Showing posts with label second coming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label second coming. Show all posts
Sunday, 10 April 2011
Devotional Life of God's End Time Church
A Twofold Life In this age, just prior to the second coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven, such a work as that of John [the Baptist] is to be done. God calls for men who will prepare a people to stand in the great day of the Lord. . . . In order to give such a message as John gave, we must have a spiritual experience like his. The same work must be wrought in us. We must behold God, and in beholding Him lose sight of self.--8T 332, 333 (1904). {LDE 63.1} Communion with God will ennoble the character and the life. Men will take knowledge of us, as of the first disciples, that we have been with Jesus. This will impart to the worker a power that nothing else can give. Of this power he must not allow himself to be deprived. We must live a twofold life--a life of thought and action, of silent prayer and earnest work.--MH 512 (1905). {LDE 63.2} Prayer and effort, effort and prayer, will be the business of your life. You must pray as though the efficiency and praise were all due to God, and labor as though duty were all your own.--4T 538 (1881). {LDE 63.3} No man is safe for a day or an hour without prayer.--GC 530 (1911). {LDE 64.1} He who does nothing but pray will soon cease to pray.--SC 101 (1892). {LDE 64.2} Firmly Rooted In Christ The storm is coming, the storm that will try every man’s faith of what sort it is. Believers must now be firmly rooted in Christ or else they will be led astray by some phase of error.--Ev 361, 362 (1905). {LDE 64.3} It would be well for us to spend a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ. We should take it point by point and let the imagination grasp each scene, especially the closing ones.--DA 83 (1898). {LDE 64.4} The only defense against evil is the indwelling of Christ in the heart through faith in His righteousness. Unless we become vitally connected with God, we can never resist the unhallowed effects of self-love, self-indulgence, and temptation to sin. We may leave off many bad habits, for the time we may part company with Satan; but without a vital connection with God, through the surrender of ourselves to Him moment by moment, we shall be overcome. Without a personal acquaintance with Christ, and a continual communion, we are at the mercy of the enemy, and shall do his bidding in the end.--DA 324 (1898). {LDE 64.5} Christ and Him crucified should be the theme of contemplation, of conversation, and of our most joyful emotion.--SC 103, 104 (1892). {LDE 65.1} Molded By The Holy Spirit Never will the human heart know happiness until it is submitted to be molded by the Spirit of God. The Spirit conforms the renewed soul to the model, Jesus Christ. Through its influence, enmity against God is changed into faith and love, and pride into humility. The soul perceives the beauty of truth, and Christ is honored in excellence and perfection of character.--OHC 152 (1896). {LDE 65.2} There is not an impulse of our nature, not a faculty of the mind or an inclination of the heart, but needs to be, moment by moment, under the control of the Spirit of God.--PP 421 (1890). {LDE 65.3} The Spirit illumines our darkness, informs our ignorance, and helps us in our manifold necessities. But the mind must be constantly going out after God. If worldliness is allowed to come in, if we have no desire to pray, no desire to commune with Him who is the source of strength and wisdom, the Spirit will not abide with us.--OHC 154 (1904). {LDE 65.4} The Necessity of Bible Study No renewed heart can be kept in a condition of sweetness without the daily application of the salt of [BEGIN P.66] the Word. Divine grace must be received daily, or no man will stay converted.--OHC 215 (1897). {LDE 65.5} Let your faith be substantiated by the Word of God. Grasp firmly the living testimony of truth. Have faith in Christ as a personal Saviour. He has been and ever will be our Rock of Ages.--Ev 362 (1905). {LDE 66.1} Christians should be preparing for what is soon to break upon the world as an overwhelming surprise, and this preparation they should make by diligently studying the Word of God and striving to conform their lives to its precepts.--PK 626 (c. 1914). {LDE 66.2} None but those who have fortified the mind with the Bible truths will stand through the last great conflict.--GC 593, 594 (1911). {LDE 66.3} Only those who have been diligent students of the Scriptures and who have received the love of the truth will be shielded from the powerful delusion that takes the world captive.--GC 625 (1911). {LDE 66.4} Our people need to understand the oracles of God; they need to have a systematic knowledge of the principles of revealed truth, which will fit them for what is coming upon the earth and prevent them from being carried about by every wind of doctrine.--5T 273 (1885). {LDE 66.5} Commit Scripture to Memory Several times each day precious, golden moments [BEGIN P.67] should be consecrated to prayer and the study of the Scriptures, if it is only to commit a text to memory, that spiritual life may exist in the soul.--4T 459 (1880). {LDE 66.6} God’s precious Word is the standard for youth who would be loyal to the King of heaven. Let them study the Scriptures. Let them commit text after text to memory and acquire a knowledge of what the Lord has said.--ML 315 (1887). {LDE 67.1} Build a wall of scriptures around you, and you will see that the world cannot break it down. Commit the Scriptures to memory, and then throw right back upon Satan when he comes with his temptations, "It is written." This is the way that our Lord met the temptations of Satan, and resisted them.--RH April 10, 1888. {LDE 67.2} Hang in memory’s hall the precious words of Christ. They are to be valued far above silver or gold.--6T 81 (1900). {LDE 67.3} Keep a pocket Bible with you as you work, and improve every opportunity to commit to memory its precious promises.