Strange Fire

Nadab and Abihu had died before the LORD when they offered profane fire before the LORD in the Wilderness of Sinai; and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as priests in the presence of Aaron their father. Numbers 3:4

Fallen man without God has the tendency to spoil everything. Place him in the highest position and he will degrade himself. Give him the highest privilege and he will abuse it. Bestow on him the highest blessing and he will prove to be ungrateful. That was the case with two of the sons of Aaron, the high priest. The two eldest boys of Aaron were Nadab and Abihu. Names in the Old Testament reveal a lot about a person’s character. Nadab, which literally means “liberal,” was lawless before God. Abihu, which literally means “he is my father,” would presumptuously abuse his position and demand obeisance from the worshipers in the temple.

They were leaders with priestly garments on. They were ordained as priests and they functioned in the priesthood. They looked on the other priests as being narrow-minded and too rigid in their interpretation of God’s commandments. Claiming special privilege to their father Aaron, Nadab and Abihu offered profane fire before the Lord.

This profane or “strange” fire was a human imitation of what is divine. It may have looked the same to the uninitiated, but it was not the same fire in its smell, intensity, heat and glory. It was fire other than what God had required. All worship that is not kindled by the Holy Spirit, but is conjured up by the flesh, is profane fire before the Lord.

When we try to work up something in the flesh or by our own cleverness, we may get fire, but it will not be the true fi re of the Holy Spirit. There is a great difference between emotions and the anointing. When we are upright before God and allow Him to work through us, we will have the genuine manifestation of the true anointing and the fire of God. But God does not tolerate false worship. Usually, God is gracious and longsuffering, but when it comes to the holy things of His house, His judgment can get very severe. We see this in the instances involving Korah and company (Num. 16), Achan and family (Josh. 7) and Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5).

Nadab and Abihu were not survived by any children. They lived unproductive and unfruitful lives. The same holy fi re that came from the presence of God to consume the offerings smote the two of them in judgment.

Yet, although we see the failure of the priesthood in these two men, we can also perceive God’s mercy in maintaining the priesthood of Aaron’s family through his two younger sons, Eleazar, which means “God is my helper,” and Ithamar, which means “an island of palm trees,” a
symbol of righteousness.

In Brief: Global Political Trends Threaten America's World Leadership

Americans appear to be very edgy these days. According to a Gallup Poll sponsored by USA Today, "Almost three-fourths of them...don't like the way things are going in the country. Given economic deprivation and political division, plus war [and] terrorism..., who would?" (Jan. 6, 2010).

Gideon Rachman, a regular columnist for the Financial Times, provides us with some specifics. "Ever since 1945, the US has regarded itself as the leader of the 'free world.' But the Obama administration is facing an unexpected and unwelcome development in global politics. Four of the biggest and most strategically important democracies in the developing world—Brazil, India, South Africa and Turkey—are increasingly at odds with American foreign policy.

"Rather than siding with the US on the big international issues, they are just as likely to line up with authoritarian powers" ("America Is Losing the Free World," Jan. 5, 2010, emphasis added throughout).

For a short time following the collapse of the Berlin Wall in late 1989, the previous bipolar world of the United States and the Soviet Union became the undisputed unipolar world of an economically and militarily unchallenged America.

This didn't last long. British journalist Bryan Appleyard observed in The Sunday Times Magazine: "Japan, having grown rich since 1945 under the umbrella of American security..., began to look to China for its trading future. And auto-cratic regimes are realising they may not have to listen to Western lectures about human rights any more. They can turn to the pragmatic Chinese" ("The Gathering Clouds," Dec. 27, 2009).

During the past 100 years, the United States has been accorded a singular opportunity to provide leadership in the world at large. Now, American influence is rapidly beginning to wane in the world. Why?

One pivotal reason, often discounted by a largely secular media, involves our disappearing moral standards. Paradoxically this most prosperous of the nations also ranks among the most immoral. Larger numbers of Americans increasingly ignore the plain teachings of the Bible—casting aside the Ten Commandments as a basic moral code and guide to our national conduct.

The essence of the whole American story—historically, morally and prophetically bound up in its legacy as one of the major modern descendants of the biblical patriarch Joseph—remains relatively unknown to the general public.

Where's My Avatar?

What if you could just leave behind all your physical ailments and disabilities and inhabit a new body that allowed you to do things you never dreamed possible?

What if someone offered you a new body?

What if you could just leave behind all your physical ailments and disabilities and inhabit a new body that allowed you to do things you never dreamed possible? The latest blockbuster film, Avatar, explores this very theme.

The film is set on the fictional planet of Pandora where, because the atmosphere is hostile to the human explorers and settlers, they use genetically engineered bodies called avatars to interact with the natives. Through advanced technology, the humans, through their brain function and reflex, are then able to control these avatars as if controlling their own bodies.

The film's protagonist, Jake Sully, a paraplegic ex-marine, is able to walk again when controlling his avatar body. In his real life, he is confined to a wheelchair—but with his avatar, he is able to not only walk, but also explore an entirely new world previously unavailable to him with a stronger, more agile body.

Ah, but the science-fiction movie world is, of course, a product of imagination. Pandora and its alien population doesn't really exist, nor does the technology to produce or control avatars. It's all a bunch of impossible science fiction...isn't it?

Well, most of it. But you may be surprised to find that the idea of a new body is not only possible—it's promised. In one of its futuristic sections the Bible speaks about a coming event called the resurrection, when people will actually inherit new bodies. The apostle Paul saw way beyond sci-fi writers of today when he described it this way: "The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body" (1 Corinthians 15:42-44).

We go through life now with the bodies we're given. Some are strong and healthy, others fragile and weak, but all eventually succumb to disease and pain and suffering and, ultimately, death. But at the return of Christ those who have chosen to follow and obey God are promised to, quote, "be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality" (1 Corinthians 15:51-53).

Unlike sci-fi, these spiritual bodies God is offering to replace our physical bodies will be unaffected by any of the physical issues we face now, and will have amazing abilities to perform feats we can't begin to dream of, and it will be for eternity!

As I left the theater last night I couldn't help but think...avatars? Great stuff for movies, but they don't even come close to the real thing! Science fiction? Interesting and entertaining, but if you want to go light years ahead in imagining the future, take a look at what God is promising!

The Power of Tithing

And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’s. It is holy to the LORD. Leviticus 27:30

The principle of tithing is so important because it is the most basic Bible test of your faithfulness in stewardship. It also qualifies or disqualifies you from God’s wealth and abundance.

Tithing predates the Mosaic law because Abraham was a faithful tither long before the law was established on Mount Sinai. When he met Melchizedek, he “gave him a tithe of all” (Gen. 14:19-20). Abraham’s faithful stewardship resulted in him becoming the richest man of his generation.

Jacob was a tither. When he came to Bethel, he made a vow to the Lord, “Of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You” (Gen. 28:22). Jacob’s faithful stewardship also resulted in him becoming the richest man of his generation.

Abraham and Jacob prove that saints of God started tithing long before Moses gave the law. Tithing has to do with your heart and love for God. You tithe not because you have to, but because you want to. When Moses eventually came along, the people were taught tithing.

At the end of the Old Testament, Malachi the prophet says, “‘Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,’ says the LORD of hosts” (Mal. 3:10-11). Here, the Bible gives you five great blessings that you can experience if you tithe regularly:

1. Your church will continue to be a blessing. The storehouse in City Harvest Church will be full, enabling it to continue discipling you and evangelizing the world.
2. Heaven will be open over you. You will hear from the Lord clearly. You can easily walk in His presence and His power will become readily available to you at all times.
3. The devourer will be rebuked. God will protect your finances from being “eaten away” by Satan and the financial system of the world.
4. Your hard work will bear fruit. Your career will take off and you will prosper in your work place.
5. Your investments will prosper. The wise investments you make will bring back a good return.

Be a regular tither every month and “try God now” in your faithful giving!

The-Scarlet-Woman

Introduction

Everywhere people are asking the same questions about the modern church. Why does it appear so weak and compromised? Where is the old-time fire and power that marked the church of a generation ago? These are questions which prey on the minds of many Christians as they witness the dwindling influence of religious institutions. Something seems to have gone wrong. Church members spend more time in places of entertainment and amusement than they do in the house of God. There is little firmness of faith, and almost no discipline for those who weakly bend to the indulgent lifestyle of the flesh and the world.

Where can we find courageous pastors who fear not to call sin by its right name? Paul urged the shepherds of his day to "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine." Then, he made this astounding prediction: "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." 2 Timothy 4:2-4.

These words are being fulfilled before our very eyes. Fables are being taught, doctrinal messages are drying up, and millions are turning from truth to pleasing platitudes. Any sermon that demands obedience or self-denial is rejected out of hand as legalistic and judgmental. The voice of rebuke is seldom heard, and pointed preaching which identifies the biblical antichrist is looked upon as harsh and unloving.

Have we overdrawn the picture? I don't believe any careful observer of the religious scene would contend that we have. Surely Satan is working harder inside the church than he is on the outside, and his plan is to produce the most clever counterfeit of truth that has ever existed. By creating a diabolical parallel system of doctrinal error within the church itself, he has already led millions into a false worship. The nefarious plot was recognized and exposed by the Holy Spirit shortly before the great deceiver began to implement the major elements of his plan in the post-apostolic church.

