Habakkuk's Two Tables #49
PART SIX: 1989
Presented by Jeff Pippenger
Invocation by Brother Jeff Pippenger: Heavenly Father, we thank you for giving us a good night's rest and bringing us together this morning that we can study your Word. We want the presence of your Holy Spirit in this study. We ask that you grant us that presence. We want the words that are conveyed in this message to be true, honorable, a type that would glorify you. We ask that you would take control of this presentation, overrule my humanity and hide me behind your cross. Forgive me; forgive the listeners of anything that is preventing us from being fully prepared to receive what you have for us. Open the hearts and minds of the listeners, and we ask that you pour your Latter Rain out upon us at this time. We want to understand a little bit of the shaking that goes on as this final warning message proceeds through history. We ask that you grant us that insight at this time. In Jesus's name, amen.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: We are dealing with 1989 as the end of William Miller's scattering in William Miller's dream as the point in time of 1989 when the Dirt Brush Man arrives and the Lion from the Tribe of Judah begins to unseal the prophetic message for this generation. So, we are spending time on Daniel 11, verse 40, which marks the arrival of the Time of the End for the 144,000, and marks the end of William Miller's dream.
And we are trying to show that the characteristics of Daniel 11, verse 40, the things that it teaches, the things that it opens up are consistent with the increase of knowledge that comes at the Time of the End when the Book of Daniel is unsealed.
In our last presentation we pointed out that the Millerite History is a two-step history, the First and Second Angels' Messages, and that the First Angel's Message in both the time of Christ and in the time of the Millerites and our time is a message connected with identifying with the events connected with the close of probation; and, that it is through the Books of Daniel and Revelation that the Lord designs to produce a revival among His people. We have read from Sister White who said that very thing, in Testimonies to Ministers, page 113.
We then closed in our last presentation by identifying that every Reform Movement has a closed door message, a shut-door message, beginning with Noah, all the way down through time; and, therefore, we have added to the consideration of Daniel 11, verse 40, that this is the Shut-Door Message. Verse 40 identifies the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, and verse 41 identifies The Sunday Law in the United States where the door closes for Adventism.
So, we are going to continue along that line; but, we are going to deal a little bit with a waymark of prophetic history that sometimes makes people uncomfortable, having to do with the shaking of Adventism.
So, we are going to look at Ezekiel 37, just briefly.
Ezekiel Thirty-Seven
Adventism
We have referred to Ezekiel 37 more than once in this worship series. In Ezekiel�37 is the First and Second Angels' Messages illustrated, typified by Ezekiel.
In Ezekiel 37, beginning at verse 1, it says,
"1The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones."�
And Sister White clearly says this is the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Verse 2:
�"2And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. 3And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest."�
Can the Adventist Church be brought back to life? And that is what we are dealing with here, is the revival message for Adventism, which is a shut-door message.
Verse 4:
�"4Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord."�
This is what brings them back to life, is hearing the Word of the Lord.
�"5Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: 6And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord." Ezekiel 37:1-6 (KJV).
So, that is what the prophetic message is that Ezekiel is supposed to proclaim.
Ezekiel 37:7-8
And then in verse 7, he says,
7So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. 8And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them." Ezekiel 37:7-8 (KJV).
All right. That is the First Message. After this Ezekiel is going to prophesy to the wind, and the wind is what brings them to life.
And, of course, this is illustrated in the creation of Adam. First, Adam is created as a body. The bones and sinews and muscles are brought together. And then the second step for Adam is the Lord breathes into him the breath of life and he becomes a living soul.
And in the Second Message here, the second prophecy in Ezekiel in verse 9, it says,
�"9Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. 10So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. 11Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
�"12Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 13And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, 14And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord.
"15The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, 16Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and for all the house of Israel his companions: 17And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand. 18And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these? 19Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand. 20And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.
"21And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: 22And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: 23Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. 24And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. 25And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. 26Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. 27My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore." Ezekiel 37:9-28 (KJV).
So, our Second Message is the message from the four winds that brings the body to life. So, we are identifying these two messages by Ezekiel as the First and Second Angels' Messages of Millerite History, the First and Second Messages of our history, the First and Second Messages of the history of Christ. They are the First and Second Messages of all these reform lines.
But, we want to take a component about the First Message; because, in the First Message, when the First Message is presented�and we are saying the First Message arrives for Adventists at the end of the world in 1989, at the conclusion of William Miller's dream, at the collapse of the Soviet Union in fulfillment of verse 40�that this is that First Message that Ezekiel proclaimed here that brings the bones and the flesh together; but, they are not alive yet.
And it says in verse 7 that when he prophesied as he was commanded, there was a noise and a shaking. And we will get to that in a minute. Let me read a couple of quotes from the Spirit of Prophecy, and then we will deal with noise and shaking.
General Conference Bulletin, February 4, 1893:
"I lay down my pen and lift up my soul in prayer, that the Lord would breathe upon his backslidden people, which are as dry bones, that they may live." General Conference Bulletin, February 4, 1893.
This is one of several places where Sister White says that God's people are the dry bones, and she is praying that the Lord would breathe upon them. She is praying that they would receive the revival that they need.
The next quote:
"The dry bones need to be breathed upon by the Holy Spirit of God, that they may come into action, as by a resurrection from the dead." Bible Training School, December 1, 1903.
And in our last presentation, we quoted from Selected Messages, book 1, page 128, where she says the revival represents a renewal of spiritual life. So, the revival is the resurrection from the dead, and it is the Second Message in Ezekiel 37 that brings the bones into a mighty army.
But, in the First Message, the one we are dealing with, there is a noise and a shaking.
NOISE: Strong's Concordance, H6963�From an unused root meaning to call aloud; a voice or sound:� + aloud, bleating, crackling, cry (+ out), fame, lightness, lowing, noise, + hold peace, [pro-] claim, proclamation, + sing, sound, + spark, thunder (-ing), voice, + yell.
And the definition of NOISE in Strong's says, from an unused root to call aloud; a voice or a sound.
So, we have already identified that the First Message, whether it be Elijah, John the Baptist, or William Miller, is identified as the voice crying in the wilderness. This noise is a voice. It is the voice crying in the wilderness for this generation.