--RH April 27, 1905. {LDE 67.4} The time will come when many will be deprived of the written Word. But if this Word is printed in the memory, no one can take it from us.--20MR 64 (1906). {LDE 67.5} Study the Word of God. Commit its precious promises to memory so that, when we shall be deprived of [BEGIN P.68] our Bibles, we may still be in possession of the Word of God.--10MR 298 (1909). {LDE 67.6} Revelation 14 an Anchor to God’s People In these last days it is our duty to ascertain the full meaning of the first, second, and third angels’ messages. (Three Angels Message) All our transactions should be in accordance with the Word of God. The first, second, and third angels’ messages are all united and are revealed in the fourteenth chapter of Revelation from the sixth verse to the close.--13MR 68 (1896). {LDE 68.1} Many who embraced the third message had not had an experience in the two former messages. Satan understood this, and his evil eye was upon them to overthrow them; but the third angel was pointing them to the most holy place, and those who had an experience in the past messages were pointing them the way to the heavenly sanctuary. Many saw the perfect chain of truth in the angels’ messages and gladly received them in their order, and followed Jesus by faith into the heavenly sanctuary. These messages were represented to me as an anchor to the people of God. Those who understand and receive them will be kept from being swept away by the many delusions of Satan.--EW 256 (1858). {LDE 68.2} Preparation for Future Trials The servants of Christ are to prepare no set speech to present when brought to trial for their faith. Their preparation is to be made day by day, in treasuring up in their hearts the precious truths of God’s Word, in feeding upon the teaching of Christ, and through prayer strengthening their faith; then, when brought into trial, the Holy Spirit will bring to their remembrance the very truths that will reach the hearts of those who shall come to hear. God will flash the knowledge obtained by diligent searching of the Scriptures into their memory at the very time when it is needed.--CSW 40, 41 (1900). {LDE 69.2} When the time of trial shall come there are men now preaching to others who will find, upon examining the positions they hold, that there are many things for which they can give no satisfactory reason. Until thus tested they knew not their great ignorance. And there are many in the church who take it for granted that they understand what they believe, but, until controversy arises, they do not know their own weakness. When separated from those of like faith and compelled to stand singly and alone to explain their belief, they will be surprised to see how confused are their ideas of what they had accepted as truth.--5T 707 (1889). {LDE 70.1} The Example of Enoch Enoch walked with God three hundred years previous to his translation to heaven, and the state of the world was not then more favorable for the perfection of Christian character than it is today. And how did Enoch walk with God? He educated his mind and heart to ever feel that he was in the presence of God, and when in perplexity his prayers would ascend to God to keep him. {LDE 71.1} He refused to take any course that would offend his God. He kept the Lord continually before him. He would pray, "Teach me Thy way, that I may not err. What is Thy pleasure concerning me? What shall I do to honor Thee, my God?" Thus he was constantly shaping his way and course in accordance with God’s commandments, and he had perfect confidence and trust in his heavenly Father, that He would help him. He had no thought or will of his own. It was all submerged in the will of his Father. {LDE 71.2} Now Enoch was a representative of those who will be upon the earth when Christ shall come, who will be translated to heaven without seeing death.--1SAT 32 (1886). {LDE 71.3} Enoch had temptations as well as we. He was surrounded with society no more friendly to righteousness than is that which surrounds us. The atmosphere he [BEGIN P.72] breathed was tainted with sin and corruption the same as ours, yet he lived a life of holiness. He was unsullied with the prevailing sins of the age in which he lived. So may we remain pure and uncorrupted.--2T 122 (1868). {LDE 71.4} Living With Reference to the Judgment Day I have questioned in my mind, as I have seen the people in our cities hurrying to and fro with business, whether they ever thought of the day of God that is just upon us. Every one of us should be living with reference to the great day which is soon to come upon us.--1SAT 25 (1886). {LDE 73.2} We cannot afford to live with no reference to the day of judgment; for though long delayed, it is now near, even at the door, and hasteth greatly. The trumpet of the Archangel will soon startle the living and wake the dead.--CG 560, 561 (1892). {LDE 73.3} Ready for Christ’s Return If we find no pleasure now in the contemplation of heavenly things; if we have no interest in seeking the knowledge of God, no delight in beholding the character of Christ; if holiness has no attractions for us--then we may be sure that our hope of heaven is vain. Perfect conformity to the will of God is the high aim to [BEGIN P.74] be constantly before the Christian. He will love to talk of God, of Jesus, of the home of bliss and purity which Christ has prepared for them that love Him. The contemplation of these themes, when the soul feasts upon the blessed assurances of God, the apostle represents as tasting "the powers of the world to come."--5T 745 (1889). {LDE 73.4} If you are right with God today, you are ready if Christ should come today.--HP 227 (1891). {LDE 74.1} White, Ellen Gould: Last Day Events. Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1992; 2002, S. 73
Friday, 18 February 2011
Signs of the Soon Return of Christ Jesus
Christ forewarned His disciples of the destruction of Jerusalem and the signs to take place prior to the coming of the Son of man. The whole of the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew is a prophecy concerning the events to precede this event, and the destruction of Jerusalem is used to typify the last great destruction of the world by fire.--Ms 77, 1899. {LDE 18.1}
