Habakkuk's Two Tables #50
PART SIX: 1989
Presented by Jeff Pippenger
Invocation by Brother Jeff Pippenger: Heavenly Father, as we come before you this morning we want to ask that you would watch over this week of work, of service, of recording, broadcasting that we are doing here, that you would bless it, that you would let all that is done during these days be for your glory and honor. So, taking up our worship this morning, we ask for the presence of your Holy Spirit. Guide and direct our thoughts, our understanding. We ask that you would overrule my humanity, forgive my sins, forgive anything that I have done that is preventing me from being used by you at this time; and, likewise, prepare the hearts and minds of those that are hearing these things to receive what you have for us this morning. We want the Latter Rain. We ask that you pour your Latter Rain out upon us at this time by opening our understanding to the glorious land in Daniel 11, verse 41. In Jesus's name, amen.
Overflow
BROTHER PIPPENGER: Yesterday we spent time identifying that the debate, the controversy, the shaking in Adventism is a subject of prophecy and, therefore, it qualifies as something that needs to be addressed.
We are going to start with another quote concerning the shaking from Review and Herald, April 1, 1850. It says,
"As I viewed poor souls dying for want of the present truth, and some who professed to believe the truth were letting them die, by withholding the necessary means to carry forward the work of God, the sight was too painful, and I begged of the angel to remove it from me. I saw that when the cause of God called for some of their property, like the young man who came to Jesus, [Matthew 19:16–22.] they went away sorrowful; and that soon the overflowing scourge would pass over and sweep their possessions all away, and then it would be too late to sacrifice earthly goods, and lay up a treasure in heaven. . . ."—
Now I am wanting to emphasize "the overflowing scourge" here.
Continuing on.
—"The mighty shaking has commenced, and will go on, and all will be shaken out who are not willing to take a hold and unyielding stand for the truth, and sacrifice for God and his cause. The angel said, 'Think ye that any will be compelled to sacrifice. No. no. It must be a free-will offering. It will take all to buy the field.'—I cried to God to spare his people, some of whom were fainting and dying. . . .
"Then I saw that the judgments of Almighty God were speedily coming. I begged of the angel to speak in his language to the people. Said he, 'All the thunders and lightnings of Mount Sinai would not move those who will not be moved by the plain truths of the word of God; neither would an angel's message awake them.'" Review and Herald, April 1, 1850.
What angel's message is to awaken them? The Angel of Revelation 18, the Third Angel's Message.
But, the shaking of Adventism is a subject of prophecy. We dealt with that very thoroughly yesterday, I believe.
But, here, for those that will not come up to the message of the hour, the Latter Rain Message in this time period, what is going to happen to them is they are going to reach the overflowing scourge, and it will be too late to secure salvation, too late to put anything into the Lord's work. So, I want to deal with the overflowing scourge in connection with Daniel 11:40-41.
We are still dealing with the last six verses of Daniel 11, for they are the events connected with the close of probation. And John the Baptist gave a message that was the events connected with the close of probation; and, William Miller gave a message that was the events connected with the close of probation; and, we are showing that the last six verses of Daniel 11 is a parallel to the messages of John the Baptist and William Miller.
And in those histories, the message of John the Baptist and William Miller began at the Time of the End when the Book of Daniel was unsealed. The message of John the Baptist is derived from Daniel 9, and the message of the Millerites was derived from Daniel 9 (it was an explanation of Daniel 8); and, our message is derived from Daniel 11. So, when we bring these three lines of the prophecy together, we see that this message that is the events connected with the close of probation is derived from Daniel 9 and 11.
And at the Time of the End in 1989, when the Soviet Union was swept away in fulfillment of Daniel 11 and verse 40, the Dirt Brush Man from William Miller's dream arrived on the scene and began to unseal the Seven Seals of truth that are the increase of knowledge for God's people here at the end of the world, as He swept out the customs and traditions that have been brought into Adventism, covering up the original truths represented on these two sacred Tables [refers to the 1843 and 1850 Charts].
So, we are dealing with Daniel 11:40-45 from that perspective, 1989, the end of the scattering of William Miller's dream.
And as we look at the shaking of Adventism, here we add a line of thought to it, that if you wait till the overflowing scourge to try to get right with the Lord, you are going to be swept away.
Enter Also
So, what is the overflowing scourge?
In your notes you have Daniel 11:41, which we are going to begin to discuss now. And it says,
"41He shall enter also into the glorious land,"—
And what I want you to see there is that in verse 40 the King of the North has just swept away the Soviet Union, and these first few words are saying that the sweeping away that took place in verse 40 continues in verse 41. That is why it says, "He shall enter also . . ."
—"and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon." Daniel 11:41 (KJV).
So, you have to ask yourself how did he enter the King of the South's domain in verse 40, because that is how he is going to enter the glorious land. You need to see these verses as a continual progression of conquering by the King of the North. First he conquers the King of the South. Now he is going to conquer the glorious land; and, thereafter, he will conquer Egypt, and he does so as an overflowing scourge.
Shall Overflow and Pass Over
All right. In your notes you have Daniel 11, verse 40, and the last phrase speaking about how the King of the North conquers. It says,
"40And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over." Daniel 11:40 (KJV).
Overflow
OVERFLOW: Strong's Concordance 7857—to gush; by impl. to inundate, cleanse; by anal. to gallop, conquer;- drown, (over-) flow (-whelm), rinse. run. rush. (thoroughly) wash (away).
And we have looked at this before, but this word OVERFLOW means to gush, to inundate, to gallop, conquer, drown, (over) flow (-whelm), rinse. It is a conquering that is portrayed as a flood.
Okay. Now, if you do not think about these things, and perhaps you have not ever thought about it; but, when it comes to the False Prophet (the United States in Bible prophecy), the characteristics of strength that the United States uses as it forces other nations to do what it wants it to do is economics and military. You see that in Revelation 13, where you cannot buy or sell if you do not have the mark of the beast; and, you are put to death if you do not have the mark of the beast. That is economics; that is military might.
You see it in Daniel 11, verse 40, with the chariots and horsemen being military might, and the ships being economic might.
So, what am I saying? I am saying that when it comes to the False Prophet (the United States), their mode of warfare, their type of power is represented by these two horns: economics and military.