NOISE: From an unused root meaning to call aloud; a voice or sound:� + aloud, bleating, crackling, fame, lightness, lowing, noise, hold peace, proclaim, proclamation, sing, sound spark, a thundering voice. Okay. This is the voice crying in the wilderness that brings together the bones and flesh, but does not quite bring them to life.
What is the shaking?
SHAKING: Strong's Concordance, H7494�From H7493; vibration, bounding, uproar:�commotion, confused noise, earthquake, fierceness, quaking, rattling, rushing, shaking. H7493�A primitive root; to undulate (as the earth, the sky, etc.; also a field of grain), particularly through fear; specifically to spring (as a locust):�make afraid, (re-) move, quake, (make to) shake, (make to) tremble.
SHAKING in verse 7 is from H7493; a vibration, a commotion, a confused noise, an earthquake, fierceness, quaking, rattling, rushing, shaking. A primitive root; to undulate (as the earth, the sky, etc.; also a field of grain), particularly through fear, specifically to spring (as a locust):�make afraid, remove, quake, to shake, make to tremble.
The First Message here, the message of the events connected with the close of probation, the closed-door message, the message the Lord uses to produce a revival, the message of the last six verses of Daniel 11, it is the voice of one crying in the wilderness; and, it produces a shaking in Adventism. And this shaking in Adventism is a subject of the Scriptures. All right? You can identify certain characteristics about the Beast. The Beast never changes. The Beast receives a deadly wound, but its deadly wound is healed.
You can identify characteristics about the False Prophet. The False Prophet is the power that changes. It begins as a lamb and ends up speaking as a dragon.
You can identify characteristics about the Dragon, the number 10. He moves through history.
But, when it comes to the prophetic message to this First Message, it is identified in the Scriptures that this message causes a shaking. So, the shaking is a subject of prophecy. And we want to put this in the mix; because, as we consider how the Lion of the tribe of Judah unseals the message for this generation, beginning in 1989, one of the methods that He uses to lead people to find truth is the argument that is brought against the truth. The Lord has allowed men to be raised up that fight this message; and, because of their faulty reasoning, those people that are following this message have been forced to go to areas in God's Word to defend this message that they probably would not have gone to had they not been pushed into that corner.
So, at minimum when you are talking about the shaking, it is worthwhile to look at it so you can see that the Lord's hand was even in control of the opponents that are raised up. Okay?
Ezekiel 37, the First and Second Angels' Messages; and, it identifies the noise, the voice crying in the wilderness, and it identifies the shaking produced from fear.
Acts 2:13-21; Joel 1:5
Go to Acts, chapter 2, verse 13 through 21. This is at Pentecost. Verse 1 of Acts, chapter�2, says,
"1And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place." Acts 2:1 (KJV).
And in verse 13, as the Disciples are speaking in various languages because there are people from all over the world in Jerusalem at that time period that have their own languages, the gift of tongues is opened up to the Disciples; and, those people that are opposing the message are claiming that these people that are speaking in other than Hebrew are drunk.
Verse 13:
"13Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine."�
New wine is a prophetic characteristic of the Latter Rain Message. Okay?
"13Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.
"14But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words. 15For these [men] are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. 16But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel. 17And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: 18And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: 19And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: 20The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: 21And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." Acts 2:13-21 (KJV).
So, go to Joel, where Peter says Pentecost is the fulfillment of Joel. In Joel, chapter 1, verse�5, it says,
"5Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth." Joel 1:5 (KJV).
Okay. The new wine here is what the people on the wrong side of the issue of Pentecost was charging against the Disciples, "And they are drunk here early in the day." But, the new wine is the Latter Rain Message that came in the time of Peter, the Latter Rain Message that came in the time of the Millerites, and the Latter Rain Message that comes primarily here at the end of the world.
And when the new wine comes, when the Latter Rain Message comes, there is a class who rejects the message. The new wine is cut off from their mouth. And that class accuses those that are receiving the Message of being drunk. So, you have two manifestations of drunkenness. You have the class that is receiving the new wine that are being accused of being drunkards, that are being led by the Holy Spirit; and, then you have the drunkards of Ephraim, those that have been drinking the wine of Babylon and are prevented thereby to not recognize the Latter Rain Message.
So, all I am saying is, what I am saying here in terms of our study, is that when Joel was fulfilled in the time of the Disciples, and when Joel was fulfilled in the time of the Millerites, and it is pointing forward to the perfect fulfillment of Joel at the end of the world, one of the components of this prophetic passage is that there is a controversy that takes place, an argument between those who are fighting the Message and those who are accepting the Message.
That gives us two witnesses. That is Ezekiel and Peter and Joel, three witnesses, that the debate that goes on over the Latter Rain Message is a subject of prophecy.
Sister White is speaking about Acts and Peter and Pentecost in Acts of the Apostles, pages�40 � 43. She says,
"'Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans? and how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?'
"The priests and rulers were greatly enraged at this wonderful manifestation,"�
Okay. This was the mighty manifestation of the power of God.
"The Advent Movement from 1840 to 1844 was a glorious manifestation of the power of God." And when Sister White makes that statement in The Great Controversy, page 611, she is comparing it to the history of Pentecost, which she is dealing with in this passage; and, she is using both Pentecost and the Advent Movement of 1840 to 1844 to illustrate the perfect fulfillment of Joel during our time period, the Latter Rain. So, she is commenting here, and she says, "this wonderful manifestation," that is a tie-in.
�"The priests and rulers were greatly"�
What? Enraged. Okay?
�"enraged at this wonderful manifestation, but they dared not give way to their malice, for fear of exposing themselves to the violence of the people. They had put the Nazarene to death; but here were His servants, unlettered men of Galilee,"�
Who?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: Unlettered men.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: Unlettered men of Galilee; no PhD's behind their names.
�"unlettered men of Galilee, telling in all the languages then spoken, the story of His life and ministry."�
How is that repeated?
How does the story of His life and ministry get told all over the world in everyone's own language here at the end? What is that emphasizing?
It is emphasizing that He is going to open up the prophetic understanding of His Word around the globe. The language is going to be opened up at the end is the language of prophecy.
�"The priests, determined to account for the miraculous power of the disciples in some natural way, declared that they were drunken from partaking largely of the new wine prepared for the feast. Some of the most ignorant of the people present seized upon this suggestion as the truth, but the more intelligent knew it to be false; and those who understood the different languages testified to the accuracy with which these languages were used by the disciples.
