cut off works against the idea that our Father is ever merciful. Psalms 100:5. Probation will most certainly close for as man judges he will be judged. From his own mouth will come the close of probation - "my iniquity is greater than can be forgiven." Gen 4:4 - margin. Then God will announce that he that is filthy let him be filthy still and he that is righteous let him be righteous still for this is in accordance with every man's own judgment. My appeal to all of God's children is to turn away from messages that present God in an arbitrary light, that work against the midnight cry and the Pioneer platform and against the Spirit of Prophecy. There is no light in reapplying the time prophecies nor in preaching a specific time for the close of probation. We have been warned. There is a time of trouble coming to the people of God, but we are not to keep that constantly before the people, and rein them up to have a time of trouble beforehand. There is to be a shaking among God's people, but this is not the present truth to carry to the churches.... {1SM 180.2} For those with itching ears this no doubt will stir up wrath but I have performed my duty to give the trumpet a certain sound. Let us look unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. Let us look to our own characters and seek the Holy Spirit to make us like Christ when He was here on earth. When the assurance of forgiveness of sins is ours then the son of perdition will accuse us and seek to betray Christ in the person of His saints to Rome. Adrian Ebens Maranatha Media New Books  The Cry of Sodom and GomorrahDeyan Delchev and Adrian Ebens The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is one of the key Bible stories used by people to show how God destroys those who persistently refuse to submit to Him. The fire that comes from Heaven is understood to be God Himself pouring forth a fury of Fire to end the lives of those miserable sinners that were a burden to themselves and a wicked influence in the world. What is the meaning of the words of Revelation in regard to Sodom? Rev 11:8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. How was Christ crucified in Sodom? Was it not the wicked men of Sodom who were destroyed in Sodom? Is it possible that many of us have fallen into the trap of thinking that Christ was smitten of God and afflicted in Sodom when it was Christ who was spiritually crucified there? "And they also which pierced Him." These words apply not only to the men who pierced Christ when He hung on the cross of Calvary, but to those who by evil-speaking and wrong-doing are piercing Him today. Daily He suffers the agonies of the crucifixion. Daily men and women are piercing Him by dishonoring Him, by refusing to do His will. {ST, January 28, 1903 par. 8} This story is important because it sets forth the example of what will happen at the end of the 1000 years for Sodom suffered the vengeance of eternal fire. (Jude 1:7)  The End of the WickedDeyan Delchev, Adrian Ebens and Danutasn Brown For those who believe in God it is almost universally reasoned that the only way to end sin is the stop the wicked dead in their tracks by bringing down a fiery stream fury from the heart of God to burn up the wicked and bring them to an end. It is often thought that the wicked are not simply going to destroy themselves and that if God is a God of justice He will punish transgressors and reward them for their evil according to their deeds by directly putting them into flames and burning them alive Himself. Would a loving God do this to His children? Would you burn your wayward children alive in flames and watch them scream in agony? Some people say that the only way to eradicate a cancer is to cut it out. The problem with this analogy is that you cut cancer out of a single person, the object is to save life not to destroy it. Some people say the wicked are like a dog with Rabies and the dog needs to be put to sleep. Do you then take the dog and slowly burn it on a fire for several days while it screams and howls in agony while the righteous cry – just a little more because you deserve it because of your wickedness? Is this really what is going to take place at the end? “Those who reject the mercy so freely proffered, will yet be made to know the worth of that which they have despised. They will feel the agony which Christ endured upon the cross to purchase redemption for all who would receive it. And they will then realize what they have lost—eternal life and the immortal inheritance.” RH Sept. 4, 1883 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. Isa 53:4  Missionary to the WorldDanutasn Brown In the lead up to 1844 the 2nd coming of Jesus was preached all over the world. One man, unconnected with the Miller-ite movement in the United States of America, was more influential in preaching the literal prophetic understand-ing of Daniel and Revelation than any other - Joseph Wolff - known in his time as "Missionary to the World," a moniker agreed to by Ellen White, who used it in her book The Great Controversy. Joseph Wolff preached in lands who hadn't heard the gospel preached in centuries. He spoke to kings and peasants, slave raiders and prostitutes. We have much to learn from him if we want to take the last message of mercy to a dying world.  Natural Justice and the AtonementThis booklet is a summary of much of the teachings we have been sharing over the past 12 months. The principles in this book change greatly our understanding of the atonement and magnify the love of God in the gift of His Son. It also directly addresses the command of God to slaughter men, women and babies in 1 Samuel 15:1-3. I encourage you to read this booklet and give it careful consideration. Passover 2019, April 19-27 Pastors, Bible Workers, Translators, Editors and Canvassers We say thank you for all our supporters in various parts of the world that help us get the joyous news of the Third's Angel's message out to the world. We ask for your prayers as we continue to advance the light of truth. We are very excited about the things we are learning and pray that you also will be blessed on this journey into a deeper knowledge of the Father and the Son.
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