Whereas, when it comes to Islam, another power in Bible prophecy, they are represented as a war horse. And when you look closely at how the Bible identifies the strength or the power of Islam, their mode of warfare is not economics and military; their mode of warfare is the type of warfare where the word assassin is derived from. If you remember, we discussed the word assassin comes from Islam. It comes from their practice hundreds of years ago when they were going to assassinate someone, they would first get high on hashish; and, hashish is the root word for assassin. They would get all high, and then they would go kill people; because, they knew they were going to die in doing so. They were "suicide bombers" before they had bombs. Point being, the mode of warfare for Islam has been described in history and in prophecy. They strike suddenly and unexpectedly. They ride on Arabian horses and cut your head off and keep going; whereas, the United States' mode of warfare is economics and military might. And the United States has been exercising that for many, many years now. If a country does not do what the United States wants, they put an economic embargo on them. If that does not work, they go in with their military.
But, when it comes to the Papacy, their mode of warfare is different. Their mode of warfare is described as a flood. Okay? It is the Euphrates overflowing its banks.
So, when we see these words overflow and pass over in Daniel 11, verse 40, if we are serious students of prophecy, we know that even in this verb, if that is what it is, overflow and pass over, that this is the symbol of the Papacy. This is the symbol of how the Papacy conquers. So, when you get to verse 41 and it says, "He shall also enter into the glorious land," he is entering by an overflowing flood. The Euphrates is overflowing its banks.
Isaiah 28:14-19; 8:5-8
Go to Isaiah 28. We are dealing with this first quote where Sister White says that those people that do not get straight with the Lord in this period of time are going to find out that when the overflowing scourge passes through that it is too late.
Isaiah 28, beginning at verse 14, says,
"14Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. 15Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves: 16Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. 17Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. 18And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. 19From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report." Isaiah 28:14-19 (KJV).
So, in the Scriptures, the conquering of the Papacy (the claim I am making) is portrayed as the flood waters of the Euphrates; and, it is a movement that is portrayed in the last six verses of Daniel 11 as this flood that begins in verse 40 and also enters the glorious land, whatever the glorious land may be.
Go to Isaiah 8, verses 5 through 8.
"5The Lord spake also unto me again, saying, 6Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son; 7Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria,"—
Who is the king of Assyria? Prophetically he is the King of the North.
—"and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks: 8And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel." Isaiah 8:5-8 (KJV).
So, when the King of the North conquers, he conquers as a flood, the flood of the Euphrates.
So, when he is overflowing and passing over in Daniel 11, verse 40, and then in verse 41 it says, "He shall also enter into the glorious land," this is the overflowing scourge hitting the glorious land, whatever the glorious land may be.
And, of course, let us remind ourselves that this is No. 50 in this worship series, but we also had two summations; so, this is really No. 52. So, we really have to remind ourselves of things way back when sometimes, and one of them is here in Isaiah 8, verses 5 through 8.
In verse 6, when Isaiah is making this pronouncement, "Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly," what are the waters of Shiloah? The waters of Siloam; the waters that represent the sent of God, whether it be Christ, who is the sent of God or the Holy Spirit. Ahaz is here rejecting the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and in this passage he is rejecting the warning message of the 2520, because this is the starting point for both 2520s; and, he is setting forth a typology in 742BC that plays out in AD1863 with James White, who sets aside the 2520, and sets aside the message of Shiloah for the message of the Euphrates.
Anyway, we have dealt with that; but, I wanted to put that in our memory banks.
And the punishment for Ahaz, or for James White, or for Seventh-day Adventists at the end of the world for rejecting the message of Siloam, is that you will not be able to go to the Pool of Siloam and wash your Laodicean blindness away, and you are going to be overflowed by the overflowing scourge of The Sunday Law. All right?
So, one of the characteristics of the Papacy when it conquers is that it is an overflowing movement. It is the Euphrates; but, it is also the scourge. The overflowing scourge is going to pass through the Earth.
The Scourge
Isaiah 10
What is the scourge?
Go to Isaiah 10.
Somewhere early on in this study we pointed out that Sister White says of Zephaniah and Isaiah 10:1—she says it at the same time—that both of these are The Sunday Law decree. It is in the Manuscript Releases. I have that noted in my other Bible, not this Bible; but, it is in the record already.
Verse 1 of Isaiah 10 is The Sunday Law in the United States. It says,
"1Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed; 2To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless! 3And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far?"—
What is the desolation that comes from far? It is the overflowing scourge.
—"to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory? 4Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. 5O Assyrian,"—
Who is the Assyrian? That is the King of the North at the end of the world.
—"5O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation."—
Here the Lord is saying that he is using the Papacy, the King of the North, to accomplish a work.
—"6I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets."—
And that was one of the things—keep your finger there [in Isaiah 10]—in Isaiah 28 when it came to the overflowing scourge in Isaiah 28, in verse 18, it says, "And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it." (KJV)
So, if you go back over here to Isaiah 10, that is what this King of the North, the Assyrian, is going to do. He is going to tread them down like the mire of the street. This is the overflowing scourge.
But, here, we are trying to deal with him being the scourge.
Verse 7:
—"7Howbeit he"—
The King of the North, the Assyrian, the one that has just passed The Sunday Law decree in verse 1.
—"Howbeit he meaneth not so,"—
I know that the United States passes it [The Sunday Law decree], but they are doing the Papacy's bidding.
—"7Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few. 8For he saith, Are not my princes altogether kings? 9Is not Calno as Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus? 10As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria; 11Shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols? 12Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks."—
Here the King of the North is going to get punished at a certain point in time.
What is a certain point in time? When He has finished his work of Mount Zion and Jerusalem.
And what is His work that He is doing with Mount Zion and Jerusalem? He is gathering His two flocks into that church, first Adventism and then the eleventh-hour workers. When He has finished that—
When has He finished that?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: When probation closes.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: When probation closes. Okay?
When He has finished that, He is going to punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria.
Verse 13:
—"13For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man:"—
What are the bounds of the people? Perhaps many things, but one of the things that "the bounds of the people" certainly represents is that in order to enforce a One World Government, which we are on the verge of doing right now, you have to set aside the national sovereignty of every country. You have to remove their bounds. Those are their boundaries, their protections.
Verse 14:
—"14And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped."—
This is when he [the King of the North] is conquering Egypt. He has conquered the whole world right now.
—"15Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith?"—
Now the Lord is talking to him, "You are the axe in my hand, and you are going to act like you're something special when I am the One using you?"
—"15Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood. 16Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory he shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire. 17And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day; 18And shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and they shall be as when a standard-bearer fainteth. 19And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them.
"20And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God. 22For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness. 23For the Lord God of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of all the land.
