Plain Statements on the Character of God

When Cain killed Abel where did God say the curse to Cain would come from?

Gen 4:11  And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; 

Note: The consequences of Cain’s actions would come to him from the earth. The earth itself would cause problems for Cain.

What did the violence of Cain to His brother do?

Gen 4:10-12  And he said, What hast thou done? the voice [sound] of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.  (11)  And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;  (12)  When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.

Note: Cain’s violence caused the earth to be affected and it made the place where Cain to dwelt to feel unsafe in a way that caused him to stagger and shake in fear.

When the land becomes defiled with the sins of men what happens to the earth?

Lev 18:25  And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants. 

Isa 24:5-6  The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.  (6)  Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.

What brought the curse?

Gen 3:17,18  And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 

It is a wonderful and grand fact that in the laws of God in nature, effect follows cause with unerring certainty. The seed sown will produce a harvest of its kind. So it is in human nature. He that sows to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption. He who sows to the spirit shall of the spirit reap life everlasting. If human beings would consider that they are making their own harvest, they would be careful what seed they sow.--Ms 104, 1898.

Under the supposed wisdom of men, nature is placed where she becomes a destructive agency. The good things which were given to man only to bless him are converted into a curse. By the use of wine and liquor men become slaves to appetite. God does not interpose and work a miracle to convert evil into good; for He has laid all nature under His eternal laws. Let there be no peace to the wicked, He says. Let everything be at war with him. And nature responds, "There shall be none." If man takes himself in his own hands, to do with himself as he pleases, if he works against God and nature, his indulgences will become to him the instruments of death.  {3MR 344.2}

Gen 6:11-12  The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.  (12)  And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for [because] all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

Note: The earth was filled with the type of violence Cain did to Abel and also sexual perversion as described in Leviticus 18. This destroyed the earth and prepared it for complete destruction.

Rev 11:18  And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. 

Note: How did God destroy the earth? By allowing the earth which men destroyed to destroy them. To make the flood an event that God independently brought to man takes the responsibility for the destruction of the earth away from men and places it on God thus misrepresenting His character.

Did the Spirit of God come to the earth to destroy it or was the Spirit of God withdrawn from the earth and thus it was destroyed?

Because they rejected the warning, the Spirit of God was withdrawn from the sinful race, and they perished in the waters of the flood. EW 45.

Job 22:15-18  Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden?  (16)  Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood:  (17)  Which said unto God, Depart from us: and what can the Almighty do for them?  (18)  Yet he filled their houses with good things: but the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

Note: God withdrew from the earth and all the wickedness of man that had affected the earth destroyed everything.

Did God plan for Israel to take the land of Canaan by warfare?

They had distrusted the power of God to work with their efforts in gaining possession of Canaan; yet now they presumed upon their own strength to accomplish the work independent of divine aid. "We have sinned against the Lord," they cried; "we will go up and fight, according to all that the Lord our God commanded us." Deuteronomy 1:41. So terribly blinded had they become by transgression. The Lord had never commanded them to "go up and fight." It was not His purpose that they should gain the land by warfare, but by strict obedience to His commands.  {PP 392.3}

Why did Moses have to spend 40 years caring for sheep?

Not yet was Moses prepared for his lifework. He had yet to learn the lesson of dependence upon divine power. He had mistaken God's purpose. It was his hope to deliver Israel by force of arms. For this he risked all, and failed. In defeat and disappointment he became a fugitive and exile in a strange land.  {Ed 62.2} 

     In the wilds of Midian, Moses spent forty years as a keeper of sheep. Apparently cut off forever from his life's mission, he was receiving the discipline essential for its fulfillment. Wisdom to govern an ignorant and undisciplined multitude must be gained through self-mastery. In the care of the sheep and the tender lambs he must obtain the experience that would make him a faithful, long-suffering shepherd to Israel. That he might become a representative of God, he must learn of Him.  {Ed 62.3}

In the military schools of Egypt, Moses was taught the law of force, and so strong a hold did this teaching have upon his character that it required forty years of quiet and communion with God and nature to fit him for the leadership of Israel by the law of love. The same lesson Paul had to learn.  {Ed 65.2} 

What is the boundary line between God’s Mercy and His Justice?