Christ upon the Mount of Olives rehearsed the fearful judgments that were to precede His second coming: "Ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: . . . Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows" [Matt. 24:6-8]. While these prophecies received a partial fulfillment at the destruction of Jerusalem, they have a more direct application in the last days.--5T 753 (1899). {LDE 18.2}
Signs in the Heavens
At the close of the great papal persecution, Christ declared, the sun should be darkened, and the moon should not give her light. Next, the stars should fall from heaven. And He says, "Learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that He is near, even at the doors" (Matt. 24:32, 33, margin). {LDE 19.1}
Christ has given signs of His coming. He declares that we may know when He is near, even at the doors. He says of those who see these signs, "This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." These signs have appeared. [SEE THE GREAT CONTROVERSY, PP. 306-308, 333, 334.] Now we know of a surety that the Lord’s coming is at hand.--DA 632 (1898). {LDE 19.2}
Signs on the Earth
Jesus declares: "There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations" (Luke 21:25; Matt. 24:29; Mark 13:24-26; Rev. 6:12-17). Those who behold these harbingers of His coming are to "know that it is near, even at the doors" (Matt. 24:33).--GC 37, 38 (1911). {LDE 19.3}
The nations are in unrest. Times of perplexity are upon us. Men’s hearts are failing them for fear of the things that are coming upon the earth. But those who believe in God will hear His voice amid the storm, saying, "It is I; be not afraid."--ST Oct. 9, 1901. {LDE 19.4}
Strange and eventful history is being recorded in the books of heaven--events which it was declared should shortly precede the great day of God. Everything in the world is in an unsettled state.--3MR 313 (1908). {LDE 20.1}
False Prophets
As one of the signs of Jerusalem’s destruction, Christ had said, "Many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many" [Matt. 24:11]. False prophets did rise, deceiving the people and leading great numbers into the desert. Magicians and sorcerers, claiming miraculous power, drew the people after them into the mountain solitudes. But this prophecy was spoken also for the last days. This sign is given as a sign of the second advent.--DA 631 (1898). {LDE 20.2}
We shall encounter false claims, false prophets will arise, there will be false dreams and false visions, but preach the Word; be not drawn away from the voice of God in His Word.--2SM 49 (1894). {LDE 20.3}
I have been shown many who will claim to be especially taught of God, and will attempt to lead others, and from mistaken ideas of duty they will undertake a work that God has never laid upon them. Confusion will be the result. Let everyone seek God most earnestly for himself that he may individually understand His will.--2SM 72 (1893). {LDE 20.4}
Gluttony and Intemperance
Gluttony and intemperance lie at the foundation of the great moral depravity in our world. Satan is aware of this and he is constantly tempting men and women to indulge the taste at the expense of health and even life itself. Eating, drinking, and dressing are made the aim of life with the world. Just such a state of things existed before the Flood. And this state of dissipation is one of the marked evidences of the soon close of this earth’s history.--Letter 34, 1875. {LDE 22.2}
The picture which Inspiration has given of the antediluvian world represents too truly the condition to which modern society is fast hastening.--PP 102 (1890). {LDE 22.3}
We know that the Lord is coming very soon. The world is fast becoming as it was in the days of Noah. It is given over to selfish indulgence. Eating and drinking are carried to excess. Men are drinking the poisonous liquor that makes them mad.--Letter 308, 1907. {LDE 23.1}
Deeds of Violence
In the days of Noah the overwhelming majority was opposed to the truth, and enamored with a tissue of falsehoods. The land was filled with violence. War, crime, murder, was the order of the day. Just so will it be before Christ’s second coming.--1BC 1090 (1891). {LDE 23.2}
The labor unions are quickly stirred to violence if their demands are not complied with. Plainer and plainer is it becoming that the inhabitants of the world are not in harmony with God. No scientific theory can explain the steady march of evil workers under the generalship of Satan. In every mob wicked angels are at work, rousing men to commit deeds of violence. . . . {LDE 23.3}
The perversity and cruelty of men will reach such a height that God will reveal Himself in His majesty. Very soon the wickedness of the world will have reached its limit and, as in the days of Noah, God will pour out His judgments.--UL 334 (1903). {LDE 23.4}
The terrible reports we hear of murders and robberies, of railway accidents and deeds of violence, tell the story that the end of all things is at hand. Now, just now, we need to be preparing for the Lord’s second coming.--Letter 308, 1907. {LDE 23.5}
Wars and Disasters
The tempest is coming and we must get ready for its fury by having repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord will arise to shake terribly the earth. We shall see troubles on all sides. Thousands of ships will be hurled into the depths of the sea. Navies will go down, and human lives will be sacrificed by millions. Fires will break out unexpectedly and no human effort will be able to quench them. The palaces of earth will be swept away in the fury of the flames. Disasters by rail will become more and more frequent. Confusion, collision, and death without a moment’s warning will occur on the great lines of travel. The end is near, probation is closing. Oh, let us seek God while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near!--MYP 89, 90 (1890). {LDE 24.1}