"24Therefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt. 25For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction."—
So, what we are saying here is the scourge that the Lord uses against Planet Earth at the end of the world is also the Assyrian (the King of the North). But, the way that the Assyrian (the King of the North) conquers is with the overflowing flood.
—"26And the Lord of hosts shall stir up a scourge for him according to the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb: and as his rod was upon the sea, so shall he lift it up after the manner of Egypt. 27And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing. 28He is come to Aiath, he is passed to Migron; at Michmash he hath laid up his carriages: 29They are gone over the passage: they have taken up their lodging at Geba; Ramah is afraid; Gibeah of Saul is fled. 30Lift up thy voice, O daughter of Gallim: cause it to be heard unto Laish, O poor Anathoth. 3 Madmenah is removed; the inhabitants of Gebim gather themselves to flee. 32As yet shall he remain at Nob that day: he shall shake his hand against the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem. 33Behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, shall lop the bough with terror: and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down, and the haughty shall be humbled. 34And he shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one." Isaiah 10 (KJV).
When you put these thoughts together, it is easy to see that the Papacy is the overflowing scourge. And when he conquers the Soviet Union, the next point of conquest for him is the glorious land.
The Glorious Land
Daniel 11:41:
"41He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon." Daniel 11:41 (KJV).
All right. Now, we have many lines of thoughts going on here; and, one of the lines of thought that I want to remind you of here is that we are claiming—we are positive—that the formula to produce revival in Adventism is the understanding of Daniel 11, verses 40 and 41. Daniel 11, verse 40, with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, is identifying for any Seventh‑day Adventist that chooses to see is the next thing that happens is The Sunday Law in the United States. And at The Sunday Law in the United States, probation closes for Seventh‑day Adventists. And if you understand that your probation is about to close and you bring your life into agreement with that truth, then that produces a revival in your experience. This is the divine formula for producing the revival.
So, the divine formula is the two verses, 40 and 41. So, if there was anything that Satan really wanted to attack, it would be this formula. It would be the understanding that allow Seventh-day Adventists, through the influence of the Holy Spirit, to understand that they either wake up now or they die. So, this is very sacred ground, the correct understanding of the glorious land.
GLORIOUS: Strong's Concordance 6643—in the sense of prominence; splendor (as conspicuous), beautiful, goodly.
The word GLORIOUS means in the sense of prominence; splendor (as conspicuous), beautiful, goodly.
LAND: Strong's Concordance H776—From an unused root probably meaning to be firm; the earth (at large, or partitively a land): - X common, country, earth, field, ground, land, X nations, way, + wilderness, world.
LAND means to be firm; the earth.
And, of course, the reason why I spent time yesterday talking about the shaking in Adventism—and I hope you remember the several places that we looked at in the Scriptures where the shaking is noted—because it is noted, because it is a waymark of prophetic history, then it is something that needs to be addressed. So, when it comes to this point on in our study, we will from time to time address some of the foolish arguments that have been raised against this understanding.
One of the foolish arguments is that the glorious land is the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and that argument is loosely based upon the idea that in verse 45 the glorious holy mountain is definitely God's Church at the end of the world: the glorious holy mountain is God's Church. So, for a very shallow student, he can say, "Well, we have the glorious holy mountain in verse 45 that is God's Church; therefore, the glorious land is God's Church," as if a land and a mountain are the same thing. It is a lack of familiarity with God's Word. It is a lack of faith concerning God's Word. It is an unwillingness to believe that the Lord controlled the words that were put down in His Word.
And I am not talking about verbal inspiration, but I am talking about providential leading of the Lord.
And, therefore, you will find as you study the Book of Daniel that one of the common arguments about this message in the Book of Daniel, it boils down to a technique. All right? And I will tell you what the technique is so you can see what I mean, and then I will come back to this glorious land and glorious holy mountain.
There are certain words in the Book of Daniel that you can either say, "Well, Daniel was a little bit careless," or you can say, "Daniel was careful." It depends on how you approach it.
If you want to twist Daniel's word, then you will act as if Daniel was careless. If you want to see what the Lord is teaching us, then you know that Daniel was careful.
So, from that perspective, when Daniel says "glorious land" in verse 41 and "glorious holy mountain" in verse 45, Daniel was being careful to make sure that we understood that a land and a mountain are two different things, even if they have the word "glorious" associated with them. Okay?
In the study of the Daily in the Book of Daniel, you will find that the Daily is taken away. In Daniel 8:11, Daniel 11:31, and Daniel 12:11 the Daily is taken away; but, in Daniel 11:31 and Daniel 12:11, the Hebrew word that is translated as take away is sur; whereas, in Daniel 8:11, the Hebrew word that is translated as take away is rum. And those people that are on the wrong side of the issue, those people that want to teach that the Daily is Christ's sanctuary ministry, they insist that the word rum in Daniel 8:11 means the same thing as the word sur does in Daniel 11:31 and Daniel 12:11. They think Daniel is a little bit careless.
I understand; I just believe that he is very careful! Okay?
Those people that are on the wrong side of the issue, they look at Daniel 8:11 and they see the word sanctuary, and in Daniel 8:13 they see the word sanctuary, and in Daniel 8:14 they see the word sanctuary. In four verses the word sanctuary occurs three times. And they say, "Oh, it is always the same word. That is God's Sanctuary." But in reality, the word that is translated as sanctuary in Daniel 8:11 is miqdâsh; and the word that is translated as sanctuary in Daniel 8:13 and 14 is qôdesh And qôdesh can only mean God's Sanctuary, whereas miqdâsh can be a pagan sanctuary. So, here, you have to determine with these two words is Daniel careless or is he careful.
So, what I am saying is as you go through the different points of controversy in this prophetic message from the Book of Daniel, you will often find the question mark raised—although nobody ever thinks like this. This is just how I describe it—"Was he careful or was he careless?"
For instance, the word that is translated as south in Daniel 11:40 can also be translated as Egypt.
So, in Daniel 11:40, the King of the North is conquering the King of the South; and, then two verses later he is conquering Egypt. Why did not the Bible translators just put the king of Egypt in verse 40?
Why did they put the King of the South, when Egypt and the King of the South are so closely related?
Well, I think it was purposeful. I think Daniel was being careful. You are supposed to understand who the King of the South is and who Egypt is, and they are two different entities though closely related.