But [from] those who have no sense of the goodness and mercy of God, [those] who refuse His merciful warnings, who reject His counsels to reach the highest standard of Bible requirements, who do despite to the Spirit of grace, the Lord would remove His protecting power. I was shown that Satan would entangle and then destroy, if he could, the souls he had tempted. God will bear long, but there is a bound to His mercy, a line which marks His mercy and His justice.  {14MR 2.4}  I was shown that the judgments of God would not come directly out from the Lord upon them, but in this way: They place themselves beyond His protection. He warns, corrects, reproves, and points out the only path of safety; then if those who have been the objects of His special care will follow their own course independent of the Spirit of God, after repeated warnings, if they choose their own way, then He does not commission His angels to prevent Satan's decided attacks upon them. 14MR 3

What did Jesus say about the use of the sword and what did Jesus look to for His defence?

Matt 26:52-53  Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.  (53)  Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?

What Does Jesus say about His servants fighting?

John 18:36  Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. 

Did Jesus change His mind about fighting?

Heb 13:8  Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. 

Mal 3:6  For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. 

How can we know exactly what God’s character is?

Exo 33:18  And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. 

The complete revelation of God’s character in word

Exo 34:5-7  And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.  (6)  And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,  (7)  Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

The complete revelation of God’s character in deed

The love and honor and perfection revealed in the Gospel are a revelation to man of the character of God. The justice and goodness and benevolence that were seen in the character of Christ are to be repeated in the lives of those who accept the privileges of the Gospel. By a study of the word, we are to see Him as He is, and, charmed with the view of His divine perfection, we are to grow into the same image. We need to understand that the Gospel fully reveals the glory of the Lord. It is the mirror that reveals the character of God to the converted soul. The likeness of God is revealed in the perfect character of His Son, that we may understand what it means to be made in the likeness of the image of God, and what we may become if by constantly beholding we allow ourselves to be changed from “glory to glory.” {ST February 24, 1909, par. 3}

All that man needs to know or can know of God has been revealed in the life and character of His Son.  {8T 286.1} 

Christ exalted the character of God, attributing to him the praise, and giving to him the credit, of the whole purpose of his own mission on earth,—to set men right through the revelation of God. In Christ was arrayed before men the paternal grace and the matchless perfections of the Father. In his prayer just before his crucifixion, he declared, “I have manifested thy name.” “I have glorified thee on the earth; I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.” When the object of his mission was attained,—the revelation of God to the world,—the Son of God announced that his work was accomplished, and that the character of the Father was made manifest to men. {ST January 20, 1890, par. 9}

Christ never killed anyone... Ms62-1886.64

Was there any overlap between the character of Christ and the character of Satan? Are there any similarities in dealing with problems?

 In stooping to take upon Himself humanity, Christ revealed a character the opposite of the character of Satan. DA 25

Who is the destroyer?

Satan is the destroyer, but Christ is the restorer. RH Nov 26, 1895

Who is the author of death?

Satan is the author of death. FW 73.

Is Christ the life, or life and death?

John 11:25  Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 

Is death the friend of God to defeat Satan or an enemy of God used by Satan to try to defeat God?

1 Cor 15:26  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 

Heb 2:14  Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 

What has Christ done to death?

2 Tim 1:10  But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel: 

Does Christ use His enemy which He has abolished to win the Great Controversy?

2 Cor 10:4  (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 

Are angels sent from heaven to kill people?

Angels are sent from the heavenly courts, not to destroy, but to watch over and guard imperiled souls, to save the lost, to bring the straying ones back to the fold. "I came not to condemn, but to save," Christ declared. RH May 10 1906

Does God Use force or fear to cause people to love Him?

1 John 4:18  There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. 

The earth was dark through misapprehension of God. That the gloomy shadows might be lightened, that the world might be brought back to God, Satan's deceptive power was to be broken. This could not be done by force. The exercise of force is contrary to the principles of God's government; He desires only the service of love; and love cannot be commanded; it cannot be won by force or authority. Only by love is love awakened. To know God is to love Him; His character must be manifested in contrast to the character of Satan. This work only one Being in all the universe could do. Only He who knew the height and depth of the love of God could make it known. Upon the world's dark night the Sun of Righteousness must rise, "with healing in His wings." Malachi 4:2.  {DA 22.1}

Force is the last resort of every false religion. ST May 6, 1897