"In answer to the accusation of the priests Peter showed that this demonstration was in direct fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel, wherein he foretold that such power would come upon men to fit them for a special work."�and then she quotes from Acts�"'Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem,' he said, 'be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: for these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel: And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: and on My servants and on My handmaidens I will pour out in those days of My Spirit; and they shall prophesy.'
"With clearness and power Peter bore witness of the death and resurrection of Christ: 'Ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by Him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Him . . . ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that He should be holden of it.'"�
Next paragraph:
�"Peter did not refer to the teachings of Christ to prove his position, because he knew that the prejudice of his hearers was so great that his words on this subject would be of no effect. Instead, he spoke to them of David, who was regarded by the Jews as one of the patriarchs of their nation. 'David speaketh concerning Him,' he declared: 'I foresaw the Lord always before My face, for He is on My right hand, that I should not be moved: therefore did My heart rejoice, and My tongue was glad; moreover also My flesh shall rest in hope: because Thou wilt not leave My soul in hell, neither wilt Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption. . . ."�
What is Peter's argument here? Prophecy; he goes to prophecy.
�"'Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day.' 'He . . . spake of the resurrection of Christ, that His soul was not left in hell, neither His flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.'
"The scene is one full of interest. Behold the people coming from all directions to hear the disciples witness to the truth as it is in Jesus. They press in, crowding the temple. Priests and rulers are there, the dark scowl of malignity still on their faces, their hearts still filled with abiding hatred against Christ, their hands uncleansed from the blood shed when they crucified the world's Redeemer. They had thought to find the apostles cowed with fear under the strong hand of oppression and murder, but they find them lifted above all fear and filled with the Spirit, proclaiming with power the divinity of Jesus of Nazareth. They hear them declaring with boldness that the One so recently humiliated, derided, smitten by cruel hands, and crucified, is the Prince of life, now exalted to the right hand of God.
"Some of those who listened to the apostles had taken an active part in the condemnation and death of Christ. Their voices had mingled with the rabble in calling for His crucifixion. When Jesus and Barabbas stood before them in the judgment hall and Pilate asked, 'Whom will ye that I release unto you?' they had shouted, 'Not this Man, but Barabbas!' Matthew 27:17; John 18:40. When Pilate delivered Christ to them, saying, 'Take ye Him, and crucify Him: for I find no fault in Him;' 'I am innocent of the blood of this just Person,' they had cried, 'His blood be on us, and on our children.' John 19:6; Matthew 27:24, 25.
"Now they heard the disciples declaring that it was the Son of God who had been crucified. Priests and rulers trembled. Conviction and anguish seized the people. 'They were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?' Among those who listened to the disciples were devout Jews, who were sincere in their belief."�
So, when you are talking about the debate, the shaking that goes on over this message, there are people that will watch the debate that are sincere that are going to come out on the right side of the issue. This is one of the things that is marked in prophecy, in how people understand the message.
FROM THE AUDIENCE: (Indiscernible question is put to Brother Pippenger.)
BROTHER PIPPENGER: This is in Adventism.
�"The power that accompanied the words of the speaker convinced them that Jesus was indeed the Messiah.
"'Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.'
"Peter urged home upon the convicted people the fact that they had rejected Christ because they had"�
What?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: Been deceived.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: Been deceived by what?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: Priests and rulers.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: �"been deceived by priests and rulers;"�
So, in this history here, which is repeated in our history, there is going to be a class in Adventism that reject the Latter Rain Message because they have been deceived by priests and rulers.
�"and that if they continued to look to these men for counsel, and waited for them to acknowledge Christ before they dared to do so, they would never accept Him. These powerful men, though making a profession of godliness, were ambitious for earthly riches and glory. They were not willing to come to Christ to receive light.
"Under the influence of this heavenly illumination the scriptures that Christ had explained to the disciples stood out before them with the luster of perfect truth. The veil that had prevented them from seeing to the end of that which had been abolished, was now removed, and they comprehended with perfect clearness the object of Christ's mission and the nature of His kingdom. They could speak with power of the Saviour; and as they unfolded to their hearers the plan of salvation, many were convicted and convinced. The traditions and superstitions inculcated by the priests were swept away from their minds,"�
What are the traditions and superstitions?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: William Miller's dream.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: That is the counterfeit coins that are brought in to cover up the genuine jewels in William Miller's dream.
And how did those counterfeit coins get removed?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: The Dirt Brush Man.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: The Dirt Brush Man�what?�swept them away from their minds.
�"and the teachings of the Saviour were accepted." Acts of the Apostles, 40�43.
History is repeated. The Dirt Brush Man was doing a work there.
And in this history, the message that the Disciples are proclaiming is the present truth testing message for that time. And when that present truth testing message was opened up to their minds, suddenly the entire Bible is opened to them. They can see the message of the hour perfectly and clearly. And this is repeated at the end: Those people that are drinking the new wine that comes on 9/11, the Lion of the tribe of Judah opens the prophetic message for this day and age up to their understanding.
Review and Herald, July 20, 1886, speaking of this very history of Pentecost with Peter, she says,
"It is with an earnest longing that I look forward to the time when the events of the day of Pentecost shall be repeated"�
So, was there an argument, a debate in the history of Pentecost?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: (Affirmations.)
BROTHER PIPPENGER: Yes. There is going to be an argument and a debate in this history. It is a subject of prophecy.
�"shall be repeated with even greater power than on that occasion. John says, 'I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.' Then, as at the Pentecostal season, the people will hear the truth spoken to them, every man in his own tongue.
"God can breathe new life into every soul"�
Where does God breathe new life into every soul?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: (Indiscernible response.)
BROTHER PIPPENGER: You are marking the day; but, what I am looking for is Ezekiel 37. This is tying into Ezekiel 37. This is the arrival of the Second Message, when the Church is raised up a mighty army.
�"God can breathe new life into every soul that sincerely desires to serve Him, and can touch the lips with a live coal from off the altar,"�
Where is that?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: From Isaiah.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: That is Isaiah 6.
Isaiah 6, now, when He is raising up people, breathing His Spirit upon them, raising them up a mighty army, he purifies their lips. Isaiah 6.