So, in the stumbling over this message that goes on in Adventism primarily, many times it is from an unwillingness to let God's Word stand as it is expressed. Okay? This is one of those: "The glorious land is the glorious holy mountain." No, I am sorry. The "land" is a land, and the "mountain" is a mountain.
Now, the institution, without a doubt—no! Hands down, the institution that has fought this message the hardest and the longest is Hartland Institute in Virginia. I mean, when you get to the point to where you are supposedly training students to be pastors, and when you get sympathetic churches to your ministry would allow your students to come and practice their sermons, when they are learning how to give sermons, and you tell those students, "All right. When you go out and preach your sermon on Sabbath at that church over there, I want you to preach that the glorious land in Daniel 11:41 is the Seventh-day Adventist Church." When you are at the point of training supposedly pastors and you are instructing them to go teach error over this issue, that they have been doing for years, they are without a doubt the institution that has opposed this message longer and more specifically for many, many moons.
And they have an associate there, Dorado [Ray] Carlo, that has been the primary personality to try to confuse people on what the glorious land is. All right? He says if you teach the glorious land is the United States that that is a Jesuit teaching.
Why is it a Jesuit teaching? Is that just his trying to throw mud at someone in hopes that it sticks? Perhaps; but, his logic is this: The Jesuits, what the Catholic Church came up with is a counterfeit understanding of prophecy. These counterfeit prophetic rules of interpretation, one of them, takes the symbols of prophecy and applies them literally at the end of the world. Okay? So, Ray's argument is, if you are saying that the glorious land in verse 41 [of Daniel 11] is a literal country, that that is futurism and that is a Jesuit-ism.
What my response to that is, "Well, I think it was 1845 when Loughborough or Andrews"—I forget which—"determined, put in print for the first time, that the lamb-like beast of Revelation 13:11 was the United States; and I am wondering how we can take that symbol there of the lamb-like beast and apply it literally and say it is literally the United States if we are not using Jesuit techniques, because that has the Adventist understanding since 1845."
FROM THE AUDIENCE: (Affirmation.)
BROTHER PIPPENGER: That is not futurism. Prophecy is illustrating genuine powers, but the symbols are going to have a spiritual implication for us here at the end of the world; and, they do, they do. So, some of the arguments in these verses are a little bit subtle; but, when you step back from them and look at them, they are ridiculous.
All right. So, we are dealing with the glorious land.
The Glory of All Lands
Ezekiel 20:6 and 15:
"6In the day that I lifted up mine hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is"—
The what?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: The glory of all lands.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: —"the glory of all lands. . . ."—
Verse 15:
—"15Yet also I lifted up my hand unto them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands." Ezekiel 20:6, 15 (KJV).
So, when Daniel is talking about the glorious land in verse 41, he is going to be in agreement with Ezekiel; and, the land that was the glory of all the lands was the land of Palestine.
Daniel 11:16
Okay. Daniel 11:16, you have that marked in your notes.
Daniel 11:16, Daniel himself uses the expression "glorious land" for the first time. The second time he uses it, the last time he uses it, is in verse 41. But, in verse 16, he says,
"16But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him: and none shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed." Daniel 11:16 (KJV).
Uriah Smith
Now, you have Uriah Smith—remember, Sister White says is God's helping hand—Uriah Smith commenting on verse 16 in your notes.
"After putting an end to the war, Pompey demolished the walls of Jerusalem, transferred several cities from the jurisdiction of Judea to that of Syria, and imposed tribute on the Jews. For the first time Jerusalem was by conquest placed in the hands of Rome, that power was to hold the 'glorious land' in its iron grasp till it had utterly consumed it." Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation, 247.
Daniel 11:16 is identifying Palestine as the glorious land, and it is identifying when Rome conquered Palestine (Israel, the land of the literal Israel). So, for Daniel in verse 16, the glorious land is the land of Israel, the land flowing with milk and honey, the glory of all the land, the Promised Land. All right?
So, when you get to verse 41, you would think that Daniel would have the same meaning for it; but, in verse 41 where are you? You are on this side of the cross. So, you are looking for a spiritual application. All right?
But, if I say the glorious land is the United States, is that not a literal application? No, it is a spiritual application; because, the land that was given to Ancient Israel served a specific spiritual purpose for Ancient Israel, and the United States serves a specific spiritual purpose for spiritual Israel. The purpose is the same in either case, whether it is Ancient Israel or modern Israel. It is a spiritual application to identify the United States as the glorious land.
"LAND" AND "MOUNTAIN"
. . . enter also into the glorious land . . . verse forty-one of Daniel 11
. . . between the seas in the glorious holy mountain . . . verse forty-five of Daniel 11
J. N. Andrews
After the disappointment of October 22, 1844, it was necessary, logically, for the Millerites at that time period to explain why they had understood that the sanctuary was the Earth instead of the Sanctuary in Heaven.
Who is J. N. Andrews? He is the guy they named Andrews University after. And the flagship of our seminaries is named after Andrews, and Andrews wrote the classic article explaining the mistake of the sanctuary that the Millerites had; and, it is still the classic article to this very day.
And in that article he goes through and he looks at several entities. He looks at the Earth, the church, the land of Canaan, and the sanctuary, to make a distinction on what they are; and, we have a paragraph here where he summarizes these thoughts. It says,
"We have found that the earth is not the sanctuary, but simply the territory where it will finally be located; that the church is not the sanctuary, but simply the worshipers connected with the sanctuary; and that the land of Canaan is not the sanctuary, but that it is the place where the typical sanctuary was located." J. N. Andrews, The Sanctuary and the 2300 Days, 45.
Now, if you are willing to see, you will see that J. N. Andrews, without knowing any of the controversy over the glorious land and the glorious holy mountain, that he is isolating these entities to make another point, but in so doing he is showing you that the church and the land are two different entities. They cannot be the same. All right? They are just not the same.
Why is it important to be clear about this? It is important to be clear about this because, if Daniel 11, verse 41, is The Sunday Law in the United States, it is identifying when probation is going to close for Seventh-day Adventists. But, if I can get you to believe that, "Nah, it is something else. That is not really the close of probation," then you can fall back into your Laodicean sleepiness and find yourself receiving the mark of the beast when the overflowing scourge hits the United States.
So, the idea to undermine the understanding the glorious land in verse 41, it is a satanic attack. It is trying to kill Seventh-day Adventists.
Designed by God
Okay. What does Sister White say about the United States?
Maranatha, page 193, says,
"The Lord has done more for the United States than any other country upon which the sun shines."