But before we turn to John's inspired account of the sordid story in the book of Revelation, let's read another prophetic description of the spiritual state of that turbulent period. Paul warned: "For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock." Acts 20:29. Again, he wrote, "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposethand exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God." 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4.

Paul's words do not reveal the nature of the apostasy nor the identity of the "man of sin" who would assume the prerogatives of God, but the program would clearly begin to unfold in the early church. Shortly after Paul's cryptic caution about an antichrist movement within the church, the beloved John began to record his mysterious apocalyptic visions on the isle of Patmos. As the symbols of those revelations have been more clearly explained through comparative study of the prophecies, it is easy to see that John was simply enlarging upon Paul's earlier oblique references to a developing dichotomy of good and evil within the post-apostolic church.

Without understanding the historical significance of his own enigmatic language, John faithfully described the cosmic controversy between Christ and Satan from it's very inception. The age-old conflict would finally focus upon the emergence of a counterfeit Christ manipulated by Satan himself, who would seek to destroy God's law, His government, and His people. In a climactic clash called the battle of Armageddon, the great adversary would consolidate both secular and religious powers of earth against the minority group of faithful loyalists who would refuse to transgress the commandments of God. The antichrist system, under the control of Satan, would be the major force to suppress truth and to seek the death sentence against those who refused to cooperate with the evil confederation.

In his epistles the beloved John had declared, "And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world." 1 John 4:3. Because he recognized that the "spirit" of that prophesied antichrist was operating in his own day, John cooperated fully with the Holy Spirit by clothing his exposé that power with symbolic lan- guage, unrecognizable to enemies who might have sought to exterminate the inspired record altogether.

The Two Sides in Conflict

John used a variety of colorful types and symbols to portray the elements involved in the final controversy between Christ and Satan: for example, a dragon, a lamb, and two fierce wild beasts. But the most prominent representation of the two sides centers in the two striking women described in chapters 12 and 17. No words could be found to identify more vividly the nature of the contending forces in this contest. On one side is the pure woman of Revelation 12, clothed in the glory of the sun, wearing a crown of stars, and standing on the moon. Here is represented the true church, the bride of Christ. The prophets had written, "I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman." Jeremiah 6:2. "Say unto Zion, Thou art my people." Isaiah 51:16.

Later, Paul used the same symbolism of the church when he wrote, "I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." 2 Corinthians 11:2.

On the other side, John wrote in Revelation 17 of the activities of a drunken, scarlet-clothed harlot, sitting upon many waters and holding a golden cup of abominations in her hand. Here is the antithesis of the pure woman of chapter 12. The woman still symbolizes a church, but one which has committed spiritual adultery. Her cup is filled with fornications. According to the Bible, this represents a turning away from Christ and unfaithfulness to His Word. "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that friendship of the world is enmity with God?" James 4:4. Although married to Christ, this church has been disobedient to His Word, taken the teachings of the world, His enemy, and therefore become a spiritual harlot. The fornications in the cup would constitute false teachings and doctrines that would be contrary to Christ, the true husband.

Just as the book of Revelation classifies all the world's inhabitants as ultimately following Christ or the dragon, obeying truth or error, receiving the mark of the beast or seal of God, so it pictures every individual at the end of time on the side of the symbolic harlot or the side of the pure virgin. What a solemn thought it is that everyone reading these words right now will belong to one category or the other. There will be no middle ground. It will be the camp of the saved or the camp of the lost. The prophet looked on one side and saw the wrath of God falling upon those with the mark of the beast (Revelation 14:10, 11). Then, he looked on the other side and declared, "Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Revelation 14:12. A faith experience - a Jesus experience - that produces obedience to His commandments, is the chief distinction between the followers of Christ and the followers of the beast.

The Harlot System

Since most of our study is to focus upon this false religious system which gradually evolved from an early church apostasy, we should read the full description of the "great whore" as given by John. "And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration." Revelation 17:1-6.

It is no exaggeration to observe that our eternal salvation could well depend upon a proper identification of this corrupt church system. The Revelator declared that "all the world wondered after the beast." Revelation 13:3. There is no time to assemble the persuasive list of Bible characteristics of the beast power in this study, but it has been dealt with fully in the Amazing Facts' book entitled The Beast, the Dragon, and the Woman. Here we will consider the contextual evidence of Revelation 17 to identify the fallen woman and her daughters who are assigned the name of "Babylon."

Let us keep the points in clear, logical perspective as we look at the revealed facts. First, the woman has been shown to represent a religious system, howbeit a false one. Secondly, she is being supported by a dragon-like beast with seven heads and ten horns. Who is this beast holding up the woman? Again, we cannot exhaust the evidence for lack of time, but verse 9 gives us a very strong clue. "The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth."

These words strike a very familiar chord. What city is built on seven hills? The old pagan Roman Empire had its center in the city of Rome, which was sprawled across seven hills by the river Tiber. Even though this mystery beast involves much more than pagan Rome, we have sufficient evidence that Rome was definitely a part of that which gave support to the harlot church system. This leads us to the question, what church received support from the pagan Roman Empire? Only one, of course, and that was the Catholic Church, whose papal head also assumed the title Pontifex Maximus, as the direct successor of the Roman caesars.

The second line of evidence which points to the papacy is found in verse 6. "And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus." History reveals only one church which waged such a frenzied warfare against faithful Christians. Over 50 million martyrs fell victim to the terrible inquisitions of the Church of Rome, according to the most conservative estimates. It was indeed a persecuting church. Multiple evidence, including admissions of the church itself, could be presented to support this particular mark of identification.

Another interesting clue is found in verse 4: "And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour." Anyone who has visited the Vatican can confirm that these are the predominant colors which are in evidence around St. Peter's Square. Scarlet-robed cardinals are among the most frequent visitors to the papal head of state and church.

John observes further that the woman was "decked with gold and precious stones and pearls." What a contrast to the simplicity of the pure woman of Revelation 12 who has no artificial adornment at all - only the glory of her raiment of light. Throughout the Bible, jewelry and articles of adornment are used symbolically as indications of apostasy and unfaithfulness. (With such negative spiritual connotations, the true Christian should avoid the vanities of such fleshly display and pride.)

In passing, we should also note that the beast on which the harlot sits has ten horns. The angel explained them in these words: "The ten horns ... are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: ... these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire." Revelation 17:12-16.

This prophetic scenario is very interesting indeed. Since the number ten designates earthly completeness, just as seven indicates divine perfection, we can recognize in this prophecy a universal confederacy of earthly governments giving support to the beast for a certain period of time. Just as pagan Rome was one of the major political powers passing on its strength to the papal system we now see at the endtimes a joining together of all the kings of earth in support of Catholic aims. John declared that "all the world wondered after the beast." Revelation 13:3.

But a change was to take place just before the judgment of the great whore. The earthly kingdoms, apparently, would recognize that they had been duped by the Babylon system and would withdraw their support. The prophetic language leads us to believe that at the very end they violently turn against the woman and "make her desolate ... and burn her with fire."

This helps us understand another symbolic account of the woman's experience. Although she was seated on "many waters," those waters were to be "dried up." Revelation 16:12. The angel explained, "The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues." Revelation 17:15.

When those waters, of people and nations, turn away from their support, there is truly a drying up of the waters which held the Woman in her position. The details of this future development is impossible to define in detail, but the broad picture stands clearly before us in the language of the prophet.

The Harlot's Golden Cup

Now, we need to give closer attention to the contents of the golden cup in the harlot's hand. We have already established the spiritual nature of those abominable fornications. A church can only commit such infidelities by turning away from the law of her husband, which is Christ. Without question, the cup overflows with unscriptural doctrines and practices. Many of them are easily identifiable because they have been absorbed by other subsequent religious bodies. Of these we will have more to say a bit later.

In the cup can be found sprinkling in place of baptism. Here is a custom never practiced or endorsed by our Lord. When Jesus spoke of baptism, He used a special word that has only one possible definition. It cannot connote sprinkling or a partial effusion of water. It literally means to dip under and totally immerse.

Also included in the cup would be the teaching of Sunday-keeping instead of Sabbath observance. Nowhere in the Bible has God's great hand-written law of Ten Commandments been abrogated or changed. Jesus kept the seventh-day Sabbath, "as his custom was," and knew absolutely nothing about the observance of the first day of the week. Luke 4:16. The pagan "day of the sun" was adopted long after the days of the apostles in order to placate the massive influx of Mithraic sun worshippers and their professedly "converted" pagan emperor Constantine.

A major element in the golden cup would undoubtedly be the Graeco-pagan concept that man's naturally immortal soul flies away at death to either eternal punishment or reward. The truth is that the Bible nowhere speaks of undying souls. Jesus called death a sleep. According to His doctrine, there is an unconscious, dreamless sleep of death in the grave from which all will be awakened in the day of judgment to receive everlasting life or eternal death. "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." John 5:28, 29.

Jesus also contradicted another popular fallacy held in the golden cup of abominations. The doctrine of eternal torment in an endless fiery hell has been responsible for turning multitudes away from the gracious provisions of a loving Saviour. Again, the words of Jesus are clear and unambiguous: "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Matthew 10:28.