�"and cause them to become eloquent with His praise."�
He causes them to become eloquent with His praise, even though in a moment Sister White is going to tell us that before He causes them to be eloquent in His praise, they had stammering lips. They are going to be unloosed from those stammering lips.
�"Thousands of voices will be imbued with the power to speak forth the wonderful truths of God's Word. The stammering tongue will be unloosed,"�
Where is that from?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: Isaiah 28.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: Isaiah 28.
Okay. Go to Isaiah 28. There is something that you can see, if you are willing to see, in Isaiah 28, verse 11.
�"11For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people." Isaiah 28:11 (KJV).
Okay. What is "another tongue"? Different tongues.
FROM THE AUDIENCE: Other languages.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: Okay. He is going to speak to Adventism with another tongue that is stammering lips.
Verse 12:
"12To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear." Isaiah 28:12 (KJV).
Who would not hear? There is a group who would not hear. This here, Isaiah 28, is identifying this same shaking. There is a group that refuses to hear the Latter Rain Message.
But, He is going to raise up another tongue to speak to this people, and the other tongue He raises up to speak to this people is identified as the stammering lips.
So, if you are willing to see it, when are the stammering lips raised up? They are raised up when the new wine is cut off from the mouth of those people that are going to oppose them. Joel�1:5. The new wine is cut off from their mouths, and the stammering lips' mouth is filled with the new wine. Okay? Those are tie-ins there.
Back to our notes,
�"The stammering tongue will be unloosed, and the timid will be made strong to bear courageous testimony to the truth. May the Lord help His people to cleanse the soul temple from every defilement, and to maintain such a close connection with Him that they may be partakers of the latter rain when it shall be poured out." Review and Herald, July 20, 1886.
This is the Latter Rain Message.
Revelation 10:8-10; Jeremiah 15:16-21; Ezekiel 2:1-3:11; Isaiah 6:5-10; Isaiah 27:1-9
Okay. Revelation 10, verses 8 through 10, describe John eating the Little Book, but it is sweet in his mouth and bitter in his stomach.
"8And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. 9And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. 10And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter." Revelation 10:8-10 (KJV).
But, when we trace that line through further in the Bible, go to Jeremiah 15. That symbol of eating the Little Book is identifying a shaking among God's people, a controversy, a debate. John eats the Little Book, but all the prophets agree with one another. And in Jeremiah 15, beginning at verse 16, says,
"16Thy words were found, and I did eat them;"�
Who found the Words and ate them?
Well, Jeremiah did here, but John does in Revelation 10. He takes the Little Book out of the Angel's hand and he eats it. Jeremiah and John, this is the same people: it is the Millerites; it is the 144,000.
�"18Thy words were found, and I did eat them, and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts. 17I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand: for thou hast filled me with indignation."�
What does His hand have to do with it?
Why is he sitting alone because of His hand?
Well, in Revelation 10, when the Angel comes down, He has a Little Book open, and where is it at? It is in His hand.
And what does John do? He goes and takes the Little Book out of the hand of Him that came down out of Heaven.
So, this Little Book, this hand that gives the Little Book that John and Jeremiah eat, the fact that they eat this Little Book out of the Angel hand, it causes a what? A separation, a separation.
He says,
�"17I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone"�
Okay. This is marking when the Little Book gets eaten, the separation process begins.
Verse 18:
�"18Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed? wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail?"�
The separation process begins when the Mighty Angel comes down, with the Little Book opened in His hand. And you take the Little Book and you eat it because of the implications of His hand, a separation begins between the mockers and those that are not the mockers, the two classes.
But, there is a disappointment that comes when the waters fail. What is the disappointment? Verse 18.
What is water? It is a message, right? There is the Latter Rain.
And the message, the message fails. When did the message fail?
Well, right here [pointing to the date of 1843 displayed in the upper right-hand corner of the 1843 Chart], the first disappointment.
Was John representing the Millerites?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: (Affirmations.)
BROTHER PIPPENGER: Jeremiah has got to be representing the Millerites, too.
�"18Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed? wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail?"�
And what does Habakkuk 2 say about this [1843] Chart? "Though the vision tarry, wait for it, for it will not lie."
But, they thought it lied. Okay? And it was discouraging, and you can see Jeremiah here, he is discouraged here.
The message failed.
Verse 19:
"19Therefore thus saith the Lord, If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them."�
What does Jeremiah have to return to?
He thought the vision ended in 1843. He has got to return. He has got to study that out. "Though the vision tarry, wait for it, because it will not lie."
Okay. From the first disappointment, until October 22, 1844, what were the Millerites doing? They were coming to grips with the starting point of the 2300 Days so that they could calculate out October 22, 1844.
There was a group that�and Sister White talks about it, from the first disappointment. They returned to the study of the prophecies. Jeremiah returned; but, by returning he becomes the Lord's voice, the Lord's messenger, the Lord's mouth.
But, he is told what? "Don't return to them."
Do not return to who? To the Protestants; because, you are now in the time period of the Second Angel's Message, "Babylon is fallen! Come out of her! Don't return to the Protestants."
And this has an impact. This has an impact on the story of Jeroboam and Josiah. It is commanded right here, "Don't return to the Protestants." There is a separation taking place here.
�"20And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brasen wall: and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the Lord. 21And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked,"�
These are the wicked.
In Daniel 12, who are the wicked contrasted with? The wise. The wise understand the increase of knowledge, but the wicked do not understand. Daniel 12:10.
Okay. The wicked here, "And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked," what does it mean that you are in someone's hand?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: That they are in submission?
BROTHER PIPPENGER: Well, it could be submission if you are bowing down to the Pope, or it could be that you are just in agreement. "Can two walk together unless they be agreed?" There is a separation process being marked here.
�"and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible." Jeremiah 15:16-21 (KJV).
So, in Jeremiah's story, when he eats the Little Book as John did, you see a separation process begin, a distinction between two classes, the wise and the wicked.
And this is also a part of the story of Ezekiel, Ezekiel, chapter 2.
And what are we doing? We are showing that the controversy over this message is one of the characteristics of this message.
Ezekiel 2,
"Chapter 2:1And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee."�
When does he stand upon his feet?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: When the breath of life comes.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: When the breath of life comes, Ezekiel 37.
This is Ezekiel. Ezekiel is going to agree with himself, as much as all the prophets are agreeing with one another; and, they stand up on their feet with the Spirit is breathed upon them.