And if you go to the top of your notes there, the word GLORIOUS means: in sense of prominence, conspicuous. Does that not meet what that first sentence in that quote says?
—"The Lord has done more for the United States than any other country upon which the sun shines.:—
Is that not in sense of prominence? The Lord has done more for this country, in sense of prominence.
—"Here He provided an asylum for His people, where they could worship Him according to the dictates of conscience. Here Christianity has progressed in its purity. The life-giving doctrine of the one Mediator between God and man has been freely taught."—
And I always get struck by these next couple of sentences.
—"God designed"—
He designed the United States. He did not just toss the pilgrims over into a chunk of land. He designed this nation.
FROM THE AUDIENCE: Amen.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: That is pretty prominent.
How many other nations in the world have we have been told that God "designed"?
—"God designed that this country should ever remain free for all people to worship Him in accordance with the dictates of conscience. He designed that its civil institutions, in their expansive productions, should represent the freedom of gospel privileges." Maranatha, 193.
A Promised Land
In Exodus 32:13, it says,
"13Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it forever." Exodus 32:13 (KJV).
So, the Lord gave a specific land to Ancient Israel, and He gave a land to modern Israel. And the land that He gave to modern Israel, He designed; He designed to fulfill a prophetic role during the end of the world.
This Land that I have Spoken Of
Ancient Israel
Prophets and Kings, page 16, says,
"God brought His chosen people out of the land of Egypt. . . . that He might bring them to a good land, a land which in His providence He had prepared for them"—
That sounds like He designed ancient Palestine, too, if he prepared it for them.
—"as a refuge from their enemies.'—
And that is what she said in the previous quote. He designed this country; He made it as an asylum, a refuge from their enemies.
—'He would bring them to Himself and encircle them in His everlasting arms; and in return for His goodness and mercy they were to exalt His name and make it"—
What?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: Glorious in the earth.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: —"glorious in the earth." Prophets and Kings, 16.
That was their purpose.
And in order to make His name glorious in the Earth, he gave them a land flowing with milk and honey that would give them the financial ability to carry the message to the Earth. He placed that land at the crossroads of the ancient world; and, it fulfills the same purpose that the United States fulfills, the crossroads of the modern world, flowing with milk and honey, for the purpose of the Lord's name being made glorious in the Earth.
Modern Israel
Selected Messages, book 1, page 92:
"Is it in vain that the declaration of eternal truth has been given to this nation to be carried to all the nations of the world?"—
To what nation? The United States.
—"God has chosen a people and made them the repositories of truth weighty with eternal results."—
Who did He choose as the people? Who did He choose?
A trick question. Watch out.
FROM THE AUDIENCE: (Laughter.)
BROTHER PIPPENGER: He chose the Protestants. The Protestant Reformation brings them out to the United States. He chose the Protestants. He chose this nation; He chose the Protestants; and, then He presented the message of the hour to the Protestants and the Protestants rejected it. So, He set the Protestants aside, and He took the Millerites. Right?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: Amen.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: —"Is it in vain that the declaration of eternal truth has been given to this nation to be carried to all the nations of the world? God has chosen a people and made them the repositories of truth weighty with eternal results. To them has been given the light that must illuminate the world. Has God made a mistake? Are we indeed His chosen instrumentalities? Are we the men and women who are to bear to the world the messages of Revelation fourteen, to proclaim the message of salvation to those who are standing on the brink of ruin? Do we act as if we were?" Selected Messages, book 1, 92.
Okay. So, what I am saying is the purpose of ancient Palestine (or Ancient Israel) is identical to the purpose of the United States for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. God designed the United States to fulfill a certain role in Bible prophecy, and a characteristic of the United States is that it is "the land," and it is the most prominent land in the world. It is the glorious land in sense of prominence.
The Prophetic Role
The Man of Sin
So, let us look at some of the roles that the United States has been identified as fulfilling; because, when we get to closing up our thoughts on Daniel 11:40 and 41, on to 45, we want to see that what we are suggesting about verses 40 to 45, in identifying the United States as the glorious land, we want to see if what we are suggesting these verses represent is in agreement with the testimony of what the role, the prophetic role, of the United States is.
Are our analyses of these verses consistent with what the rest of the prophecies say about the United States?
So, let us look at the prophetic role.
Signs of the Times, June 12, 1893:
"When the land which the Lord provided as an asylum for His people, that they might worship Him according to the dictates of their own consciences, the land over which for long years the shield of Omnipotence has been spread, the land which God has favored by making it the depository of the pure religion of Christ,—when that land shall, through its legislators, abjure the principles of Protestantism, and give countenance to Romish apostasy in tampering with God's law,—it is then that the final work of the man of sin will be revealed." Signs of the Times, June 12, 1893.
So, what is "the finale work of the man of sin"?
We read a quote here a couple of times where Sister White says, "The last scenes plainly revealed in this earth's history have to do with the man of sin." So, here it is saying, at The Sunday Law in the United States, these last movements of the man of sin are going to be revealed, the King of the North (the Papacy).
And what is his last movement? Well, he sets himself upon the throne of the Earth, causes a blood bath, and he comes to his end in Armageddon with none to help.
When does this sequence of events begin? At The Sunday Law. When the land shall pass a Sunday law, then the final work of the man of sin will be revealed.
The Marvelous Working of Satan
In Testimonies, volume 5, page 451—
So, what I am wanting you to see here is that The Sunday Law in the United States is a prophetic marker in connection with the work of the man of sin. All right?
The next one is a little bit different.
"By the decree enforcing the institution of the Papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with Spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near." Testimonies, volume 5, 451.
We have already dealt with this one.
When does Satan begin to personate Christ?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: At The Sunday Law.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: At The Sunday Law in the United States.
How long is he allowed to perform these miracles? Until Michael stands up, until human probation closes. We read that.
So, from The Sunday Law, from the overflowing scourge hitting the glorious land in verse 41, then we have the final movements of the man of sin; and, then we have Satan on the scene personating Christ.
So, the prophetic role of the glorious land of the United States, it has several issues that are connected to it.
National Ruin
The next one, Review and Herald, May 2, 1893:
"The people of the United States have been a favored people; but when they restrict religious liberty, surrender Protestantism, and give countenance to popery, the measure of their guilt will be full, and 'national apostasy' will be registered in the books of heaven. The result of this apostasy will be national ruin." Review and Herald, May 2, 1893.
Okay. The Sunday Law in the United States, the final movements of the Papacy; The Sunday Law in the United States, Satan personates Christ; The Sunday Law in the United States, national ruin, all taking place.