This text establishes beyond question and on the highest authority that the soul is subject to death. Only the righteous receive the gift of eternal life. "The wages of sin is death." Romans 6:23. "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." Ezekiel 18:4. "All that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, ... And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet." Malachi 4:1, 3.

The consistent testimony of Scripture points to a final execution of judgment upon the wicked in the lake of fire. It will be an eternal death from which there can be no survival or resurrection. Since the soul is not immortal by nature, all the wicked will suffer the fate so vividly described by Jesus, "destroy both soul and body in hell."

The Harlot's Name

These and numerous other "isms" and perversions of true doctrine may be identified in the mystery cup of the harlot. Every one of them constitutes disloyalty and infidelity to the spiritual relationship which every true Christian should sustain with Christ. This is why the woman carries the name on her forehead "Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of Harlots and abominations of the earth." What a title!

The word "Babylon" denotes confusion. It originated with the Tower of Babel where God confounded their language so that they could not understand each other. We speak of a babbling of voices. God calls this woman Babylon because of her unholy blend of truth and error which causes "the inhabitants of the earth" to be "made drunk with the wine of her fornication." In other words, the whole world will be contaminated and confused by her teachings.

But now, let's look at that emblazoned name more closely. Notice that it is obviously a family name, because she has daughters; and they are designated as harlots, just like their mother. Having established that women symbolize churches in these prophetic writings, we now inquire as to the identity of these daughters. Since they are guilty of infidelity also, we must conclude that they are churches which share some of the same false doctrines which constitute spiritual fornication. In other words, they would be drinking out of the same golden cup with its unscriptural potion of pseudo-Christian teachings. Whatchurches could be represented by these daughters? Since the mother has been identified as the Catholic Church, we must look for other religious bodies that came forth from the mother church of Rome and carried with them some of the same confused doctrines of that church.

None can escape the conclusion that those daughters are Protestant churches who have inherited many of the empty traditions of their Catholic forebears. Whether we like it or not, we must admit that many of the most popular doctrines of the established Protestant churches are rooted in that quasi-Christian twilight period when the post- apostolic church was being overwhelmed by pagan influences.

We need only look at one example of the moral law to see how seriously the infiltration affected the teachings of the church, both then and now. With the most explicit words of the Ten Commandments before them, "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work," those leaders of the early church yielded to the political clamor to take in millions of former sun worshippers who did not want to give up their custom of worshipping on the first day of the week- a day they named and observed in honor of their venerable sun-god.

The Catholic Church hierarchy simply changed the day of worship from the seventh to the first day, under the claim that God bestowed such power upon them. Millions of Protestants continue that altered practice, even though it rests solely upon the illegitimate actions of the apostate Catholic system. No human church leaders, whether bishops, priests, or pope, have been given any authority to change the great moral law of the universe, the Ten Commandments.

Isn't it interesting that the daughters blindly followed the majority practice of the compromised Catholic Church even though they properly identified her as the antichrist power of prophecy? How could this be? Why was it so easy to accept something that was such a flagrant violation of a plain command of God? Perhaps the answer to that question will be more apparent as we ourselves are confronted with a command just as concise and specific. We turn now to the crux of this tremendous prophecy and ask the question: What does God think about this woman and her daughters?

The Call Out of Babylon

The answer is found in the first few verses of Revelation 18. Here also we find the command of God which few are willing to obey in our day. "And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities." Revelation 18:1-5.

A close examination of these verses reveal that a very special message is being proclaimed which will profoundly affect every corner of the planet. Under the symbol of a powerful fourth angel, a warning sounds forth against the counterfeit gospel being communicated through the woman and her daughters. Not only is she spiritually fallen from favor with God, but her wine of deceptive doctrines have placed her in unholy alliance with the kings of the earth. All nations are represented as committing fornication with her by giving support to her false teachings. They use the illicit relationship to their own political advantage, and "wax rich through the abundance of her delicacies."

But then, suddenly, the call of the fourth angel is cut off by an even more urgent voice which sounds forth from heaven itself. This time there is no doubt about the one whose message rolls from one end of the heavens to the other. God is speaking! And He is speaking to an exclusive group. He addresses Himself to "my people."

Here are the exact words, "And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." Revelation 18:4. Now the picture becomes more distinct. There are sincere people in all of those fallen churches represented by the harlot mother and her daughters. Because they have been faithful to all the light of truth which had been revealed to them, God extends a final invitation of mercy. But what a message! This is undoubtedly the most shocking and revolutionary call to ever fall on human ears.

What does it mean? There is only one answer. Those religious bodies represented by the fallen Babylon system have departed so far from the foundations of Bible truth that God can no longer acknowledge them as His. By choosing the traditions of men over the commandments of God they have disqualified themselves as reliable shepherds of the flock of God. In almost every crusade, members come to me from a variety of churches weeping and asking what they should do about their church or their pastor. Instead of receiving loving counsel and Bible answers, they are being taught to break God's law. "The ten commandments were nailed to the cross. You don't have to keep the Sabbath today. You can choose any other day of rest and worship," they are told.

Apostasy and betrayal has reached its limits when leaders comfort people in their practice of sin. God says, "This is it, my people. You can no longer remain in fellowship with a church that is so spiritually fallen that it teaches you to break my law. Come out of that confusion." What a fearful and emotional command that is to most people who hear it for the first time, and how easy it is to empathize with their mixed feelings. They love their church. Their fondest memories revolve around its ministry - baptism, marriage, and commitment. And even though they recognize the apostasy and the necessity to separate, it is one of the hardest commands to obey.

How strange it is that the strongest and most condemnatory language in the Bible is used against religious people. Jesus pronounced terrible judgment upon the Pharisees who pretended to be so righteous while violating every principle of truth. Similarly, God speaks again directly from heaven against those who profess His name while willfully transgressing His commandments. His extreme displeasure is revealed toward both religious groups - hypocrites, whited sepulchres, generation of vipers, hold of every foul spirit, habitation of devils, cage of every unclean and hateful bird - these are some of the charges He leveled against them. Are they justified? Why such a scathing reaction against those who were so very religious?

The answer to this question is important. These churches - every one of them - had allowed the popular traditions of men to crowd out the self-denying truths of His Word and His law. Rejecting the Sabbath of the Lord in favor of a pagan substitute, they had been guilty of condoning sin instead of righteousness. Said Jesus, "In vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." Matthew 15:9.

Who then is Babylon and her children? Any contemporary church who teaches contrary to Jesus. Errors and "isms" could be multiplied, but the height of abomination was reached by giving deliberate encouragement to the breaking of God's great moral law. By teaching men to break the Sabbath, the sign and seal of our salvation-rest in Christ, the churches became the spoilers of God's people. Very soon those same churches will be so bitter against the obedient ones that they will lend their influence to force compliance by religious legislation. To such organizations no true child of God can give support. It would be equivalent to subscribing to the erroneous beliefs and actions of those church groups.

No wonder then, that God sounds that radical call, "come out of her, my people. You must leave those churches which have rejected my law." But where should they go when they come out of the fallen churches? Does God want them now to be rootless, with no church, no pastor, and no fellowship? Indeed not. Just as surely as there is a harlot woman of prophecy representing a counterfeit religion, there is also a pure woman who symbolizes the true church of Jesus Christ.

The Woman in White

We only have time for a brief look at Revelation 12 where the exciting history of the true church is recorded. A complete in-depth study is found in the Amazing Facts' booklet entitled The Search For the True Church.

John begins his narrative of the woman in white with this description: "And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered." Revelation 12:1, 2.

The remainder of the chapter follows the course of this beautiful pregnant woman and her offspring. Standing in the glorious light of the New Testament age, with the symbols of the 12 apostles on her head, she is about to give birth to a baby. A terrible red dragon stands before her to destroy the child as soon as it is born, but the baby boy eludes the dragon. Later, he is caught up to the throne of God. Who was the baby? John declares that he was to rule all the nations of earth; therefore, we must conclude that it was Jesus. He was also the only one caught up to the throne of God.

Afterward, the woman, the true church, fled into a wilderness hiding place for 1,260 days. Since a prophetic day equals a literal year, the woman had to be hidden away for exactly 1,260 years (Ezekiel 4:6). History confirms that the total period of papal civil rule, during which the true saints were persecuted, was from 538 A.D. until 1798 A.D. During those Dark Ages, the Bible was suppressed, and the true church was not to be seen before the world.

Nevertheless, at the end of the 1,260years, or sometime after 1798, the truth was to emerge from its hiding place. John provides a dramatic description of the woman as she would appear at the very end of time, and how Satan would still be trying to silence her witness of truth to the world. "And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Revelation 12:17.

This verse contains one of the most exciting revelations in the Bible. It reveals that the remnant, or last part, of the true church will be characterized by obedience to the commandments of God. The scarlet woman of Revelation 17 had turned away from God's law, rejected the Sabbath, and spiritually adulterated the doctrines with traditions of men. Now the breach is healed and the original truths are being restored by the last part of the pure woman's seed, the remnant church.
At last, the prophecy of Isaiah will be fulfilled: "And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth." Isaiah 58:12-14.