And when did Jesus breathe the Spirit on the Disciples?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: On the Day of Pentecost.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: The answer was "On the Day of Pentecost." Wrong.
FROM THE AUDIENCE: It was in the upper room after He had been resurrected.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: After the resurrection. He is resurrected. He said, "Mary, don't touch me. I need to ascend to my Father." That very day He came down out of Heaven, like the Angel of Revelation 10 and the Angel of Revelation 18, and He breathed upon his Disciples the Holy Ghost. He opened their understanding to the prophecies.
Pentecost is still a ways off. This is the sprinkling that precedes the full outpouring. Sister White says that the act of Christ's breathing upon His Disciples was as a few drops before the great outpouring on the Day of Pentecost.
So, when does Ezekiel stand on his feet? When the Mighty Angel comes down, he stands upon his feet. The Lord has breathed upon him.
Verse 2:
�"2And the spirit entered into me"�
And that is just what Ezekiel 37 says, that the Spirit enters into the body.
�"2And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me. 3And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day. 4For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God. 5And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them."�
What is going on here? He has eaten the Little Book, and he is given a message to carry to Adventism; and, the Lord is telling him, "These are a bunch of rebels."
Okay. You need to know that when you carry this message�and that is what it says�they will know that there has been a prophet among them.
What does that mean to us? They will know that there has been a prophetic message marked that is testing them. They will know it; but, they are a rebellious house; because, there is going to be a shaking. There is going to be a controversy. There is going to be an argument. There is going to be a debate.
Verse 6:
�6And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words,"�
So, are they going to say something about this message? "These men are drunk. These men are drunk with new wine." There is going to be an argument.
�"6And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house. 7And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious. 8But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.
9And when I looked, behold, an hand"�an hand�"was sent unto me;"�
What does that hand and have in it?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: The Little Book.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: The Little Book, opened.
�"and, lo, a roll of a book was therein; 10And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.
Chapter 3:1Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. 2So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll. 3And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.
4And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them. 5For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel; 6Not to many people of a strange speech and of an hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, had I sent thee to them, they would have hearkened unto thee.
7But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted. 8Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads."�
So, in the process of carrying this message to Adventism, what does the Lord promise to do?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: Strengthen his forehead.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: Strengthen your forehead; that is kind of the same place where the Seal of God is applied, is it not?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: Amen.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: This process of this argument, this shaking, this controversy in Adventism, this debate, is part of the sealing process of the 144,000. Only those that sigh and cry for the abominations done in the land will receive the Seal of God.
But, it is not enough just to sit there and sigh and cry. You have been given a message. You have to give the message. And when you give the message, those that are supposed to hear it, they are not going to sit there silently. They are going to argue with you. They are going to malign your character. They are going to point out that you do not have a PhD behind your name. That is part of the process.
Verse 9�verse 8, again:
�"8Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads. 9As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house. 10Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears. 11And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord God; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear." Ezekiel 2:1�3:11 (KJV).
So, what we are saying is, the argument, the debate, the shaking in Adventism that is caused, that begins with the arrival of the First Angel's Message for this history, which are the events connected with the close of probation, which are the last six verses of Daniel 11, that message causes a shaking in Adventism.
Go to Isaiah 6, which we have already mentioned this, Isaiah 6. You know you can prove things upon two or three, and move on; but, we are taking time to show this in several places, so that we understand that this is part of the story.
Isaiah 6, beginning with verse 5:
5Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. 6Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 7And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged."�
This takes place in the blotting out of sin. We are purged here, atoned.
Verse 8:
�"8Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me."�
So, Isaiah is now being commissioned to carry a message to Adventism.
And if you remember earlier on, if you back up to verse 3, it says, "And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory." And Sister White ties verse 3 in with Revelation 18. That quote is in your notes.
So, on 9/11 Isaiah just had his lips purified because he is going to carry a message to Adventism.
And in verse 9, it says,
�"9And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. 10Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed." Isaiah�6:5-10 (KJV).
So, Isaiah also is portrayed as having to take a message to an unconverted people that by and large will not respond to the message. The argument, the shaking, and debate are part of the prophetic record.
Go to Isaiah 27. Isaiah 27, beginning at verse 1 says,
"1In that day"�
And you would have to back up further into Isaiah to understand what day that is, but it is the day of the Latter Rain. It is the day when the globalists, the money men of the world, are seeing the financial structure being swept away by an East wind.
�"1In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword"�His prophetic Word�"shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent,"�
He is going to punish the dragon.
�"even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.
2In that day sing ye unto her, A vineyard of red wine."�
At the time period when the financial structure of Planet Earth is being brought down through the increasing, escalating crisis of Islam, and the punishment of the rich men of the Earth, the dragon power has begun, and in that time period the experience�(because a song is an experience)�the experience of God's people is that they are to present the parable of the vineyards to Adventism. And the parable of the vineyard was and is that the vineyard is going to be taken from Adventism and given to a group of people that bear the fruits thereof.
We have not the time to go into that, but that is verse 2.
�"2In that day sing ye unto her, A vineyard of red wine. 3I the Lord do keep it; I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day. 4Fury is not in me: who would set the briers and thorns against me in battle? I would go through them, I would burn them together. 5Or let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me."�
The parable of the vineyard is the last call for Adventism. It is the last opportunity for Seventh-day Adventists to awaken out of their Laodicean condition and make peace with Christ, which He is fully willing to do; but, at the same time, He is telling them, "This is the parable of the vineyard. I am closing up shop. We are in the Judgment of the Living. You either come to the foot of the cross now, or you are going to die."
And then in verse 6, it says,
�"6He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud,"�
What causes the blossoming and budding in the Scriptures is the Latter Rain.
�"Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit."�
The fruit takes place in the harvest of the world. Budding out and blossoming out is in the springtime. The harvest, when the fruit is gathered in is in the summertime. This is identifying both phases of the Latter Rain, the spring and summer Latter Rain. But, at a very simple level, it is just emphasizing the Latter Rain: The parable of the vineyard here, when the dragon power is being judged on Planet Earth. Just turn on your televisions, get your newspapers, if you cannot see that the dragon power, the globalists, the economic structure, is on its way down. You need to start looking at the news. That is very easy to see. That is verse 1. The Lord is bringing judgment upon the globalists as we speak.