Tyranny
The Spirit of Prophecy, volume 4, page 410:
"Our land is in jeopardy. The time is drawing on when its legislators shall so abjure the principles of Protestantism as to give countenance to Romish apostasy. The people for whom God has so marvelously wrought, strengthening them to throw off the galling yoke of popery, will by a national act give vigor to the corrupt faith of Rome, and thus arouse the tyranny which only waits for a touch to start again into cruelty and despotism. With rapid steps are we already approaching this period." The Spirit of Prophecy, volume 4, 410.
So, what else starts at The Sunday Law? Persecution, national ruin, Satan personating Christ, the final movements of the Papacy and persecution, and the greatest darkness.
The Greatest Peril and Darkness
Selected Messages, book 3, page 387:
"America, . . . where the greatest light from heaven has been shining upon the people, can become the place of greatest peril and darkness because the people do not continue to practice the truth and walk in the light." Selected Messages, book 3, 387.
So, the United States at The Sunday Law goes into a darkness that is the greatest darkness of any nation that has ever existed. This is going to be—it is quotes like this leads people to say, "Well, you know, I need to move to the country, so maybe I will move to the country somewhere in South America or the Caribbean because this is going to be a bad place to live."
Then when you look at The Sunday Law crisis in the time period of Ellen White's day and age and you realize that the state was the most aggressive on Sunday enforcement was Arkansas, it makes people like me say, "Well, not only do I want to escape the darkness of the United States, but if I am going to be in the United States, maybe I should not be in Arkansas."
But, the reality of it is, is that at this point in time we have to have an experience where we know for a certainty that we are where the Lord wants us to be. And if we know that is the case, then we can have peace wherever we are at. But, the United States is going to become a very, very dark place at The Sunday Law.
Why? Well, probably for lots of reasons. But, one of the reasons is that darkness is going to be used as the backdrop for the ensign being lifted up, and it is just going to make the ensign that much brighter.
FROM THE AUDIENCE: Amen.
The Glory of the Whole Earth
Review and Herald, May 2, 1893. I have always had a problem with this one here. This quote I have a problem with; but, some people say that I lean too heavily upon the writings of Ellen White. But, that being said, it is because of that leaning so heavily upon the writings of Ellen White that I have a problem with this quote.
People can say that the glorious land of verse 41 [of Daniel] is the Seventh-day Adventist Church, it is not the United States; but, what does Ellen White say?
"The unrivaled mercies and blessings of God have been showered upon our nation,"—
What nation is she talking about?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: The United States.
—"it has been a land of liberty, and the"—what?!—"the glory of the whole earth."—
All right. For me, that ends the discussion. Ellen White just said that the United States is the glorious land, and she is not really quoting Daniel 41 there. She is quoting Ezekiel, "the glory of all the nations." The United States is the glorious land, according to Ellen White.
It does not matter is someone says it is a Jesuit technique. They do not know what Jesuitism is, obviously.
—"But instead of returning gratitude to God, instead of honoring God and his law, the professed Christians of America have become leavened with pride, covetousness, and self-sufficiency. . . .
"The time has come when judgment is fallen in the streets, and equity cannot enter, and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey. But the Lord's arm is not shortened that it cannot save, and his ear is not heavy that it cannot hear. The people of the United States have been a favored people; but when"—pardon me?—"but when they restrict religious liberty, surrender Protestantism, and give countenance to popery, the measure of their guilt will be full, and 'national apostasy' will be registered in the books of heaven. The result of this apostasy will be national ruin.
"The voices of those under the altar who have been slain for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus, are still saying, 'It is time for thee, O Lord, to work: for they have made void thy law.'" Review and Herald, May 2, 1893.
Now, this is outside what we are looking at here today, but do you realize what she was just referencing? Because, if you remember back in our worship service when we dealt with "How long?" and we went through and found the various places in the Scriptures where the expression, "How long?" is marked and we were doing that to show that the history of Ancient Israel is governed by the Seven Churches of Revelation 2 and 3, just as the history of the Seven Churches is all repeated in the history of Laodicea, when we were in that part of our worship study, those under the altar, which she just referenced, in the Fifth Seal that asked, "How long until you deal with the Papacy?" and they were then told, "Rest in your graves for a little while until another group is doing to die as you died," and we brought two quotes in where Sister White places that in Revelation 18, verse 4, here, if you understand that, and what I am saying is, is the martyrs that the Papacy murdered during the 1260 years in the Fifth Seal, they asked the question to the Lord, "How long until you punish the Papacy for murdering us?" And the answer is, "You wait in your graves. There is going to be another group of people that die from Papal persecution." And Sister White places that at Revelation 18, verse 4, which says, "Come out of her, my people," which is The Sunday Law.
And in here, if you can see it, she is going back into that subject and is giving you another argument that this is The Sunday Law; because, when she talks in this final paragraph about the voices under the altar, that is the Sixth Seal asking, "How long until you punish the Papacy?" and here she throws in David's statement about, "It is time for thee, O Lord, to work: for they have made void thy law." They make void the Law at The Sunday Law in Revelation 18, verse 4.
That is not really what we are dealing with here; but, it is what we are dealing with in the worship service.
So, the United States is the glory of the whole Earth, according to the Spirit of Prophecy.
The Glory Defined
What makes the United States glorious? This is something that needs to be understood.
The Great Controversy, page 352
"In the seventeenth century thousands of pastors were expelled from their positions. The people were forbidden, on pain of heavy fines, imprisonment, and banishment, to attend any religious meetings except such as were sanctioned by the church. Those faithful souls who could not refrain from gathering to worship God were compelled to meet in dark alleys, in obscure garrets, and at some seasons in the woods at midnight. In the sheltering depths of the forest, a temple of God's own building, those scattered and persecuted children of the Lord assembled to pour out their souls in prayer and praise. But despite all their precautions, many suffered for their faith. The jails were crowded. Families were broken up. Many were banished to foreign lands. Yet God was with His people, and persecution could not prevail to silence their testimony. Many were driven across the ocean to America and here laid the foundations of civil and religious liberty which have been the bulwark and glory of this country." The Great Controversy, 252.
What is the glory of the glorious land?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: Religious liberty.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: The Constitution, the Constitution of the United States.
So, we know that at The Sunday Law the Constitution is overturned, done away with; so, that fits with what we are saying.