In the last scenes of this earth’s history war will rage. There will be pestilence, plague and famine. The waters of the deep will overflow their boundaries. Property and life will be destroyed by fire and flood. We should be preparing for the mansions that Christ has gone to prepare for them that love Him.--Mar 174 (1897). {LDE 24.2}
Earthquakes and Floods
The enemy has worked, and he is working still. He is come down in great power, and the Spirit of God is being withdrawn from the earth. God has withdrawn His hand. We have only to look at Johnstown [Pennsylvania]. He did not prevent the devil from wiping that whole city out of existence. [ON MAY 31, 1889, AN ESTIMATED 2,200 PEOPLE LOST THEIR LIVES IN THE JOHNSTOWN FLOOD WHEN A DAM BROKE AFTER MANY DAYS OF HEAVY RAINS.] And these very things will increase until the close of this earth’s history.--1SAT 109 (1889). {LDE 25.2}
The earth’s crust will be rent by the outbursts of the elements concealed in the bowels of the earth. These elements, once broken loose, will sweep away the treasures of those who for years have been adding to [BEGIN P.26] their wealth by securing large possessions at starvation prices from those in their employ. And the religious world, too, is to be terribly shaken, for the end of all things is at hand.--3MR 208 (1891). {LDE 25.3}
The time is now come when one moment we may be on solid earth, the next the earth may be heaving beneath our feet. Earthquakes will take place when least expected.--TM 421 (1896). {LDE 26.1}
In fires, in floods, in earthquakes, in the fury of the great deep, in calamities by sea and by land, the warning is given that God’s Spirit will not always strive with men.--3MR 315 (1897). {LDE 26.2}
Before the Son of man appears in the clouds of heaven everything in nature will be convulsed. Lightning from heaven uniting with the fire in the earth will cause the mountains to burn like a furnace and pour out their floods of lava over villages and cities. Molten masses of rock thrown into the water by the upheaval of things hidden in the earth will cause the water to boil and send forth rocks and earth. There will be mighty earthquakes and great destruction of human life.--7BC 946 (1907). {LDE 26.3}
Crime, Famines, Pestilence
Satan is working in the atmosphere; he is poisoning the atmosphere, and here we are dependent upon God for our lives--our present and eternal lives. And being in the position that we are, we need to be wide awake, wholly devoted, wholly converted, wholly consecrated [BEGIN P.27] to God. But we seem to sit as though we were paralyzed. God of heaven, wake us up!--2SM 52 (1890). {LDE 26.4}
God has not restrained the powers of darkness from carrying forward their deadly work of vitiating the air, one of the sources of life and nutrition, with a deadly miasma. Not only is vegetable life affected but man suffers from pestilence. . . . These things are the result of drops from the vials of God’s wrath [GOD TAKES RESPONSIBILITY FOR THAT WHICH HE ALLOWS OR DOES NOT PREVENT. SEE EXODUS 7:3; 8:32; 1 CHRONICLES 10:4, 13, 14.] being sprinkled on the earth, and are but faint representations of what will be in the near future.--3SM 391 (1891). {LDE 27.1}
Famines will increase. Pestilences will sweep away thousands. Dangers are all around us from the powers without and satanic workings within, but the restraining power of God is now being exercised.--19MR 382 (1897). {LDE 27.2} See the Signs of the End Times from the Bible for more evidence of these things.
I have been shown that the Spirit of the Lord is being withdrawn from the earth. God’s keeping power will soon be refused to all who continue to disregard His commandments. The reports of fraudulent transactions, murders, and crimes of every kind are coming to us daily. Iniquity is becoming so common a thing that it no longer shocks the senses as it once did.--Letter 258, 1907. {LDE 27.3}
God’s Purpose in Calamities
What mean the awful calamities by sea--vessels hurled into eternity without a moment’s warning? [BEGIN P.28] What mean the accidents by land--fire consuming the riches that men have hoarded, much of which has been accumulated by oppression of the poor? The Lord will not interfere to protect the property of those who transgress His law, break His covenant, and trample upon His Sabbath, accepting in its place a spurious rest day. {LDE 27.4}
The plagues of God are already falling upon the earth, sweeping away the most costly structures as if by a breath of fire from heaven. Will not these judgments bring professing Christians to their senses? God permits them to come that the world may take heed, that sinners may be afraid and tremble before Him.--3MR 311 (1902). {LDE 28.1}
God has a purpose in permitting these calamities to occur. They are one of His means of calling men and women to their senses. By unusual workings through nature God will express to doubting human agencies that which He clearly reveals in His Word.--19MR 279 (1902). {LDE 28.2}
How frequently we hear of earthquakes and tornadoes, of destruction by fire and flood, with great loss of life and property! Apparently these calamities are capricious outbreaks of disorganized, unregulated forces of nature, wholly beyond the control of man, but in them all God’s purpose may be read. They are among the agencies by which He seeks to arouse men and women to a sense of their danger.--PK 277 (c. 1914). {LDE 28.3}
Coming Events Are in the Hands of the Lord
The world is not without a ruler. The program of coming events is in the hands of the Lord. The Majesty of heaven has the destiny of nations as well as the concerns of His church in His own charge.--5T 753 (1889). {LDE 29.1}
These symbolical representations [the fiery serpents in the wilderness] serve a double purpose. From them God’s people learn not only that the physical forces of the earth are under the control of the Creator, but also that under His control are the religious movements of the nations. Especially is this true with reference to the enforcement of Sunday observance.--19MR 281 (1902). {LDE 29.2}
