Habakkuk's Two Tables #69

PART SEVEN: JOSIAH

Presented by Jeff Pippenger

Invocation by Brother Jeff Pippenger: Heavenly Father, we thank you for a good night's rest. We ask now, as we take up our study of your Word this morning, that you would allow us the presence of your Holy Spirit to direct our thoughts and our understanding. We ask that you would continue to open our understanding to your Word by pouring your Latter Rain out upon us, and make us fit vessels to receive that Rain. We ask that you please overrule my humanity, that what is spoken here this morning would be edifying to your people and would glorify and honor you. We thank you for another day of life that we might serve you; and, we would ask that you speak to us here at the beginning of this day. In Jesus's name, amen.

First Ten Verses

BROTHER PIPPENGER: We are dealing with Aaron and the golden calf, prefiguring Jeroboam and the two golden calves.

And in 1 Kings 13, where Jeroboam is initiating the worship of these two golden calves, a prophet comes out of Judah; and, we are now going to consider this disobedient prophet. We are going to just start in verse 1. It is in your notes of 1 King 13. We will go down through it and then discuss some of the symbolism in this chapter.

And we went through this yesterday, but I am going to read through it again just to put it in our memory.

Beginning at verse 1, it says

"¹And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the Lord unto Bethel:"—

Judah now is representing the Two Southern Tribes that is coming to Bethel, the city which means the House of God, which is representing the Ten Northern Tribes of Israel. But, in the context of Millerite History, this is Millerite Adventism (Judah). And apostate Protestantism [Israel] at this point, after 1844, the religious aspect of the United States, has already rejected the message; so, they have already begun to fulfill their role as the False Prophet.

—"¹And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the Lord unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense."—

We have looked into the past as we were looking at 1863, at first leaders. We looked at Aaron, Jeroboam, Rehoboam, Saul, and Peter to see that first leaders are always tested in order to set up the understanding of how James White failed the test in 1863.

And what is Jeroboam doing here that one of the other first leaders does in this act? "Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense," what is this? That is what Saul did, was it not? Saul determined he could not wait for the prophet Samuel to do the offering; so, as the state (as the political leader) he [Saul] took it upon himself to enter into the role of the Priests, a combination of church and state, an unholy combination.

—"²and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. And he cried against the altar in the word of the Lord, and said, O altar, altar,"—

Thus, marking this history in the Second and the Fourth Angels' Message by the repetition of the word altar.

—"O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee.

"³And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the Lord hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out."—

What does an altar represent?

FROM THE AUDIENCE: Christ.

BROTHER PIPPENGER: Christ, or a false Christ. And this sign is going to demonstrate the true Christ in opposition to the false Christ; because, this altar is going to come under the authority of the Word of God and it is going to be destroyed. This is a false Christ. It is a sign that is making the distinction between the true Christ and the false Christ.

And where do we see this distinction made in a parallel history? The primary one that we emphasize is the story of Elijah, that there was a distinction made between the True Prophet and the False Prophets (the True Prophet, Elijah; and, the False Prophets, the prophets of Baal).

And how was that accomplished? Through a sign: fire coming down out of Heaven.

So, this sign here is also going to make the distinction between the True and False Prophets.

—"³And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the Lord hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out."

"⁴And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him."—

And I looked up yesterday this word dried up; because, in my mind I have been visualizing his hand being paralyzed, but that is not what it means. To be dried up, it means he just loses all ability to control it.

—"⁵The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord."—

Now we see which altar is the true altar.

—"⁶And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Entreat now the face of the Lord thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again."—

And king Jeroboam sees who the true God is, because he asked for the true God to restore his hand, just as Ahab, no doubt, understood who the true God was when he saw he fire come down out of Heaven.

—"And the man of God besought the Lord, and the king's hand was restored him again, and became as it was before.

"⁷And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward. ⁸And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house,"—

What would half his house be? It would be five kingdoms—right?—out of ten.

—"I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place: ⁹For so was it charged me by the word of the Lord, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest."—

The bread and water is the message—right?—the Word of God, the doctrine.