Now, in an attempt to undermine the understanding that the glorious land is the United States, the verse that is used to say that the United States cannot be the glorious land, that the glorious land is the Seventh-day Adventist Church, this is Malachi 3:12. It says, "12And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts." Malachi 3:12 (KJV): "Now, just right there it is saying that God's people are a delightsome land. There is the glorious land." There is your one verse that is sounded over and over and over again saying that the glorious land is the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Of course, you have got to take things in context, right? The context of this passage does not justify that kind of application.
Let me show you something here real quickly and come back to this. In your notes, I will just point to it.
You see from Webster's Dictionary, the definition of inherit. And if you read that definition, you will find that to inherit requires two things. And you can take the various words. I have done this before, and in these notes I just have inherit, because I intend just to explain it. But, if you take Webster's Dictionary of 1828 and you look up inheritor, inherit, or inheritance, you will find that those are legal technical terms. They are legal technical terms. Okay? And the Bible specifically says repeatedly that the Promised Land was the inheritance of those that held the possession of the covenant. And an inheritance is different than the inheritor.
I am the one that is going to inherit this thing; but, what I am going to inherit is a thing. And this is a very technical, legal theme in the Bible that God's people were to inherit the Promised Land. It is an inheritance.
An inheritor cannot be the inheritance. They are two different things. So, we will look at this a little bit tomorrow, and you will see in your notes—because I am already out of time, but we are not done—you will see in your notes that all of the covenant promises are fulfilled upon Ancient Israel, and the three primary covenant promises are that you and I can have the mind of Christ right here, right now, at the foot of the cross, if we will meet the conditions of the Gospel. And if you do not have the mind of Christ this morning, you should do that.
The other covenant promise is if we are faithful we are going to be given a glorified body at the Second Coming of Christ.
The third covenant promise, which is one that is mentioned far more than the other two covenant promises put together in the Bible is that the Lord would give His people a land. And all the covenant promises are fulfilled in spiritual modern Israel; so, there has to be a land that was given to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. So, from that argument, we will probably look at a little bit tomorrow.
That argument came to the surface because of the person that was out there in Adventism using Malachi 3:12, saying, "This proves that God's people are the land." And it was from this argument that students of prophecy were forced to dig deeper into what the glorious land was, to understand the fact that the Bible teaches that the land was the inheritance, that the inheritors were to receive. It cannot be; the people and the land cannot be the same thing Biblically.
But, let us go to Malachi 3 and see if the context justifies the argument that what is being taught here is that this verse is a proof text to prove that the Church is the land.
Okay. So, let us go to Malachi 1. All right?
Is everyone there?
Verse 1:
"chapter 1:1The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. 2I have loved you, saith the Lord, Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? Saith the Lord: yet I loved Jacob."—
What is He saying? He is saying, "I make distinction between people. There are two classes of people." This is what the Lord is saying.
"I have loved you."
"How have you loved us?"
"Well, you know my love is based upon two classes of people."
Verse 3:
—"3And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness. 4Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the Lord of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the Lord hath indignation for ever."—
Who is going to get called "The people against whom the Lord hath indignation for ever"? Esau; Edom: Esau is Esau; Edom is his nation. And the Lord is putting them in a category, and the category is that they are the wicked.
And He is contrasting them with whom?
Next verse.
—"5And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The Lord will be magnified from the border of Israel."—
So, you have one class that is going to be magnified from the border of Israel, and then you have a class that their border is the border of wickedness, the border of the people that the Lord is going to have indignation forever.
So, what do you have there: with these two borders, what do you have? Two classes of people. Okay?
And this is the Lord's argument about who He loves. He loves one class; He does not love the other class, He hates them. All right?
Verse 6:
"6A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honor? And if I be a master, where is my fear? Saith the Lord of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name? 7Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the Lord is contemptible."—
So, Malachi begins by introducing the Everlasting Gospel: "I demonstrate my love my accomplishing the Everlasting Gospel producing two classes of worshippers, one on the border of wickedness, one on the border of Israel."
Now He is going to go in and He is going to talk about the priests of Adventism—all the prophets are speaking about the end of the world, right?—the priests of Adventism. And what is the problem with the priests of Adventism? They offer polluted bread.
Okay. What is the polluted bread that they offer? Well, in William Miller's dream, in William Miller's dream you remember we took a great deal of time to show what the casket was. What was the casket?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: The Bible.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: The Bible.
And what did they do with this casket in William Miller's dream?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: They tore it up.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: They tore it up.
So, offering polluted bread may be talking about the fact that at the beginning of the 20th Century that the Seventh-day Adventist Church began introducing these Catholic bibles that are now used commonly in Adventism.
Or, maybe it is the Omega teaching to counter the true prophetic message. That would be bread, too. Right? Bad bread.
And what is the table; what is the table here? In verse 7, "Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the Lord is contemptible." What is the table of the Lord here where you are going to eat, you know, what is feeding you?
What table are we supposed to be eating from?
But, this is contemptible, the priests say: "This table is contemptible."
Okay. So, they invent their own table, right?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: Hmm.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: When did they invent their own table? At the beginning of William Miller's dream. I want you to see that this is about William Miller's dream here, Malachi is.
Verse 8:
"8And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? Offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? Saith the Lord of hosts. 9And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means: will he regard your persons? Saith the Lord of hosts. 10Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought? Neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand."—
"Everything that you are doing is for money, is for your own personal gain; and, your offerings are corrupted." And all the prophets are speaking about the end of the world.
Verse 11:
—"11For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of the hosts.
"12But ye have profaned it, in that ye say, The table of the Lord is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible [Brother Jeff gestures towards the 1843 and 1850 Charts]."—
What is He talking about?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: Hmm.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: He is talking about these Charts!
—"13Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! And ye have snuffed at it, saith the Lord of hosts; and ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this of your hand? Saith the Lord. 14But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the Lord of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathens."
"chapter 2:1And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. 2If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the Lord of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart."—
What do they not lay to heart; what do they not lay to heart?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: His warning.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: His warning.
What?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: The Tables.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: The Tables.
But, also here, this is a warning that, "You are already cursed. You should have laid this to heart, but you have already rejected it."
What should you have laid to heart? Something about blessings and cursings.
"3Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it. 4And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the Lord of hosts."—
What is the covenant of Levi? It is the covenant of the golden calf. It is the covenant of Jeroboam. Remember? Jeroboam makes two golden calves, but the Levites refused to be his priests.
So, this is placing this issue at The Sunday Law time period. This is The Sunday Law time period.