In the great closing work we shall meet with perplexities that we know not how to deal with, but let us not forget that the three great Powers of heaven are working, that a divine hand is on the wheel, and that God will bring His purposes to pass.--Ev 65 (1902). {LDE 29.3}
As the wheel-like complications were under the guidance of the hand beneath the wings of the cherubim, so the complicated play of human events is under divine control. Amidst the strife and tumult of nations, He that sitteth above the cherubim still guides the affairs of the earth. [SEE EZEKIEL 1:4, 26; 10:8; DANIEL 4:17, 25, 32.]--Ed 178 (1903). {LDE 29.4}
In the annals of human history, the growth of nations, the rise and fall of empires, appear as if [BEGIN P.30] dependent on the will and prowess of man; the shaping of events seems, to a great degree, to be determined by his power, ambition, or caprice. But in the Word of God the curtain is drawn aside, and we behold, above, behind, and through all the play and counterplay of human interest and power and passions, the agencies of the All-merciful One, silently, patiently working out the counsels of His own will.--PK 499, 500 (c. 1914). {LDE 29.5}
Heaven’s Regard for Earth’s Affairs
In sparing the life of the first murderer, God presented before the whole universe a lesson bearing upon the great controversy. . . . It was His purpose, not merely to put down the rebellion, but to demonstrate to all the universe the nature of rebellion. . . .The holy inhabitants of other worlds were watching with the deepest interest the events taking place on the earth. . . . {LDE 30.1}
God carries with Him the sympathy and approval of the whole universe as step by step His great plan advances to its complete fulfillment.--PP 78, 79 (1890). {LDE 30.2}
The act of Christ in dying for the salvation of man would not only make heaven accessible to men, but before all the universe it would justify God and His son in their dealing with the rebellion of Satan.--PP 68, 69 (1890). {LDE 30.3}
The whole universe is watching with inexpressible interest the closing scenes of the great controversy between good and evil.--PK 148 (c. 1914). {LDE 30.4}
Our little world is the lesson book of the universe.--DA 19 (1898). [ELLEN WHITE STATES THAT THE UNFALLEN WORLDS AND THE HEAVENLY ANGELS WATCHED CHRIST’S STRUGGLE IN GETHSEMANE "WITH INTENSE INTEREST" (DA 693). IN DISCUSSING CHRIST’S FOUR-THOUSAND-YEAR BATTLE WITH SATAN AND HIS ULTIMATE VICTORY ON THE CROSS SHE USES SUCH PHRASES AS "THE HEAVENLY UNIVERSE BEHELD," "ALL HEAVEN AND THE UNFALLEN WORLDS HAD BEEN WITNESSES," "THEY HEARD," "THEY SAW," "HEAVEN VIEWED," "WHAT A SIGHT FOR THE HEAVENLY UNIVERSE!" SEE THE DESIRE OF AGES, PP. 693, 759, 760.] {LDE 31.1}
(White, Ellen Gould: Last Day Events. Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1992; 2002, S. 18)
Christ upon the Mount of Olives rehearsed the fearful judgments that were to precede His second coming: "Ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: . . . Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows" [Matt. 24:6-8]. While these prophecies received a partial fulfillment at the destruction of Jerusalem, they have a more direct application in the last days.--5T 753 (1899). {LDE 18.2}
Signs in the Heavens
At the close of the great papal persecution, Christ declared, the sun should be darkened, and the moon should not give her light. Next, the stars should fall from heaven. And He says, "Learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that He is near, even at the doors" (Matt. 24:32, 33, margin). {LDE 19.1}
Christ has given signs of His coming. He declares that we may know when He is near, even at the doors. He says of those who see these signs, "This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." These signs have appeared. [SEE THE GREAT CONTROVERSY, PP. 306-308, 333, 334.] Now we know of a surety that the Lord’s coming is at hand.--DA 632 (1898). {LDE 19.2}
Signs on the Earth
Jesus declares: "There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations" (Luke 21:25; Matt. 24:29; Mark 13:24-26; Rev. 6:12-17). Those who behold these harbingers of His coming are to "know that it is near, even at the doors" (Matt. 24:33).--GC 37, 38 (1911). {LDE 19.3}
The nations are in unrest. Times of perplexity are upon us. Men’s hearts are failing them for fear of the things that are coming upon the earth. But those who believe in God will hear His voice amid the storm, saying, "It is I; be not afraid."--ST Oct. 9, 1901. {LDE 19.4}
Strange and eventful history is being recorded in the books of heaven--events which it was declared should shortly precede the great day of God. Everything in the world is in an unsettled state.--3MR 313 (1908). {LDE 20.1}
False Prophets
As one of the signs of Jerusalem’s destruction, Christ had said, "Many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many" [Matt. 24:11]. False prophets did rise, deceiving the people and leading great numbers into the desert. Magicians and sorcerers, claiming miraculous power, drew the people after them into the mountain solitudes. But this prophecy was spoken also for the last days. This sign is given as a sign of the second advent.--DA 631 (1898). {LDE 20.2}
We shall encounter false claims, false prophets will arise, there will be false dreams and false visions, but preach the Word; be not drawn away from the voice of God in His Word.--2SM 49 (1894). {LDE 20.3}
I have been shown many who will claim to be especially taught of God, and will attempt to lead others, and from mistaken ideas of duty they will undertake a work that God has never laid upon them. Confusion will be the result. Let everyone seek God most earnestly for himself that he may individually understand His will.--2SM 72 (1893). {LDE 20.4}
Gluttony and Intemperance
Gluttony and intemperance lie at the foundation of the great moral depravity in our world. Satan is aware of this and he is constantly tempting men and women to indulge the taste at the expense of health and even life itself. Eating, drinking, and dressing are made the aim of life with the world. Just such a state of things existed before the Flood. And this state of dissipation is one of the marked evidences of the soon close of this earth’s history.--Letter 34, 1875. {LDE 22.2}