So the whole circle of apostasy has been uncovered. From the seed of the woman in Genesis 3:15 to the seed of the woman of Revelation 12:17, the true church pressed its relentless warfare against confusion of doctrine. In the final contest, the scarlet woman seemed at times to prevail with a majority support, but the faithful little remnant of the woman in white which "keep the commandments of God" ultimately triumphs. And out of all the fierce beasts portrayed in the book of Revelation, it is the bleeding Lamb who prevails in the end. Through the blood of that Lamb may we all be gathered to Mount Zion, the place of rest and eternal security.

The Power of Planning

Almost all of the failures we see about us are a result of poor planning. Creating an intelligent plan and then using the plan will help to ensure a greater success rate. Even our Creator has a plan. Every prophecy He stated was a plan He carried out. Consider the predictions about the sacrifice of our Savior. There are over 30 prophecies that were fulfilled within a 24-hour period on the day Jesus died. The plan was perfect, and we are saved because of it.

We can have good intentions in life and want the right things, but if we do not stand back and plan in an intelligent manner, then we will not make any progress. An example of a good master plan is found in Ecclesiastes 12:13. Fearing God and keeping His commandments is what is needed in all of our lives.

Soul-winning Jesus' Style

Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. Luke 5:3

In Luke 5, Jesus was preaching on the shore of Lake Gennesaret. The crowd was listening intently to Him. But at the corner of His eye, Jesus saw a group of fishermen — Simon Peter and his unsaved friends. They had no interest in spiritual things. Jesus may have been conducting a huge beach rally, but as far as Simon Peter was concerned, he was simply uninterested with whatever the crowd was doing.

Simon Peter and his friends were the typical unreached and unchurched sinners of the world. They were only interested in their own livelihood. They had families to feed and bills to pay. They were only concerned about their own survival.

How did Jesus reach out to an uninterested generation? He became a caring soulwinner. Jesus stepped into Simon Peter’s boat. By doing that, He immediately got into “Peter’s world.” The first step in making a difference in a person’s life is to get into his or her world. On the shore, Jesus was standing; but in the boat, He was sitting down. That means Jesus was not in a hurry. He was planning to fellowship for a while.

At that point, Simon Peter was very discouraged. He and his team had “toiled all night and caught nothing” (Luke 5:5). Jesus immediately saw a need and started encouraging Simon Peter. He motivated Peter to try fishing again; this time, with the help of God.

I have found that no matter how hardened a person may be as an unchurched sinner, when he or she experiences your loving sincerity in

1. Spending time to befriend them,
2. Encouraging them by giving them a new vision and fresh hope, and
3. Meeting their needs practically, then a fourth thing will naturally happen.
4. Peter gave His heart to Jesus and was wonderfully saved.

This is Jesus’ style of personal evangelism: First, you win them over as your friends.

Then you win them over to the Lord.

Try it for yourself this week.

The Peacemaker

One of the most important principles of conflict resolution is to be assertive without being aggressive. This means that you have to able to voice your opinions and feelings without attacking the other person.

In American West folklore the Colt .45 revolver was known as the "Peacemaker."

Gunning down anyone who disagrees with you is a strange concept of peace, especially if you're the one getting shot.

One of the most important principles of conflict resolution is to be assertive without being aggressive. This means that you have to able to voice your opinions and feelings without attacking the other person.

Let's say you feel like your spouse doesn't listen to your ideas. Next time you're upset instead of saying something like "You know what your problem is..." Try starting your comment with, "Sometimes I feel like you don't really understand what I'm saying…"

You can still make your point without attacking the other person and increasing the level of conflict. Wise King Solomon wrote, "He who guards his mouth preserves his life, but he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction" (Proverbs 13:3).

Heralds of the Morning

But the Saviour declares: "He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." John 8:12.

From the Hebrew Scriptures they had learned of the Star to arise out of Jacob, and with eager desire they awaited His coming, who should be not only the "Consolation of Israel," but a "Light to lighten the Gentiles," and "for salvation unto the ends of the earth." Luke 2:25, 32; Acts 13:47.

One of the most solemn and yet most glorious truths revealed in the Bible is that of Christ's second coming to complete the great work of redemption. To God's pilgrim people, so long left to sojourn in "the region and shadow of death," a precious, joy-inspiring hope is given in the promise of His appearing, who is "the resurrection and the life," to "bring home again His banished." The doctrine of the second advent is the very keynote of the Sacred Scriptures. From the day when the first pair turned their sorrowing steps from Eden, the children of faith have waited the coming of the Promised One to break the destroyer's power and bring them again to the lost Paradise. Holy men of old looked forward to the advent of the Messiah in glory, as the consummation of their hope. Enoch, only the seventh in descent from them that dwelt in Eden, he who for three centuries on earth walked with his God, was permitted to behold from afar the coming of the Deliverer. "Behold," he declared, "the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment upon all." Jude 14, 15. The patriarch Job in the night of his affliction exclaimed with unshaken trust: "I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: . . . in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another." Job 19:25-27.

The coming of Christ to usher in the reign of righteousness has inspired the most sublime and impassioned utterances of the sacred writers. The poets and prophets of the Bible have dwelt upon it in words glowing with celestial fire. The psalmist sang of the power and majesty of Israel's King: "Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined. Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence. . . . He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that He may judge His people." Psalm 50:2-4. "Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad . . . before the Lord: for He cometh, for He cometh to judge the earth: He shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with His truth." Psalm 96:11-13.

Said the prophet Isaiah: "Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead." "Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise." "He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of His people shall He take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it. And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation." Isaiah 26:19; 25:8, 9.

And Habakkuk, rapt in holy vision, beheld His appearing. "God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of His praise. And His brightness was as the light." "He stood, and measured the earth: He beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hill did bow: His ways are everlasting." "Thou didst ride upon Thine horses and Thy chariots of salvation." "The mountains saw Thee, and they trembled: . . . the deep uttered his voice, and lifted up his hands on high. The sun and moon stood still in their habitation: at the light of Thine arrows they went, and at the shining of Thy glittering spear." "Thou wentest forth for the salvation of Thy people, even for salvation with Thine anointed." Habakkuk 3:3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13.

When the Saviour was about to be separated from His disciples, He comforted them in their sorrow with the assurance that He would come again: "Let not your heart be troubled. . . . In My Father's house are many mansions. . . . I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself." John 14:1-3. "The Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him." "Then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: and before Him shall be gathered all nations." Matthew 25:31, 32.

The angels who lingered upon Olivet after Christ's ascension repeated to the disciples the promise of His return: "This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven." Acts 1:11. And the apostle Paul, speaking by the Spirit of Inspiration, testified: "The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God." 1 Thessalonians 4:16. Says the prophet of Patmos: "Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him." Revelation 1:7.

About His coming cluster the glories of that "restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began." Acts 3:21. Then the long-continued rule of evil shall be broken; "the kingdoms of this world" will become "the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever." Revelation 11:15. "The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together." "The Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations." He shall be "for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of His people." Isaiah 40:5; 61:11; 28:5.

It is then that the peaceful and long-desired kingdom of the Messiah shall be established under the whole heaven. "The Lord shall comfort Zion: He will comfort all her waste places; and He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord." "The glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon." "Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called My Delight, and thy land Beulah." "As the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee." Isaiah 51:3; 35:2; 62:4, 5, margin.

The coming of the Lord has been in all ages the hope of His true followers. The Saviour's parting promise upon Olivet, that He would come again, lighted up the future for His disciples, filling their hearts with joy and hope that sorrow could not quench nor trials dim. Amid suffering and persecution, the "appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ" was the "blessed hope." When the Thessalonian Christians were filled with grief as they buried their loved ones, who had hoped to live to witness the coming of the Lord, Paul, their teacher, pointed them to the resurrection, to take place at the Saviour's advent. Then the dead in Christ should rise, and together with the living be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. "And so," he said, "shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words." 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18.

On rocky Patmos the beloved disciple hears the promise, "Surely I come quickly," and his longing response voices the prayer of the church in all her pilgrimage, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus." Revelation 22:20.

From the dungeon, the stake, the scaffold, where saints and martyrs witnessed for the truth, comes down the centuries the utterance of their faith and hope. Being "assured of His personal resurrection, and consequently of their own at His coming, for this cause," says one of these Christians, "they despised death, and were found to be above it."--Daniel T. Taylor, The Reign of Christ on Earth: or, The Voice of the Church in All Ages, page 33. They were willing to go down to the grave, that they might "rise free."-- Ibid., page 54. They looked for the "Lord to come from heaven in the clouds with the glory of His Father," "bringing to the just the times of the kingdom." The Waldenses cherished the same faith.-- Ibid., pages 129-132. Wycliffe looked forward to the Redeemer's appearing as the hope of the church.-- Ibid., pages 132-134.

Luther declared: "I persuade myself verily, that the day of judgment will not be absent full three hundred years. God will not, cannot, suffer this wicked world much longer." "The great day is drawing near in which the kingdom of abominations shall be overthrown."-- Ibid., pages 158, 134.