And at this time in history, the Lord's last call to Adventism, the parable of the vineyard, is going to be proclaimed by those that are having this experience.
And it is in the time period of the Latter Rain when one of the arguments for Adventism about the Latter Rain is they do not even understand it comes with a sprinkling and a full out-pouring, a springtime Rain and a summer Rain. They do not understand the Latter Rain. They are sleeping Laodiceans.
Verse 7:
�"7Hath he smitten him, as he smote those that smote him? or is he slain according to the slaughter of them that are slain by him?"�
This is judgment terminology, letting us know that this story is taking place in the Judgment time.
And in verse 8, it says,
�8In measure, when it shooteth forth,"�
This is marking the sprinkling of the Latter Rain when it is being measured, and the buds are just bursting forth.
�"thou wilt debate with it:"�
Now, here is this debate. There is going to be a debate. There is going to be a debate over the Latter Rain. There is going to be a debate over the two phases of the Latter Rain, the sprinkling of the springtime Rain and the full outpouring of the summer Rain. There is going to be a debate in Adventism.
�"8In measure, when it shooteth forth,"�
When it begins to sprinkle, when the Mighty Angel comes down and breathes upon the dry bones, and the sprinkling of Adventism begins and the parable of the vineyard becomes present truth, then the debate starts. The new wine is cut off from the mouth, and another mouth (the mouth of stammering tongues) is going to be loosed in this controversy in Adventism.
Verse 8:
�"8In measure, when it shooteth forth, thou wilt debate with it: he stayeth his rough wind in the day of the east wind."�
All of the prophets agree with one another, and this staying of the rough wind, this is the restraining of the rough wind. And the rough wind, according to John in chapter 7 of Revelation, is the Four Winds. This debate begins when the Four Winds of strife are being restrained: "he stayeth his rough wind." He restrains the Four Winds of strife in the day of the East wind.
When the day of the East wind arrives, the debate begins; and, the angels hold the Four Winds of Revelation 7, identifying that the sealing of the 144,000 has now begun.
�"9By this therefore"�
By what? By the argument over 9/11, the day of the East wind, and the Latter Rain, and the parable of the vineyard, and the role of the globalists in end-time Bible prophecy, with those subjects in the first eight verses of Isaiah 27.
Then in verse 9, it says,
�"9By this therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged;"�
By what? By this argument in Adventism, by this debate.
Not only is the debate the argument that ensues over the Latter Rain Message beginning in 1989 and then amped up to a new level on 9/11; not only is this a subject of prophecy, it is here identified that this debate has something to do with removing the sins from God's people. That is what it says.
�"9By this therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged, and this is all the fruit to take away his sin; when he maketh all the stones of the altar as chalkstones that are beaten in sunder, the groves and images shall not stand up." Isaiah 27:1-9 (KJV).
So, what I am wanting us to see here, in advance of our following studies, is that these people that have been opposing this message since it first came into history in 1989, their opposition at some time needs to be publicly presented in order that we can see that the Lord has used this opposition to His glory and honor, in forcing His people to come to conclusions about God's Word that they would not have come to had they not been thrown into this debate.
The Shaking
Early Writings, beginning on page 269, Sister White comments on this very same topic, and her familiar term for this controversy for this debate, for Jeremiah and Ezekiel carrying this message to the rebellious house, is "the shaking," the shaking of Adventism.
"I saw some, with strong faith and agonizing cries, pleading with God. Their countenances were pale and marked with deep anxiety, expressive of their internal struggle."�
If you are not having an internal struggle right now, if you are not sighing and crying, then I guarantee you are not making the right moves in order to receive the Seal of God.
�"Firmness and great earnestness was expressed in their countenances; large drops of perspiration fell from their foreheads. Now and then their faces would light up with the marks of God's approbation, and again the same solemn, earnest, anxious look would settle upon them.
"Evil angels crowded around, pressing darkness upon them to shut out Jesus from their view, that their eyes might be drawn to the darkness that surrounded them, and thus they be led to distrust God and murmur against Him. Their only safety was in keeping their eyes directed upward. Angels of God had charge over His people, and as the poisonous atmosphere of evil angels was pressed around these anxious ones, the heavenly angels were continually wafting their wings over them to scatter the thick darkness.
"As the praying ones continued their earnest cries, at times a ray of light from Jesus came to them, to encourage their hearts and light up their countenances. Some, I saw, did not participate in this work of agonizing and pleading. They seemed indifferent and careless. They were not resisting the darkness around them, and it shut them in like a thick cloud. The angels of God left these and went to the aid of the earnest, praying ones. I saw angels of God hasten to the assistance of all who were struggling with all their power to resist the evil angels and trying to help themselves by calling upon God with perseverance. But His angels left those who made no effort to help themselves, and I lost sight of them.
"I asked the meaning of the shaking I had seen and was shown that it would be caused by the straight testimony called forth by the counsel of the True Witness to the Laodiceans."�
Now, Sister White is clear when she says that the message of Jones and Waggoner in 1888, it was the Laodicean message. So, you can take those and you can show that the Laodicean message is the Latter Rain Message, because Jones and Waggoner's message was the Latter Rain Message. So, this is in reference to the Latter Rain Message being a straight testimony. Okay? The Latter Rain Message is saying, "You think that Jesus is inside you, but He isn't!" Okay? It is a prophetic message.
Who would say that the Seven Churches is not a prophetic message? All of them, It [the Seven Churches] is prophecy: the Laodicean message is a prophetic message that is a straight testimony message that causes the shaking when it is presented.
�"I asked the meaning of the shaking that I had seen and was shown that it would be caused by the straight testimony called forth by the counsel of the True Witness to the Laodiceans. This will have its effect upon the heart of the receiver, and will lead him to exalt the standard and pour forth the straight truth. Some will not bear this straight testimony. They will rise up against it, and this is what will cause a shaking among God's people."�
What causes the shaking among God's people?
Is it the people that are presenting the truth? Nope! It is those people that hear it and do not like it. They are the ones that cause the shaking.
But, are they going to hear the truth?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: Yes.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: Yes.
And is it going to be the straight truth? Yes.
And are there going to be people that stand up and fight the straight truth? Yes.