The picture which Inspiration has given of the antediluvian world represents too truly the condition to which modern society is fast hastening.--PP 102 (1890). {LDE 22.3}
We know that the Lord is coming very soon. The world is fast becoming as it was in the days of Noah. It is given over to selfish indulgence. Eating and drinking are carried to excess. Men are drinking the poisonous liquor that makes them mad.--Letter 308, 1907. {LDE 23.1}
Deeds of Violence
In the days of Noah the overwhelming majority was opposed to the truth, and enamored with a tissue of falsehoods. The land was filled with violence. War, crime, murder, was the order of the day. Just so will it be before Christ’s second coming.--1BC 1090 (1891). {LDE 23.2}
The labor unions are quickly stirred to violence if their demands are not complied with. Plainer and plainer is it becoming that the inhabitants of the world are not in harmony with God. No scientific theory can explain the steady march of evil workers under the generalship of Satan. In every mob wicked angels are at work, rousing men to commit deeds of violence. . . . {LDE 23.3}
The perversity and cruelty of men will reach such a height that God will reveal Himself in His majesty. Very soon the wickedness of the world will have reached its limit and, as in the days of Noah, God will pour out His judgments.--UL 334 (1903). {LDE 23.4}
The terrible reports we hear of murders and robberies, of railway accidents and deeds of violence, tell the story that the end of all things is at hand. Now, just now, we need to be preparing for the Lord’s second coming.--Letter 308, 1907. {LDE 23.5}
Wars and Disasters
The tempest is coming and we must get ready for its fury by having repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord will arise to shake terribly the earth. We shall see troubles on all sides. Thousands of ships will be hurled into the depths of the sea. Navies will go down, and human lives will be sacrificed by millions. Fires will break out unexpectedly and no human effort will be able to quench them. The palaces of earth will be swept away in the fury of the flames. Disasters by rail will become more and more frequent. Confusion, collision, and death without a moment’s warning will occur on the great lines of travel. The end is near, probation is closing. Oh, let us seek God while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near!--MYP 89, 90 (1890). {LDE 24.1}
In the last scenes of this earth’s history war will rage. There will be pestilence, plague and famine. The waters of the deep will overflow their boundaries. Property and life will be destroyed by fire and flood. We should be preparing for the mansions that Christ has gone to prepare for them that love Him.--Mar 174 (1897). {LDE 24.2}
Earthquakes and Floods
The enemy has worked, and he is working still. He is come down in great power, and the Spirit of God is being withdrawn from the earth. God has withdrawn His hand. We have only to look at Johnstown [Pennsylvania]. He did not prevent the devil from wiping that whole city out of existence. [ON MAY 31, 1889, AN ESTIMATED 2,200 PEOPLE LOST THEIR LIVES IN THE JOHNSTOWN FLOOD WHEN A DAM BROKE AFTER MANY DAYS OF HEAVY RAINS.] And these very things will increase until the close of this earth’s history.--1SAT 109 (1889). {LDE 25.2}
The earth’s crust will be rent by the outbursts of the elements concealed in the bowels of the earth. These elements, once broken loose, will sweep away the treasures of those who for years have been adding to [BEGIN P.26] their wealth by securing large possessions at starvation prices from those in their employ. And the religious world, too, is to be terribly shaken, for the end of all things is at hand.--3MR 208 (1891). {LDE 25.3}
The time is now come when one moment we may be on solid earth, the next the earth may be heaving beneath our feet. Earthquakes will take place when least expected.--TM 421 (1896). {LDE 26.1}
In fires, in floods, in earthquakes, in the fury of the great deep, in calamities by sea and by land, the warning is given that God’s Spirit will not always strive with men.--3MR 315 (1897). {LDE 26.2}
Before the Son of man appears in the clouds of heaven everything in nature will be convulsed. Lightning from heaven uniting with the fire in the earth will cause the mountains to burn like a furnace and pour out their floods of lava over villages and cities. Molten masses of rock thrown into the water by the upheaval of things hidden in the earth will cause the water to boil and send forth rocks and earth. There will be mighty earthquakes and great destruction of human life.--7BC 946 (1907). {LDE 26.3}
Crime, Famines, Pestilence
Satan is working in the atmosphere; he is poisoning the atmosphere, and here we are dependent upon God for our lives--our present and eternal lives. And being in the position that we are, we need to be wide awake, wholly devoted, wholly converted, wholly consecrated [BEGIN P.27] to God. But we seem to sit as though we were paralyzed. God of heaven, wake us up!--2SM 52 (1890). {LDE 26.4}
God has not restrained the powers of darkness from carrying forward their deadly work of vitiating the air, one of the sources of life and nutrition, with a deadly miasma. Not only is vegetable life affected but man suffers from pestilence. . . . These things are the result of drops from the vials of God’s wrath [GOD TAKES RESPONSIBILITY FOR THAT WHICH HE ALLOWS OR DOES NOT PREVENT. SEE EXODUS 7:3; 8:32; 1 CHRONICLES 10:4, 13, 14.] being sprinkled on the earth, and are but faint representations of what will be in the near future.--3SM 391 (1891). {LDE 27.1}
Famines will increase. Pestilences will sweep away thousands. Dangers are all around us from the powers without and satanic workings within, but the restraining power of God is now being exercised.--19MR 382 (1897). {LDE 27.2} See the Signs of the End Times from the Bible for more evidence of these things.