"This aged world is not far from its end," said Melanchthon. Calvin bids Christians "not to hesitate, ardently desiring the day of Christ's coming as of all events most auspicious;" and declares that "the whole family of the faithful will keep in view that day." "We must hunger after Christ, we must seek, contemplate," he says, "till the dawning of that great day, when our Lord will fully manifest the glory of His kingdom."-- Ibid., pages 158, 134.

"Has not the Lord Jesus carried up our flesh into heaven?" said Knox, the Scotch Reformer, "and shall He not return? We know that He shall return, and that with expedition." Ridley and Latimer, who laid down their lives for the truth, looked in faith for the Lord's coming. Ridley wrote: "The world without doubt--this I do believe, and therefore I say it--draws to an end. Let us with John, the servant of God, cry in our hearts unto our Saviour Christ, Come, Lord Jesus, come."-- Ibid., pages 151, 145.

"The thoughts of the coming of the Lord," said Baxter, "are most sweet and joyful to me."--Richard Baxter, Works, vol. 17, p. 555. "It is the work of faith and the character of His saints to love His appearing and to look for that blessed hope." "If death be the last enemy to be destroyed at the resurrection, we may learn how earnestly believers should long and pray for the second coming of Christ, when this full and final conquest shall be made."-- Ibid., vol. 17, p. 500. "This is the day that all believers should long, and hope, and wait for, as being the accomplishment of all the work of their redemption, and all the desires and endeavors of their souls." "Hasten, O Lord, this blessed day!"-- Ibid., vol. 17, pp. 182, 183. Such was the hope of the apostolic church, of the "church in the wilderness," and of the Reformers.

Prophecy not only foretells the manner and object of Christ's coming, but presents tokens by which men are to know when it is near. Said Jesus: "There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars." Luke 21:25. "The sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory." Mark 13:24-26. The revelator thus describes the first of the signs to precede the second advent: "There was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood." Revelation 6:12.

These signs were witnessed before the opening of the nineteenth century. In fulfillment of this prophecy there occurred, in the year 1755, the most terrible earthquake that has ever been recorded. Though commonly known as the earthquake of Lisbon, it extended to the greater part of Europe, Africa, and America. It was felt in Greenland, in the West Indies, in the island of Madeira, in Norway and Sweden, Great Britain and Ireland. It pervaded an extent of not less than four million square miles. In Africa the shock was almost as severe as in Europe. A great part of Algiers was destroyed; and a short distance from Morocco, a village containing eight or ten thousand inhabitants was swallowed up. A vast wave swept over the coast of Spain and Africa engulfing cities and causing great destruction.

It was in Spain and Portugal that the shock manifested its extreme violence. At Cadiz the inflowing wave was said to be sixty feet high. Mountains, "some of the largest in Portugal, were impetuously shaken, as it were, from their very foundations, and some of them opened at their summits, which were split and rent in a wonderful manner, huge masses of them being thrown down into the adjacent valleys. Flames are related to have issued from these mountains."-- Sir Charles Lyell, Principles of Geology, page 495.

At Lisbon "a sound of thunder was heard underground, and immediately afterwards a violent shock threw down the greater part of that city. In the course of about six minutes sixty thousand persons perished. The sea first retired, and laid the bar dry; it then rolled in, rising fifty feet or more above its ordinary level." "Among other extraordinary events related to have occurred at Lisbon during the catastrophe, was the subsidence of a new quay, built entirely of marble, at an immense expense. A great concourse of people had collected there for safety, as a spot where they might be beyond the reach of falling ruins; but suddenly the quay sank down with all the people on it, and not one of the dead bodies ever floated to the surface."-- Ibid., page 495.

"The shock" of the earthquake "was instantly followed by the fall of every church and convent, almost all the large public buildings, and more than one fourth of the houses. In about two hours after the shock, fires broke out in different quarters, and raged with such violence for the space of nearly three days, that the city was completely desolated. The earthquake happened on a holyday, when the churches and convents were full of people, very few of whom escaped."-- Encyclopedia Americana, art. "Lisbon," note (ed. 1831). "The terror of the people was beyond description. Nobody wept; it was beyond tears. They ran hither and thither, delirious with horror and astonishment, beating their faces and breasts, crying, 'Misericordia! the world's at an end!' Mothers forgot their children, and ran about loaded with crucifixed images. Unfortunately, many ran to the churches for protection; but in vain was the sacrament exposed; in vain did the poor creatures embrace the altars; images, priests, and people were buried in one common ruin." It has been estimated that ninety thousand persons lost their lives on that fatal day.

Twenty-five years later appeared the next sign mentioned in the prophecy--the darkening of the sun and moon. What rendered this more striking was the fact that the time of its fulfillment had been definitely pointed out. In the Saviour's conversation with His disciples upon Olivet, after describing the long period of trial for the church,--the 1260 years of papal persecution, concerning which He had promised that the tribulation should be shortened,--He thus mentioned certain events to precede His coming, and fixed the time when the first of these should be witnessed: "In those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light." Mark 13:24. The 1260 days, or years, terminated in 1798. A quarter of a century earlier, persecution had almost wholly ceased. Following this persecution, according to the words of Christ, the sun was to be darkened. On the 19th of May, 1780, this prophecy was fulfilled.

"Almost, if not altogether alone, as the most mysterious and as yet unexplained phenomenon of its kind, . . . stands the dark day of May 19, 1780,--a most unaccountable darkening of the whole visible heavens and atmosphere in New England."--R. M. Devens, Our First Century, page 89.

An eyewitness living in Massachusetts describes the event as follows: "In the morning the sun rose clear, but was soon overcast. The clouds became lowery, and from them, black and ominous, as they soon appeared, lightning flashed, thunder rolled, and a little rain fell. Toward nine o'clock, the clouds became thinner, and assumed a brassy or coppery appearance, and earth, rocks, trees, buildings, water, and persons were changed by this strange, unearthly light. A few minutes later, a heavy black cloud spread over the entire sky except a narrow rim at the horizon, and it was as dark as it usually is at nine o'clock on a summer evening. . . .

"Fear, anxiety, and awe gradually filled the minds of the people. Women stood at the door, looking out upon the dark landscape; men returned from their labor in the fields; the carpenter left his tools, the blacksmith his forge, the tradesman his counter. Schools were dismissed, and tremblingly the children fled homeward. Travelers put up at the nearest farmhouse. 'What is coming?' queried every lip and heart. It seemed as if a hurricane was about to dash across the land, or as if it was the day of the consummation of all things.

"Candles were used; and hearth fires shone as brightly as on a moonless evening in autumn. . . . Fowls retired to their roosts and went to sleep, cattle gathered at the pasture bars and lowed, frogs peeped, birds sang their evening songs, and bats flew about. But the human knew that night had not come. . . .

"Dr. Nathanael Whittaker, pastor of the Tabernacle church in Salem, held religious services in the meeting-house, and preached a sermon in which he maintained that the darkness was supernatural. Congregations came together in many other places. The texts for the extemporaneous sermons were invariably those that seemed to indicate that the darkness was consonant with Scriptural prophecy. . . . The darkness was most dense shortly after eleven o'clock."-- The Essex Antiquarian, April, 1899, vol. 3, No. 4, pp. 53, 54. "In most parts of the country it was so great in the daytime, that the people could not tell the hour by either watch or clock, nor dine, nor manage their domestic business, without the light of candles. . . .

"The extent of this darkness was extraordinary. It was observed as far east as Falmouth. To the westward it reached to the farthest part of Connecticut, and to Albany. To the southward, it was observed along the seacoasts; and to the north as far as the American settlements extend."--William Gordon, History of the Rise, Progress, and Establishment of the Independence of the U.S.A., vol. 3, p. 57.

The intense darkness of the day was succeeded, an hour or two before evening, by a partially clear sky, and the sun appeared, though it was still obscured by the black, heavy mist. "After sundown, the clouds came again overhead, and it grew dark very fast." "Nor was the darkness of the night less uncommon and terrifying than that of the day; notwithstanding there was almost a full moon, no object was discernible but by the help of some artificial light, which, when seen from the neighboring houses and other places at a distance, appeared through a kind of Egyptian darkness which seemed almost impervious to the rays."--Isaiah Thomas, Massachusetts Spy; or, American Oracle of Liberty, vol. 10, No. 472 (May 25, 1780). Said an eyewitness of the scene: "I could not help conceiving at the time, that if every luminous body in the universe had been shrouded in impenetrable shades, or struck out of existence, the darkness could not have been more complete."--Letter by Dr. Samuel Tenney, of Exeter, New Hampshire, December, 1785 (in Massachusetts Historical Society Collections, 1792, 1st series, vol. 1, p. 97). Though at nine o'clock that night the moon rose to the full, "it had not the least effect to dispel the deathlike shadows." After midnight the darkness disappeared, and the moon, when first visible, had the appearance of blood.

May 19, 1780, stands in history as "The Dark Day." Since the time of Moses no period of darkness of equal density, extent, and duration, has ever been recorded. The description of this event, as given by eyewitnesses, is but an echo of the words of the Lord, recorded by the prophet Joel, twenty-five hundred years previous to their fulfillment: "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come." Joel 2:31.