This is a subject of prophecy, one of the characteristics of this prophetic message.
�"I saw that the testimony of the True Witness has not been half heeded. The solemn testimony upon which the destiny of the church hangs"�
WOW!! This prophetic message, this Latter Rain Message, is where the destiny of the Church hangs. This is a pretty serious message.
�"has been lightly esteemed, if not entirely disregarded. This testimony must work deep repentance; all who truly receive it will obey it and be purified.
"Said the angel, 'List ye!' Soon I heard a voice like many musical instruments all sounding in perfect strains, sweet and harmonious. It surpassed any music I had ever heard, seeming to be full of mercy, compassion, and elevating, holy joy. It thrilled through my whole being. Said the angel, 'Look ye!' My attention was then turned to the company I had seen, who were mightily shaken. I was shown those whom I had before seen weeping and praying in agony of spirit. The company of guardian angels around them had been doubled, and they were clothed with an armor from their head to their feet. They moved in exact order, like a company of soldiers. Their countenances expressed the severe conflict which they had endured, the agonizing struggle they had passed through. Yet their features, marked with severe internal anguish, now shone with the light and glory of heaven. They had obtained the victory, and it called forth from them the deepest gratitude and holy, sacred joy.
FROM THE AUDIENCE: Amen.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: This is in agreement with Ezekiel and Jeremiah informing us that He is going to make their forehead as an adamant stone. This experience is what causes them to be settled in and sealed to the truth.
"The numbers of this company had lessened. Some had been shaken out and left by the way. The careless and indifferent, who did not join with those who prized victory and salvation enough to perseveringly plead and agonize for it, did not obtain it, and they were left behind in darkness, and their places were immediately filled by others taking hold of the truth and coming into the ranks. Evil angels still pressed around them, but could have no power over them.
"I heard those clothed with the armor speak forth the truth with great power. It had effect. Many had been bound; some wives by their husbands, and some children by their parents. The honest who had been prevented from hearing the truth now eagerly laid hold upon it."�
Here is the separation process of Jeremiah, even in families.
�"All fear of their relatives was gone, and the truth alone was exalted to them. They had been hungering and thirsting for truth; it was dearer and more precious than life. I asked what had made this great change. An angel answered, 'It is the latter rain, the refreshing from the presence of the Lord, the loud cry of the third angel.'
"Great power was with these chosen ones. Said the angel, 'Look ye!' My attention was turned to the wicked, or unbelievers. They were all astir. The zeal and power with the people of God had aroused and enraged them. Confusion, confusion, was on every side."�
So, do you think there is not going to be a controversy in Adventism, no shaking?
�"I saw measures taken against the company who had the light and power of God. Darkness thickened around them; yet they stood firm, approved of God, and trusting in Him. I saw them perplexed; next I heard them crying unto God earnestly. Day and night their cry ceased not: 'Thy will, O God, be done! If it can glorify Thy name, make a way of escape for Thy people! Deliver us from the heathen around about us. They have appointed us unto death; but Thine arm can bring salvation.' These are all the words which I can bring to mind. All seemed to have a deep sense of their unworthiness and manifested entire submission to the will of God; yet, like Jacob, every one, without an exception, was earnestly pleading and wrestling for deliverance.
"Soon after they had commenced their earnest cry, the angels, in sympathy, desired to go to their deliverance. But a tall, commanding angel suffered them not. He said, 'The will of God is not yet fulfilled. They must drink of the cup. They must be baptized with the baptism.'" Early Writings, 269�272.
We have to have this experience if we are going to receive the Seal of God. We have to have the experience of taking a message to an apostate people.
Not the Present Truth
The shaking is not the present truth. It is just one component of the present truth. Notice what she says in Manuscript Releases, volume 3, beginning at page 335.
"Satan is working in many ways, that the very men who ought to preach the message may be occupied with fine-drawn theories which he will cause to appear of such magnitude and importance as to fill the whole mind; and while they think they are making wonderful strides in experience, they are idolizing a few ideas, and their influence is injured, and tells but little on the Lord's side."�
Now, this is a tricky passage. I want you to remember what we have studied this morning.
There is a people that the Lord has selected to give the message, and those people are very clearly marked as another tongue. They are the stammering lips. So, she is going to describe a group here that are on the wrong side of proclaiming the message. This is not a rebuke on those people that are giving the Latter Rain Message; this is about those people that are professing to be the messengers in Adventism, who are not. Okay?
�"Let every minister make earnest efforts to ascertain what is the mind of Christ. There are those who pick out from the Word of God, and also from the Testimonies, detached paragraphs or sentences that may be interpreted to suit their own ideas, and they dwell upon these, and build themselves up in their own positions, when God is not leading them. Now all this pleases the enemy."�
Do you want to see this technique used? Go to some of the websites in Adventism that are opposing the foundational truths, the 2520, and the Daily, and Islam, and you will see this type of technique: Take a little snippet of the Bible here, and a little snippet of the Spirit of Prophecy here, and tell your listeners, your readers this is what it means, and then build an entire straw man on this false premise. That is what she is talking about here.
�"We should not needlessly take a course that will make differences or cause dissension. We should not give the impression that if our particular ideas are not followed, it is because the ministers are lacking in comprehension. There are in the lessons of Christ subjects in abundance that you can speak upon; and mysteries which neither you nor your hearers can understand or explain might better be left alone. Give the Lord Jesus Christ Himself room to teach; let Him by the influence of His Spirit open to the understanding the wonderful plan of salvation. There is a time of trouble coming to the people of God, but we are not to keep that constantly before the people, and rein them up to have a time of trouble beforehand. There is to be a shaking among God's people;"�
That is what we are studying here today. There is to be a shaking among God's people.
�"but this is not the present truth to carry to the churches; it�the shaking�"will be the result of refusing the truth presented."�
Once again she is saying the shaking is causes by those people that are rejecting the Latter Rain Message; but, she is also saying that even though this controversy, this debate over this message is a component of the prophetic message, this is not supposed to be the all-in-all message, the fact that these apostates are opposing this message.
�"The ministers should not feel that they have some wonderful advanced ideas, and unless all receive these, they will be shaken out, and a people will arise to go forward and upward to the victory. Satan's object is accomplished just as surely when men run ahead of Christ and do the work He has never entrusted to their hands, as when they remain in the Laodicean state, lukewarm, feeling rich and increased with goods, and in need of nothing. The two classes are equally stumbling-blocks.