What happens to the false priests in Adventism at The Sunday Law time period? They are going to be punished; because, he is making a covenant with Levi. He is going to corrupt their seed and spread dung on their faces.
Verse 54:
—"5My covenant was with him [with Levi] of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name. 6The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity."—
Who was that? That is the 144,000. That is the ensign that is lifted up at The Sunday Law. That is who Levi is.
"7For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. 8But ye are departed out of the way:"—
What way are they departed out of?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: The Old Paths.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: The Old Paths.
—"ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the Lord of hosts. 9Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law. 10Have we not all one father? Hath not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?"—
What are they profaning?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: The covenant of our fathers.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: The covenant of our fathers.
What is the symbol of the covenant for Ancient Israel?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: The Two Tables.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: The Two Tables [the Ten Commandments]. They were put in the ark of the covenant.
What was the symbol of the covenant with our fathers? The Two Tables [the 1843 and 1850 Charts].
And what did they do to that? They profaned the covenant of our fathers.
—"11Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the Lord which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god."—
What is that?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: Mystery of Iniquity.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: Mystery of Iniquity; they bought into the Mystery of Iniquity.
—"12The Lord will cut off the man that doeth this, the master and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that offereth an offering unto the Lord of hosts. 13And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand. 14Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the Lord hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth,"—
"The Lord saw what you did with the wife of your youth."
—"against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant. 15And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed."—
When is the godly seed produced?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: At The Sunday Law.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: At The Sunday Law. It is produced leading up to The Sunday Law; it is demonstrated at The Sunday Law. But, who is the godly seed contrasted with?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: The wicked.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: The wicked seed.
What is this?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: The Everlasting Gospel.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: It is the Everlasting Gospel. It is the work of Christ in producing two classes of worshippers, based upon Genesis 3:15, "I will put enmity between Satan's seed and Christ's seed."
So, He is producing the godly seed right here, and one seed in verse 15:
—"Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth."—
Who is the wife of your youth that you are dealing treacherously with?
Who is the church of your youth that you are dealing treacherously with? "What do you think about the Millerite History?"
Okay. This is all, Malachi is all about the Old Paths and the rejection of the Old Paths.
—"16For the Lord, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the Lord of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously."—
And the dealing treacherously is breaking the covenant.
—"17Ye have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?" Malachi 2 and 3 (KJV).
Brothers and Sisters, this is the teaching symbolically represented by Desmond Ford: "You can't overcome sin. You are going to sin until Jesus comes, and He is going to miraculously change you. Everyone is good, everyone is good," this teaching.
But what else is the other teaching that they are misrepresenting? "Where is the God of Judgment? The Judgment of the Living did not begin on 9/11/2001. God is not a God of Judgment."
Verse 1 of Malachi 3:
"chapter 3:1Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts."—
Where does He come here at the end of the world?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: Judgment.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: He comes to Judgment, the previous verse: "Where is the God of Judgment?" He comes to the Judgment of the Living.
FROM THE AUDIENCE: Amen.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: And what does He do?
Verse 2:
—"2But who may abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' sope:"—
He starts a purification process on 9/11 that is going to conclude at The Sunday Law. Right? That is what He is doing. This is the temple cleansing of Adventism.
Verse 3:
—"3And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons"—of who?—"of Levi,"—
Those that are going to stand at the golden calf test at The Sunday Law, and they are going to stand for the Lord and be raised up as ensigns.
—"and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. 4Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years."—
As in the Millerite History, as in the history of Christ, as in the history of Noah, as in the history of Moses, and as in the history of Elijah when there was a revival accomplished, it will be just like that.
—"5And I will come near to you to judgment;"—this is Judgment—"and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and feat not me, saith the Lord of hosts. 6For I am the Lord, I change not;"—
That is the premise that we have been building on from almost the beginning where Sister White says, "God's dealing with man is ever the same"; and that is why all the reform lines are the same: "I am God. I change not!"
—"therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed."—
This is why we are so hardcore in our Laodicean condition; because, the Lord does not deal with us instantly. When we sin, we think that we can get away with murder and we carry on; therefore, the sons of Jacob are not consumed, because the Lord is long-suffering in our Laodicean condition. But, now you are in the time period when He is closing up shop!
And what tells you that He is closing up shop? Daniel 11:40 and 41.
—"6For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
"7Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances,"—
How about 1863?
—"and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?
"8Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. 9Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation."—
Now, what is He emphasizing here? A curse comes from not returning the Lord His tithe.
The next verse—we are almost to the verse [of Malachi 3:12].
—"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. 11And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes,"—
If you are faithful to this statute.
—"and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts. 12And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts."—
That is not a proof-text saying that the church is the land. It is a proof-text saying that when the church walks in obedience, the Lord will bless both them and the land that He has given them; and, it is a misrepresentation and a twisting of the words to say otherwise
Verse 13:
—"13Your words have been stout against me, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee? 14Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts? 15And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered. 16Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name. 17And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels;"—
When does He make up His jewels? The Sunday Law; He is going to lift up an ensign like a crown. Zechariah 9:16.5
—"and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. 18Then shall ye return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.
"chapter 4:1For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
"2But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall."—
When does the Sun of Righteousness arise? Revelation 7, is it not?
Go to Revelation 7.
We should have been done a while ago, so I have already gone too long; so, you might as well just really make it a big train wreck, not a little one.
Verse 1:
"1And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. 2And I saw another angel"—what?—"ascending from the east, . . ." Revelation 7:1 (KJV).
Back to Malachi:
—"2But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. 3And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts.
"4Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statues and judgments. 5Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: 6And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." Malachi 3 and 4 (KJV).
There is no justification by context, whatsoever, to claim that verse 12 of Malachi 3 is identifying that the Seventh-day Adventist Church is the glorious land: it is a wresting of the Scriptures. Malachi is about an entirely different subject. It is about the Everlasting Gospel that is being accomplished in Adventism, based upon how they stand or reject the messages on these Two Tables [gesturing towards the 1843 and 1850 Charts].
Shall we pray?
Benediction: Heavenly Father, we thank you for bringing us together to start our day by considering your Word. We thank you that you have brought us to this time when we are going to have this special series of meetings that are going to begin here after breakfast. We ask a blessing upon this week of service. We ask a blessing upon those that are listening to these things LiveStream and thereafter on DVDs. We ask that you protect the work that we are doing, the record, the internet services. We thank you for bringing us together to start this day, and now we ask a blessing upon the physical food that we are going to partake of here in the near future. In Jesus's name, amen.