Christ had bidden His people watch for the signs of His advent and rejoice as they should behold the tokens of their coming King. "When these things begin to come to pass," He said, "then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh." He pointed His followers to the budding trees of spring, and said: "When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand." Luke 21:28, 30, 31.

But as the spirit of humility and devotion in the church had given place to pride and formalism, love for Christ and faith in His coming had grown cold. Absorbed in worldliness and pleasure seeking, the professed people of God were blinded to the Saviour's instructions concerning the signs of His appearing. The doctrine of the second advent had been neglected; the scriptures relating to it were obscured by misinterpretation, until it was, to a great extent, ignored and forgotten. Especially was this the case in the churches of America. The freedom and comfort enjoyed by all classes of society, the ambitious desire for wealth and luxury, begetting an absorbing devotion to money-making, the eager rush for popularity and power, which seemed to be within the reach of all, led men to center their interests and hopes on the things of this life, and to put far in the future that solemn day when the present order of things should pass away.

When the Saviour pointed out to His followers the signs of His return, He foretold the state of backsliding that would exist just prior to His second advent. There would be, as in the days of Noah, the activity and stir of worldly business and pleasure seeking--buying, selling, planting, building, marrying, and giving in marriage--with forgetfulness of God and the future life. For those living at this time, Christ's admonition is: "Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares." "Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." Luke 21:34, 36.

The condition of the church at this time is pointed out in the Saviour's words in the Revelation: "Thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead." And to those who refuse to arouse from their careless security, the solemn warning is addressed: "If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee." Revelation 3:1, 3.

It was needful that men should be awakened to their danger; that they should be roused to prepare for the solemn events connected with the close of probation. The prophet of God declares: "The day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?" Who shall stand when He appeareth who is "of purer eyes than to behold evil," and cannot "look on iniquity"? Joel 2:11; Habakkuk 1:13. To them that cry, "My God, we know Thee," yet have transgressed His covenant, and hastened after another god, hiding iniquity in their hearts, and loving the paths of unrighteousness-- to these the day of the Lord is "darkness, and not light, even very dark, and no brightness in it." Hosea 8:2, 1; Psalm 16;4; Amos 5:20. "It shall come to pass at that time," saith the Lord, "that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The Lord will not do good, neither will He do evil." Zephaniah 1:12. "I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible." Isaiah 13:11. "Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them;" "their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation." Zephaniah 1:18, 13.

The prophet Jeremiah, looking forward to this fearful time, exclaimed: "I am pained at my very heart. . . . I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. Destruction upon destruction is cried." Jeremiah 4:19, 20.

"That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of the trumpet and alarm." Zephaniah 1:15, 16. "Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, . . . to lay the land desolate: and He shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it." Isaiah 13:9.

In view of that great day the word of God, in the most solemn and impressive language, calls upon His people to arouse from their spiritual lethargy and to seek His face with repentance and humiliation: "Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand." "Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children: . . . let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar." "Turn ye even to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness." Joel 2:1, 15-17, 12, 13.

To prepare a people to stand in the day of God, a great work of reform was to be accomplished. God saw that many of His professed people were not building for eternity, and in His mercy He was about to send a message of warning to arouse them from their stupor and lead them to make ready for the coming of the Lord.

This warning is brought to view in Revelation 14. Here is a threefold message represented as proclaimed by heavenly beings and immediately followed by the coming of the Son of man to reap "the harvest of the earth." The first of these warnings announces the approaching judgment. The prophet beheld an angel flying "in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." Revelation 14:6, 7.

This message is declared to be a part of "the everlasting gospel." The work of preaching the gospel has not been committed to angels, but has been entrusted to men. Holy angels have been employed in directing this work, they have in charge the great movements for the salvation of men; but the actual proclamation of the gospel is performed by the servants of Christ upon the earth.

Faithful men, who were obedient to the promptings of God's Spirit and the teachings of His word, were to proclaim this warning to the world. They were those who had taken heed to the "sure word of prophecy," the "light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the daystar arise." 2 Peter 1:19. They had been seeking the knowledge of God more than all hid treasures, counting it "better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold." Proverbs 3:14. And the Lord revealed to them the great things of the kingdom. "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him; and He will show them His covenant." Psalm 25:14.

It was not the scholarly theologians who had an understanding of this truth, and engaged in its proclamation. Had these been faithful watchmen, diligently and prayerfully searching the Scriptures, they would have known the time of night; the prophecies would have opened to them the events about to take place. But they did not occupy this position, and the message was given by humbler men. Said Jesus: "Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you." John 12:35. Those who turn away from the light which God has given, or who neglect to seek it when it is within their reach, are left in darkness. But the Saviour declares: "He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." John 8:12. Whoever is with singleness of purpose seeking to do God's will, earnestly heeding the light already given, will receive greater light; to that soul some star of heavenly radiance will be sent to guide him into all truth.

At the time of Christ's first advent the priests and scribes of the Holy City, to whom were entrusted the oracles of God, might have discerned the signs of the times and proclaimed the coming of the Promised One. The prophecy of Micah designated His birthplace; Daniel specified the time of His advent. Micah 5:2; Daniel 9:25. God committed these prophecies to the Jewish leaders; they were without excuse if they did not know and declare to the people that the Messiah's coming was at hand. Their ignorance was the result of sinful neglect. The Jews were building monuments for the slain prophets of God, while by their deference to the great men of earth they were paying homage to the servants of Satan. Absorbed in their ambitious strife for place and power among men, they lost sight of the divine honors proffered them by the King of heaven.

With profound and reverent interest the elders of Israel should have been studying the place, the time, the circumstances, of the greatest event in the world's history--the coming of the Son of God to accomplish the redemption of man. All the people should have been watching and waiting that they might be among the first to welcome the world's Redeemer. But, lo, at Bethlehem two weary travelers from the hills of Nazareth traverse the whole length of the narrow street to the eastern extremity of the town, vainly seeking a place of rest and shelter for the night. No doors are open to receive them. In a wretched hovel prepared for cattle, they at last find refuge, and there the Saviour of the world is born.

Heavenly angels had seen the glory which the Son of God shared with the Father before the world was, and they had looked forward with intense interest to His appearing on earth as an event fraught with the greatest joy to all people. Angels were appointed to carry the glad tidings to those who were prepared to receive it and who would joyfully make it known to the inhabitants of the earth. Christ had stooped to take upon Himself man's nature; He was to bear an infinite weight of woe as He should make His soul an offering for sin; yet angels desired that even in His humiliation the Son of the Highest might appear before men with a dignity and glory befitting His character. Would the great men of earth assemble at Israel's capital to greet His coming? Would legions of angels present Him to the expectant company?

An angel visits the earth to see who are prepared to welcome Jesus. But he can discern no tokens of expectancy. He hears no voice of praise and triumph that the period of Messiah's coming is at hand. The angel hovers for a time over the chosen city and the temple where the divine presence has been manifested for ages; but even here is the same indifference. The priests, in their pomp and pride, are offering polluted sacrifices in the temple. The Pharisees are with loud voices addressing the people or making boastful prayers at the corners of the streets. In the palaces of kings, in the assemblies of philosophers, in the schools of the rabbis, all are alike unmindful of the wondrous fact which has filled all heaven with joy and praise--that the Redeemer of men is about to appear upon the earth.

There is no evidence that Christ is expected, and no preparation for the Prince of life. In amazement the celestial messenger is about to return to heaven with the shameful tidings, when he discovers a group of shepherds who are watching their flocks by night, and, as they gaze into the starry heavens, are contemplating the prophecy of a Messiah to come to earth, and longing for the advent of the world's Redeemer. Here is a company that is prepared to receive the heavenly message. And suddenly the angel of the Lord appears, declaring the good tidings of great joy. Celestial glory floods all the plain, an innumerable company of angels is revealed, and as if the joy were too great for one messenger to bring from heaven, a multitude of voices break forth in the anthem which all the nations of the saved shall one day sing: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." Luke 2:14.

Oh, what a lesson is this wonderful story of Bethlehem! How it rebukes our unbelief, our pride and self-sufficiency. How it warns us to beware, lest by our criminal indifference we also fail to discern the signs of the times, and therefore know not the day of our visitation.

It was not alone upon the hills of Judea, not among the lowly shepherds only, that angels found the watchers for Messiah's coming. In the land of the heathen also were those that looked for Him; they were wise men, rich and noble, the philosophers of the East. Students of nature, the Magi had seen God in His handiwork. From the Hebrew Scriptures they had learned of the Star to arise out of Jacob, and with eager desire they awaited His coming, who should be not only the "Consolation of Israel," but a "Light to lighten the Gentiles," and "for salvation unto the ends of the earth." Luke 2:25, 32; Acts 13:47. They were seekers for light, and light from the throne of God illumined the path for their feet. While the priests and rabbis of Jerusalem, the appointed guardians and expounders of the truth, were shrouded in darkness, the Heaven-sent star guided these Gentile strangers to the birthplace of the newborn King.

It is "unto them that look for Him" that Christ is to "appear the second time without sin unto salvation." Hebrews 9:28. Like the tidings of the Saviour's birth, the message of the second advent was not committed to the religious leaders of the people. They had failed to preserve their connection with God, and had refused light from heaven; therefore they were not of the number described by the apostle Paul: "But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness." 1 Thessalonians 5:4, 5.