"Some zealous ones who are aiming and straining every energy for originality have made a grave mistake in trying to get something startling, wonderful, entrancing, before the people, something that they think others do not comprehend; but often they do not themselves know what they are talking about. They speculate upon God's word, advancing ideas that are not a whit of help to themselves or to the churches. For the time being they may excite the imagination; but there is a reaction, and these very ideas become a hindrance. Faith is confounded with fancy, and their views may bias the mind in the wrong direction. Let the plain, simple statements of the word of God be food for the mind; this speculating upon ideas that are not clearly presented there is dangerous business.
"Some are naturally combative. They do not care whether they harmonize with their brethren or not. They would like to enter into controversy, would like to fight for their particular ideas; but they should lay this aside, for it is not developing the Christian graces. Work with all your power to answer the prayer of Christ, that His disciples may be one, as He is one with the Father. Not a soul of us is safe unless we learn of Christ daily His meekness and lowliness. In your labor do not be dictatorial, do not be severe, do not be antagonistic. Preach the love of Christ, and this will melt and subdue hearts. Seek to be of one mind and one judgment with your brethren, and to speak the same things. This talking about divisions because all do not have the same ideas as present themselves to your mind, is not the work of God but of the enemy. Talk the simple truths wherein you can agree. Talk of unity; do not become narrow and conceited; let your mind broaden." Manuscript Releases, volume 3, 33�35.
They Are To Be Met And Opposed
The next quote, from Review and Herald, September 12, 1893, "They are to be Met and Opposed."
"God speaks through his appointed agencies, and let no man, or confederacy of men, insult the Spirit of God by refusing to hear the message of God's word from the lips of his chosen messengers. By refusing to hear the message of God, men close themselves in a chamber of darkness."�
And what are the chambers of darkness? Okay. If you follow that one through, it is Matthew 24. Jesus talks about secret chambers, and Sister White identifies these secret chambers of Matthew�24 as spiritualism. You reject this message, you are going into chambers of darkness. You reject this message, you are going to receive the strong delusion of 2 Thessalonians. You receive spiritualism; because, spiritualism is placing your word above God's Word. Reject God's Word, you go into chambers of darkness.
�"They shut their own souls away from vast blessings, and rob Christ of the glory that should come to him, by showing disrespect to his appointed agencies.
"God is not the author of confusion, but of peace. But Satan is a vigilant, unsleeping foe, ever at work upon human minds, seeking a soil in which he can sow his tares. If he finds any whom he can press into his service, he will suggest ideas and false theories, and make them zealous in advocating error. The truth not only converts, but works the purification of its receiver. Jesus has warned us to beware of false teachers."�
Jesus has warned us to be aware of false teachers. Jesus has warned us to be aware of false teachers.
�"From the beginning of our work, men have arisen from time to time, advocating theories that were new and startling. But if those who claim to believe the truth, would go to those who have had experience,"�
Who has had an experience?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: The Pioneers.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: The Pioneers; if you would, go to the Pioneer writings.
�"But if those who claim to believe the truth, would go to those who have had experience, would go to the word of God in a teachable, humble spirit, and examine their theories in the light of truth, and with the aid of the brethren who have been diligent Bible students, and at the same time make supplication unto God, asking, Is this the way of the Lord, or is it a false path in which Satan would lead me? they would receive light, and would escape out of the net of the fowler.
"Let all our brethren and sisters beware of anyone who would set a time for the Lord to fulfill his word in regard to his coming, or in regard to any other promise he has made of special significance. 'It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.' False teachers may appear to be very zealous for the work of God, and may expend means to bring their theories before the world and the church; but as they mingle error with truth, their message is one of deception, and will lead souls into false paths. They are to be"�
To be what?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: Met and opposed.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: �"met, and opposed, not because they are bad men, but because they are teachers of falsehood, and are endeavoring to put upon falsehood the stamp of truth. What a pity it is that men will go to such pains to discover some theory of error, when there is a whole storehouse of precious gems of truth by which the people might be enriched in the most holy faith. Instead of teaching truth, they let their imagination dwell upon that which is new and strange, and throw themselves out of harmony with those whom God is using to bring the people up upon the platform of truth. They cast aside all that has been said in regard to unity of sentiment and feeling, and trample upon the prayer of Christ as though the unity for which he prayed was unessential, that there is no necessity for his followers to be one, even as he is one with the Father. They go off on a tangent, and Jehu- like, call to their brethren to follow their example of zeal for the Lord. If their zeal led them to work in the same lines in which their brethren who have carried the heat and burden of the day, are working; if they were as persevering to overcome discouragements and obstacles as their brethren have been, they might well be imitated, and God would accept them. But men are to be condemned who start out with a proclamation of wonderful light, and yet draw away from the agents whom God is leading. This was the way in which Korah, Dathan, and Abiram did, and their action is recorded as a warning to all others. We are not to do as they have done,�accuse and condemn those upon whom God has laid the burden of the work." Review and Herald, September 12, 1893.
So, from this point in our presentations, from time to time we are going to identify some of the false teachers that are opposing this [Latter Rain] Message, not because they are bad men, not because we just feel like exposing them; but, we will do it in order to understand their false logic and how that false logic created an investigation of the false charge that led to jewels that had not been recognized. We want us to see that the work of the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Dirt Brush Man, includes even this debate, this controversy in Adventism.
Shall we pray?
Benediction: Heavenly Father, we thank you for another day of life. We thank you that we are living in a time when you are offering the Little Book that all who would desire to eat of it and be blessed by it, may. We ask that you give us the courage, the spiritual willingness to fulfill our responsibility in taking the Little Book out of your hand and eating it and digesting it. And then we ask that you would grant us the power that comes with that Little Book that we may be about our business of taking a message to a rebellious house. We want to be part of the solution to this problem. We do not want to put stumbling blocks before people, but we know that we have a message to bear; so, we ask that we do it with a style that only glorifies you. We ask for your continued blessing in this worship series that we are doing; and, as we begin a week of LiveStreaming with Pastor Jamal here tomorrow, we would ask for your continued blessing upon the DVD recordings and the LiveStreaming production that we are doing. And we thank you for all these things in Jesus's name. Amen.