I have been shown that the Spirit of the Lord is being withdrawn from the earth. God’s keeping power will soon be refused to all who continue to disregard His commandments. The reports of fraudulent transactions, murders, and crimes of every kind are coming to us daily. Iniquity is becoming so common a thing that it no longer shocks the senses as it once did.--Letter 258, 1907. {LDE 27.3}
God’s Purpose in Calamities
What mean the awful calamities by sea--vessels hurled into eternity without a moment’s warning? [BEGIN P.28] What mean the accidents by land--fire consuming the riches that men have hoarded, much of which has been accumulated by oppression of the poor? The Lord will not interfere to protect the property of those who transgress His law, break His covenant, and trample upon His Sabbath, accepting in its place a spurious rest day. {LDE 27.4}
The plagues of God are already falling upon the earth, sweeping away the most costly structures as if by a breath of fire from heaven. Will not these judgments bring professing Christians to their senses? God permits them to come that the world may take heed, that sinners may be afraid and tremble before Him.--3MR 311 (1902). {LDE 28.1}
God has a purpose in permitting these calamities to occur. They are one of His means of calling men and women to their senses. By unusual workings through nature God will express to doubting human agencies that which He clearly reveals in His Word.--19MR 279 (1902). {LDE 28.2}
How frequently we hear of earthquakes and tornadoes, of destruction by fire and flood, with great loss of life and property! Apparently these calamities are capricious outbreaks of disorganized, unregulated forces of nature, wholly beyond the control of man, but in them all God’s purpose may be read. They are among the agencies by which He seeks to arouse men and women to a sense of their danger.--PK 277 (c. 1914). {LDE 28.3}
Coming Events Are in the Hands of the Lord
The world is not without a ruler. The program of coming events is in the hands of the Lord. The Majesty of heaven has the destiny of nations as well as the concerns of His church in His own charge.--5T 753 (1889). {LDE 29.1}
These symbolical representations [the fiery serpents in the wilderness] serve a double purpose. From them God’s people learn not only that the physical forces of the earth are under the control of the Creator, but also that under His control are the religious movements of the nations. Especially is this true with reference to the enforcement of Sunday observance.--19MR 281 (1902). {LDE 29.2}
In the great closing work we shall meet with perplexities that we know not how to deal with, but let us not forget that the three great Powers of heaven are working, that a divine hand is on the wheel, and that God will bring His purposes to pass.--Ev 65 (1902). {LDE 29.3}
As the wheel-like complications were under the guidance of the hand beneath the wings of the cherubim, so the complicated play of human events is under divine control. Amidst the strife and tumult of nations, He that sitteth above the cherubim still guides the affairs of the earth. [SEE EZEKIEL 1:4, 26; 10:8; DANIEL 4:17, 25, 32.]--Ed 178 (1903). {LDE 29.4}
In the annals of human history, the growth of nations, the rise and fall of empires, appear as if [BEGIN P.30] dependent on the will and prowess of man; the shaping of events seems, to a great degree, to be determined by his power, ambition, or caprice. But in the Word of God the curtain is drawn aside, and we behold, above, behind, and through all the play and counterplay of human interest and power and passions, the agencies of the All-merciful One, silently, patiently working out the counsels of His own will.--PK 499, 500 (c. 1914). {LDE 29.5}
Heaven’s Regard for Earth’s Affairs
In sparing the life of the first murderer, God presented before the whole universe a lesson bearing upon the great controversy. . . . It was His purpose, not merely to put down the rebellion, but to demonstrate to all the universe the nature of rebellion. . . .The holy inhabitants of other worlds were watching with the deepest interest the events taking place on the earth. . . . {LDE 30.1}
God carries with Him the sympathy and approval of the whole universe as step by step His great plan advances to its complete fulfillment.--PP 78, 79 (1890). {LDE 30.2}
The act of Christ in dying for the salvation of man would not only make heaven accessible to men, but before all the universe it would justify God and His son in their dealing with the rebellion of Satan.--PP 68, 69 (1890). {LDE 30.3}
The whole universe is watching with inexpressible interest the closing scenes of the great controversy between good and evil.--PK 148 (c. 1914). {LDE 30.4}
Our little world is the lesson book of the universe.--DA 19 (1898). [ELLEN WHITE STATES THAT THE UNFALLEN WORLDS AND THE HEAVENLY ANGELS WATCHED CHRIST’S STRUGGLE IN GETHSEMANE "WITH INTENSE INTEREST" (DA 693). IN DISCUSSING CHRIST’S FOUR-THOUSAND-YEAR BATTLE WITH SATAN AND HIS ULTIMATE VICTORY ON THE CROSS SHE USES SUCH PHRASES AS "THE HEAVENLY UNIVERSE BEHELD," "ALL HEAVEN AND THE UNFALLEN WORLDS HAD BEEN WITNESSES," "THEY HEARD," "THEY SAW," "HEAVEN VIEWED," "WHAT A SIGHT FOR THE HEAVENLY UNIVERSE!" SEE THE DESIRE OF AGES, PP. 693, 759, 760.] {LDE 31.1}
(White, Ellen Gould: Last Day Events. Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1992; 2002, S. 18)
Friday, 15 January 2010
The Second Coming of Christ Jesus
Are you getting ready for the second coming of Christ Jesus? Or are you thinking, "well, Jesus isn't going to return just yet, so I have time"
This page is to warn you if you ARE thinking that way, and not preparing for Jesus return, then please do something about it. Get on your knees and pray before your Creator God and ask Him to change your heart, so that you are ready for Jesus every day.