The watchmen upon the walls of Zion should have been the first to catch the tidings of the Saviour's advent, the first to lift their voices to proclaim Him near, the first to warn the people to prepare for His coming. But they were at ease, dreaming of peace and safety, while the people were asleep in their sins. Jesus saw His church, like the barren fig tree, covered with pretentious leaves, yet destitute of precious fruit. There was a boastful observance of the forms of religion, while the spirit of true humility, penitence, and faith--which alone could render the service acceptable to God--was lacking. Instead of the graces of the Spirit there were manifested pride, formalism, vainglory, selfishness, oppression. A backsliding church closed their eyes to the signs of the times. God did not forsake them, or suffer His faithfulness to fail; but they departed from Him, and separated themselves from His love. As they refused to comply with the conditions, His promises were not fulfilled to them.

Such is the sure result of neglect to appreciate and improve the light and privileges which God bestows. Unless the church will follow on in His opening providence, accepting every ray of light, performing every duty which may be revealed, religion will inevitably degenerate into the observance of forms, and the spirit of vital godliness will disappear. This truth has been repeatedly illustrated in the history of the church. God requires of His people works of faith and obedience corresponding to the blessings and privileges bestowed. Obedience requires a sacrifice and involves a cross; and this is why so many of the professed followers of Christ refused to receive the light from heaven, and, like the Jews of old, knew not the time of their visitation. Luke 19:44. Because of their pride and unbelief the Lord passed them by and revealed His truth to those who, like the shepherds of Bethlehem and the Eastern Magi, had given heed to all the light they had received.

Qualifications For Leadership

They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God, for they offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy. Leviticus 21:6

The call to spiritual leadership is a great privilege and honor. There were 12 conditions given for the selection of priests:

1. No man who is blind. You have to be a person of vision and revelation. A leader leads from the front. If you don’t know what God is saying and where He is taking you, you can’t be a leader in the house of the Lord.
2. No man who is lame. God is holy. If you are not walking uprightly with the Lord, you can’t be His leader.
3. No man with a flat nose (KJV). In the Bible, the nose symbolizes spiritual discernment. A leader has to be a discerner of people’s hearts (Heb. 5:14).
4. No man with any limb too long. This speaks of those who are unbalanced in doctrine or those who have added teachings that are not of God. Such people would lead Christians astray.
5. No man with a broken foot. Proverbs 25:19 talks about an unfaithful man as a person with a broken foot. A leader has to be reliable and trustworthy.
6. No man with a broken hand. Such a priest can’t carry the vessels of the Lord in the tabernacle. His services would be faulty. A leader must have the ability to serve God well.
7. No man who is a hunchback. A leader must be able to shoulder burdens. He must have a steely backbone to carry the weight of the ministry.
8. No man who is a dwarf. Someone who is immature and stunted in his spiritual growth can’t be a leader in God’s house.
9. No man with a defect in his eye. Jesus talks about being single-eyed (Matt. 6:22, KJV). Being focused and determined to fulfill the vision of the Lord is a leadership qualification.
10. No man with scurvy (KJV). This person is not properly nourished in his life. A leader has to feed on daily manna from heaven—the Word of God.
11. No man with a scab. You can’t be a leader if your life is not spotless and without blemish. A leader of God must have proven character and a good reputation.
12. No man who is a eunuch. A leader in God’s house must have the capacity to produce life and bring forth fruit.

Be filled with the Spirit

"Be filled with the Spirit." Epesians 5:18

The Bible says the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives as Christians is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. How does this happen in our lives?

It can happen as we yield our lives to the control of God's Holy Spirit. God will not force you to obey Him, or to yield your life to His Holy Spirit. But as we ask God to take control of our lives, His Holy Spirit in our lives can bring about what is good in us.

What is fruit? It is something that grows on a tree and is good. You cannot produce the fruit of the Holy Spirit in your life just by your own efforts; the tree must bear the fruit and God is our source. So if you want to have more patience, don't just try to do it in your own strength. Ask God to fill you with His Holy Spirit and to bring the fruit of patience in your life.

Dr. Bill Bright, the late founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, talked often about the Spirit filled life. Let God fill you with His Holy Spirit; for the fruits of the Holy Spirit is really the character of God Himself. For God is love; He is kind; He is our peace.

So, this week, let us pray that

• God will fill and control us completely with His Holy Spirit
• God will pour out His love on the victims in Haiti
• God will protect and bless our staff and volunteers at Global Media Outreach and fill and control us with His Holy Spirit
  

THANK YOU so much for your prayers. God loves you so much and He wants to change the world through you and me. It is a wonderful privilege to serve our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

May God bless you,

Spiritual Diet

For I am the LORD your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy Leviticus 11:44

Leviticus 11 relates to us the law concerning the food we eat. While the ceremonial law of the old covenant has been abolished through Christ, there are still spiritual principles we can glean through a careful study of its symbolism.

There are four categories of food in the Jewish dietary laws. The first category has to do with animals on land. The Jews are allowed to eat animals that chew cud and have cloven hooves. Cud is food that is eaten by animals with more than one stomach, like the cow. It is partly digested food that is regurgitated to be chewed again. The English idiom, “chew the cud,” means to ponder and meditate.

Cloven hooves are feet that are divided or separated. Spiritually, all these speak of a believer choosing a lifestyle of meditation on God’s Word coupled with a holy walk that is separated unto the Lord.

The second category has to do with fish in the water. The people of Israel are permitted to eat fish with fins and scales. Fins give a fish the ability to go in a purposeful direction without being influenced by the currents and tides of the sea. Scales are the bony plates on the body of a fish that protect it from anything unclean in the sea.

Jesus says that while we are in the world, we are not of the world (John 15:19). We must develop the ability to live a life of purpose without being negatively influenced by the world.

The third category has to do with birds in the air. A prohibitive list consisting of the vulture, buzzard, falcon, raven, owl, bat and others is given. They are all fowls given to the feeding on dead flesh. Paul says that if you are given to the flesh, you will not inherit the kingdom of God (Gal. 5:19-21).

The fourth category has to do with flying insects that feed on garbage and feces. Being unclean insects, the Jews are not allowed to eat them. God did not call us to uncleanness, but to holiness (1 Thess. 4:7).

The Bible has much to say about our spiritual nourishment. For Jesus, “curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good” (Is. 7:15). Curd is the oil of milk. It speaks of the Holy Spirit. Honey speaks of the sweetness of God’s Word.

When we give ourselves to the Word and the Spirit, we will grow strong in holiness and discernment. Like Christ, we will then know how to refuse the evil and choose the good

Failure Guaranteed

None of us plan to fail—we strive and plan to win. Winning often places huge demands on us, and it is tempting to look for the path of least resistance. The problem is that those paths usually lead downhill when our objective may be the mountaintop. There is one sure way that guarantees failure, and that is to quit. Rest if you must (all mountain climbers do) and pace yourself to conserve energy—but never, never quit.

Our God knows we are frail and that we are battling ourselves. He also knows how important it is for us to face ourselves and to work toward becoming stronger. Babies are frail and weak, too, but we all know that living makes them stronger. Sometimes we may need to bolster our spirits and gather our strength for the next phase of life (Hebrews 12:12-13). Just as it is wrong for parents to do everything for a child, God will not do everything for us. We need to learn to face life and to live it. We need to learn the lesson of never quitting.

What Does God Require for Eternal Life?

God promises eternal life to all who believe in and accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. But do we have any responsibility beyond believing?

Does God require anything of us for us to receive eternal life? In John 3:16, perhaps the best-known scripture in the Bible, God says He will grant eternal life to those people who have faith in Jesus Christ. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

What a wonderful, inspiring offer from our Creator-to freely give eternal life to anyone who believes in His Son.

But is that all there is to it? Based on this scripture, many believe that all one must do for salvation is to "accept Jesus," and, at that point of acceptance, one's eternal life will be assured. Is this what the Bible says?

It is clear that God gives us eternal life out of His deep love for humanity. As the apostle Paul explains: "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins," but "God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ . . ." (Ephesians. 2:1, 4, 5).

Later in the same chapter, Paul further explains the way we receive eternal life: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Ephesians 2:8, 9). Eternal life comes as a result of God's grace. It is His gift, unearned and undeserved on our part, freely imparted to us.

No one can earn eternal life

These scriptures make it plain that eternal life is by the grace of God through faith in Jesus, not by our own efforts or works of obedience. No one will ever be able to boast that he has earned or that he deserves the gift of eternal life. Salvation is God's to give, not ours to demand.

But back to our question. Is anything required on the part of the ones receiving God's wonderful gift of eternal life?

If there is an authority on receiving eternal life, it has to be Jesus Christ. After all, He is the one through whom we receive it.

Christ is called the author of our salvation: ". . . Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him" (Hebrews 5:8, 9).

Since salvation comes by faith, what does this scripture mean when it speaks of "eternal salvation to all who obey Him?" If Christ's saving us is a gift we cannot possibly earn, what does obedience have to do with eternal life? If we must do something to receive God's promise, how can it be a gift?

Christ the authority on eternal life

Since Jesus is the author of our salvation, let's examine a few of His statements that tell us how we can receive that gift.

During Jesus Christ's ministry on earth, He involved Himself in many disagreements with Pharisees, the religious leaders who demanded strict, legalistic obedience to their interpretations of God's law. But, although Jesus had many sharp disagreements with them, He never said that obedience to God's law was unnecessary or wrong. In fact, He said that, if we expect to enter God's Kingdom, we must be even more righteousness than the Pharisees were (Matthew 5:20).

The Pharisees' problem was that they didn't understand the reason for obeying God's laws. Notice Jesus' comments to them in Matthew 23:23: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone."

Jesus commended the scribes and Pharisees for their obedience, but said they had missed something: They had failed to learn the far more important lessons that should have resulted from obedience to God's law and the very purpose for it. Christ's point is that obedience is important, not just for the exercise of doing what we're told to do, but because through obedience we can learn the godly traits of sound judgment, loving mercy and steadfast faith.

In Matthew 7:21 Jesus made another striking statement: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall inherit the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven."

He made it clear that merely acknowledging Jesus Christ as Lord and Master-saying "Lord, Lord"-is not sufficient. To inherit the Kingdom, we must do something. We must do the will of the Father, as He clearly stated.

But, if we must do something to receive eternal life, doesn't that contradict the notion that it is indeed a gift? Aren't we saved just because we believe in Jesus Christ?

The American Heritage Dictionary defines "belief" as: "1. The mental act, condition or habit of placing trust or confidence in a person or thing. 2. Mental acceptance of or conviction in the truth or actuality of something."

Jesus wants us to understand that there is more to receiving eternal life than just a mental act or mental acceptance. Our conviction that He is our Savior must be more than just a warm, comforting thought or intellectual concept. Jesus warns that simply calling on His name or recognizing Him as "Lord" is not enough. Jesus taught that God requires us to demonstrate our faith by obediently doing the will of the Father.

Salvation is just the beginning

Jesus Christ emphasized that following Him requires a great deal of effort and sacrifice from those who would be His disciples. The acceptance of Jesus as Savior leads to challenges, choices and difficult decisions: "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whosoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it" (Matthew 16:24, 25).

This level of effort involves much more than mere mental or intellectual acceptance. Acceptance of and faith in Jesus requires that our priorities change, as He made clear. Our lives are no longer just our own, but are dedicated to following Christ. If we do what we want, He said we will lose our lives. We are required instead to do what Jesus commands.

This demands living, active, deeply committed obedience, which demonstrates our faith in His sacrifice for us and in His leadership over our lives.

The principle is illustrated in an example recorded in Luke 19:11-27. In a parable, Jesus compares Himself to a wealthy nobleman who leaves on a long trip. As the nobleman departs, he gives his servants money and instructs them to invest it during his absence.

Upon his return, the nobleman demands to know what each servant has accomplished. He rewards two of his servants because they increased what he had given them. The third servant claimed he was so afraid of losing the initial amount that he didn't even try to invest it.

That servant's fear and subsequent lack of obedience proved he was unfaithful. In the parable, Jesus Christ Himself, represented as the nobleman, judges the unfaithful servant to be an enemy and condemns him (verse 27).

The parable illustrates that obedience, works and spiritual growth prove our faithfulness. It also illustrates that obedience produces the results and accomplishments God expects us to achieve.

On the other hand, refusal to obey demonstrates a lack of faith and will result in condemnation.

Beginning of lifelong commitment

Another lesson we learn from this parable is that being chosen for eternal life isn't the end; it is only the beginning.

As Paul expressed it, "And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and blameless, and above reproach in His sight-if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel . . ." (Colossians 1:21-23).

Notice that the chance to receive eternal life is conditional. To remain holy and blameless before God, we must "continue in the faith." We must put forth effort. We must produce.

Conversion is only the beginning of God's work in your life. Not only that, it is also the beginning of your work for God. More is involved in receiving eternal life than sitting by and passively expecting God to hand it over to us. We know it is a gift and that obedience to God doesn't earn what He freely gives us, but we also are required to put that gift to work. We must demonstrate our faith by obedience.

In Ephesians 2, quoted earlier, Paul states that we are saved by God's grace and not by any works we can do. However, he then concludes his comments on receiving eternal life through grace by stating, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (verse 10, emphasis added throughout).

Paul says the purpose of our receiving eternal life is that we can begin a life of good works.

Rewards according to works

A wealthy young man approached Jesus and asked Him how he could receive eternal life. "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" the man asked (Matthew 19:16). Christ's reply, in verse 17, might shock some who think obedience to God's law is unnecessary: "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments."

Jesus didn't answer that nothing is required other than believing in God. He told the young man that he must obey the commandments of God to receive the gift of eternal life. Jesus didn't say obedience would earn eternal life (in fact, nothing can earn it), but He did make it plain that it is required.

When the young man was unwilling to sacrifice his physical wealth to dedicate himself to Christ, the disciples were confused. They apparently thought that, with all his talent and ability, this impressive young man was the kind of person who deserved eternal life. "When His disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, 'Who then can be saved?' But Jesus looked at them and said to them, 'With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible'" (verses 25, 26).

Jesus reemphasizes that, although obedience to God's commandments is required, it does not earn eternal life. It is impossible for any man to earn eternal life by his own efforts.

For one thing, our efforts will always fall short, as illustrated by this young man's lack of commitment. And, no matter what we give up or do, our actions cannot earn God's gift to us (verses 27-29). Eternal life is impossible except by the grace of God, but that reality does not relieve us of the requirement of obedience.

Free but not cheap

You may have heard the expression, "Salvation is free, but it isn't cheap." Our gift of life cost Christ His life. Jesus Christ, the very Son of God, willingly surrendered His life that we might enjoy the gift of eternal life. In turn, He expects us to surrender our lives for salvation, as well. "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:26, 27).

Our love for and commitment to Jesus Christ and God the Father must be more important to us than any other relationship. Each of us must be willing to bear his "cross," to faithfully follow Jesus even through life's most difficult challenges.

Verses 28-33 carry that thought, warning us to consider carefully that accepting the gift of eternal life comes at the highest cost we can imagine. "... Whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple" (verse 33). As Jesus gave His life for us, we must be willing to give our lives to follow Him.

Obedience earns us nothing

Jesus used a story to illustrate that we can earn nothing through obedience. "And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and sit down to eat'? But will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink'? Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do'" (Luke 17:7-10).

When a servant meets a minimum standard required of him by his master, he has simply done his duty, according to Jesus Christ. We must realize that obedience earns nothing; obeying is our duty and is required for us to receive the gift of eternal life.

In Matthew 16:27 Jesus makes a vital point about the relationship between works and eternal life: "For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works." When Jesus Christ returns, He will judge and reward us according to our efforts, works and obedience.

Notice that Jesus will be looking for something when He returns: "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last. Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter through the gates into the city" (Revelation 22:12-14).

When He returns, Jesus Christ will reward each of us according to our works. Those who have kept His commandments can claim the right to the gift of eternal life!

Obedience is the evidence of faith

But, if God wants to freely give us eternal life based on our faith in Jesus, what does obedience have to do with anything?

Obedience is not an attempt to make ourselves righteous or to earn God's favor and eternal life. Instead, obedience is an expression of our deep, abiding faith in His promises. Even though we realize God requires us to obey, we learn that obedience is not something we do reluctantly or begrudgingly.

Instead, obedience is a willing expression of our love and gratitude for all He is willing to give. It is a confident and enthusiastic expression of our faith in God's promise of the gift, for "without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6).

The apostle John confirms that there is no contradiction between faith and obedience. On the contrary, there is a clear connection between the two: "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" (1 John 5:3-5).

Through obedience, we demonstrate our faith in Jesus, overcome the world and accomplish God's purpose. John also adds that obedience to God's commands is not an unreasonable burden.

How Abraham proved his faith

To emphasize the importance of faith, Paul said in Romans 4:13 that Abraham's righteousness was imputed to him and promises were made to him because of his faith, not his works of obedience to the law. But how did God know Abraham was faithful?

Remember Jesus' words in Matthew 7:21, quoted earlier: Belief is pointless unless it is proven by action and obedience.

The apostle James explains that faith and obedience go hand in hand: "But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?

"And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.' And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works and not by faith only" (James 2:23, 24).

The point is made again that works do not make us righteous, justify us or earn us eternal life, but the works of obedience provide the evidence and proof that we have faith, by which we are saved.

Eternal life is free, and obedience is a requirement. At first those two statements may seem contradictory. Yet, as Jesus Christ Himself clearly taught, there are things we must do if we want to inherit eternal life. He specifically mentioned God's commandments in this regard, as we read earlier. At the time of the judgment, He will proclaim a stern message for those who have believed in Him, but whose belief never translated into loving submission to God's law: "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'" (Matthew 7:23).

Jesus Christ and the writers of the Bible teach faithful commitment to God, demonstrated by obedience to His law. Obedience does not contradict or deny faith. In fact, obedience establishes faith. Obedience demonstrates faith. Obedience is based on faith. Obedience to God's law is required of those who will receive the gift of eternal life.