And if you are in the camp of the secret rapture believers, then I ask you to get back to your Bible and study the TRUE second coming of Christ Jesus, because He isn't going to come back quietly, there is no hint of that in the Bible whatsoever! Let me give you just one verse:
2 Peter 3:10 .....'But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.'
Jesus IS coming back as a thief, but ONLY to those who are not ready. Just take a look at this above Bible verse. When Jesus comes as a thief, the heaven will pass away with great noise and the elements will melt with great heat. Does that sound like a quiet secret rapture?! Not a chance. When Jesus returns at the second coming, He will come like lightening, ie. EVERY EYE SHALL SEE HIM RETURN, AND IT WILL BE NO SECRET!! Yet those who proclaim the secret rapture theory keep saying that Jesus is coming back as a thief to take away the saved, and they will just disappear in an instant, and then life will continue on earth and those who are left will get a second chance. This is nothing but Jesuit false teaching to cause people to sit back and relax, trusting in the secret rapture, so that when the great tribulation comes, they will not be prepared spiritually to withstand the persecution from the beast of Revelation 13, and will just end up taking the beast's mark.
Friends, we need to get ready!! Even if Jesus doesn't come back for another 10 years, we need to be ready EVERY DAY! Why? Because none of us knows when our last day will be. Just look at those poor people in Haiti. A possible 50,000 - 100,000 have been killed. Their lives were taken away from them in an instant, and so could ours at any time.
Get right with Christ Jesus now. If you die today, then for YOU, there is no more waiting for the second coming, because your judgment will have been sealed and the next thing you will know is rising from your grave AT the second coming of Jesus. Be ready always! Surrender your all to Jesus Christ today, study the Bible and find out the truth!
Have those who lost their lives in Haiti got more time?
This page is to warn you if you ARE thinking that way, and not preparing for Jesus return, then please do something about it. Get on your knees and pray before your Creator God and ask Him to change your heart, so that you are ready for Jesus every day.
And if you are in the camp of the secret rapture believers, then I ask you to get back to your Bible and study the TRUE second coming of Christ Jesus, because He isn't going to come back quietly, there is no hint of that in the Bible whatsoever! Let me give you just one verse:
2 Peter 3:10 .....'But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.'
Jesus IS coming back as a thief, but ONLY to those who are not ready. Just take a look at this above Bible verse. When Jesus comes as a thief, the heaven will pass away with great noise and the elements will melt with great heat. Does that sound like a quiet secret rapture?! Not a chance. When Jesus returns at the second coming, He will come like lightening, ie. EVERY EYE SHALL SEE HIM RETURN, AND IT WILL BE NO SECRET!! Yet those who proclaim the secret rapture theory keep saying that Jesus is coming back as a thief to take away the saved, and they will just disappear in an instant, and then life will continue on earth and those who are left will get a second chance. This is nothing but Jesuit false teaching to cause people to sit back and relax, trusting in the secret rapture, so that when the great tribulation comes, they will not be prepared spiritually to withstand the persecution from the beast of Revelation 13, and will just end up taking the beast's mark.
Friends, we need to get ready!! Even if Jesus doesn't come back for another 10 years, we need to be ready EVERY DAY! Why? Because none of us knows when our last day will be. Just look at those poor people in Haiti. A possible 50,000 - 100,000 have been killed. Their lives were taken away from them in an instant, and so could ours at any time.
DON'T LEAVE FOR TOMORROW WHAT COULD BE DONE TODAY!
Get right with Christ Jesus now. If you die today, then for YOU, there is no more waiting for the second coming, because your judgment will have been sealed and the next thing you will know is rising from your grave AT the second coming of Jesus. Be ready always! Surrender your all to Jesus Christ today, study the Bible and find out the truth!
Monday, 9 November 2009
The Great End Times Deception
Satan is going to fool many people in the end time before Christ returns by impersonating the second coming of Christ Jesus himself. Even many professing Christians are going to be deceived by Satan's final act of deception. Why? Because so many Christians are expecting Christ to come to this earth at the second coming and reign ON EARTH from the nation of Israel. For a start, this is wrong. When Jesus comes His feet will not touch the earth. Please engrain that in your mind.....
So what will happen when Jesus returns? We will be "caught up" (not a secret rapture) to meet Jesus in the air (1 Thess. 4:17). Now why would we go to meet Jesus in the air, and then come back down to earth straight away for the 1000 years? It doesn't make sense. So what will happen? We will go to Heaven with Jesus and be there IN HEAVEN for the 1000 years to reign with Him as priests (Rev. 20:4-6).
But guess what Satan will do? He will impersonate Jesus and set up his throne in Israel, which will deceive many who believe in the teaching of Jesus reigning on earth for the 1000 years. Also, have you ever wondered why we have so many pictures, paintings of Jesus? Didn't God tell us NOT to make any image of anything in Heaven? This could be Satan's plan to get an image of Jesus into people's minds to help in the end time deception, when he impersonates Jesus.
Find the truth about how Jesus will return.
The feet of Jesus will NOT touch the earth
So what will happen when Jesus returns? We will be "caught up" (not a secret rapture) to meet Jesus in the air (1 Thess. 4:17). Now why would we go to meet Jesus in the air, and then come back down to earth straight away for the 1000 years? It doesn't make sense. So what will happen? We will go to Heaven with Jesus and be there IN HEAVEN for the 1000 years to reign with Him as priests (Rev. 20:4-6).
But guess what Satan will do? He will impersonate Jesus and set up his throne in Israel, which will deceive many who believe in the teaching of Jesus reigning on earth for the 1000 years. Also, have you ever wondered why we have so many pictures, paintings of Jesus? Didn't God tell us NOT to make any image of anything in Heaven? This could be Satan's plan to get an image of Jesus into people's minds to help in the end time deception, when he impersonates Jesus.
Find the truth about how Jesus will return.
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