—"¹⁰So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel." 1 Kings 13:1-10 (KJV).

God's prophet here from Judah, he came to this experience historically in the testing process that tested the Protestant world. 1798 to 1844 was the Everlasting Gospel that was being accomplished upon the Protestants. At the end of that process, the Millerites are chosen to enter into covenant with the Lord.

But, what brings this confrontation between the prophet from Judah and Bethel is the history of 1798 to 1844. This is the way the Millerites came. They came out of Protestantism; and, this pronouncement not to go by the way that he came to Bethel is saying, "Don't go back to Protestantism."

Okay. That is where we stopped yesterday.

Verses Eleven through Thirty-Four

Now we are going to take it up in verse 11 [of 1 Kings 13].

The prophet from Judah has given his prophecy of Josiah. He set forth a sign to prove that it is a legitimate prophecy, and he is going to go back home now.

"¹¹Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel;"—

Which means he is a prophet from the Ten Tribes, from Israel (an on old prophet from Protestantism).

—"and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father. ¹²And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah. ¹³And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon, ¹⁴And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah?"—

So, for whatever reason, the prophet from Judah, he does not go immediately home. He stops under an oak. If you are under an oak, what is covering you?

FROM THE AUDIENCE: Leaves?

BROTHER PIPPENGER: The shade, the shade. Right? An oak tree is going to produce a shade.

Okay. He is sitting in the shade; maybe it was hot.

—"and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest form Judah? And he said, I am. ¹⁵Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread. ¹⁶And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place: ¹⁷For it was said to me by the word of the Lord, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest."—

He is not supposed to eat any bread or water in Israel. The Millerites are not supposed to drink any bread or water in apostate Protestantism. They are not supposed to take their [apostate Protestantism's] doctrines unto themselves.

And, we have read in this worship series from Early Writings, pages 259 – 260, when the Protestants fully rejected the testing process of 1798 to 1844, they continued to direct their prayers to the Holy Place; and, Satan, pleased with this deception, began to answer those prayers.

So, after 1844 who is leading apostate Protestantism in the United States?

FROM THE AUDIENCE: Satan.

BROTHER PIPPENGER: Satan.

What in the world would Adventism want to go back and take any kind of direction from a body of people that are being led by Satan?

Adventism was told this very thing, "Satan is answering their prayers. Don't go back and eat their bread or drink their waters. Don't walk in their ways." Of course, we did; through the years we went back and ate their bread and drank their water.

—"¹⁸He"—[THE FALSE PROPHET]—"said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him."—

So, he is a prophet, but he is a lying prophet.

So, what is he? He is the False Prophet. Apostate Protestantism has begun to fulfill its role as the False Prophet.

This is the amazing part:

—"¹⁰So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water.

"²⁰And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the Lord came unto the prophet that brought him back:"—[CAME TO THE FALSE PROPHET]—"²¹And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the Lord, and hast not kept the commandment which the Lord thy God commanded thee, ²²But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the Lord did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.

"²³And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back. ²⁴And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase. ²⁵And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.

"²⁶And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the word of the Lord: therefore the Lord hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake unto him. ²⁷And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they saddled him. ²⁸And he went and found his carcase cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcase: the lion had not eaten the carcase, nor torn the ass."—

But, he was still there; so, this is supernatural.

You know, there are some lions that go crazy, or something goes wrong with them, where they become maneaters. They just go out and kill people to kill them; but, that is the exception to the rule. A lion is going to kill something that it is going to eat.

But, an ass is going to run away from a lion, and a lion is probably going to deal with the ass at the same time he is dealing with the man. So, this is totally supernatural; this is a judgment from the Lord.

—"²⁹And the prophet took up the carcase of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back: and the old prophet came to the city, to mourn and to bury him. ³⁰And he laid his carcase in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying, Alas, my brother!"—

When they were mourning over him, what were they saying about him?

FROM THE AUDIENCE: Woe.

BROTHER PIPPENGER: Woe. Alas is woe, "[Woe], my brother!"

—"³¹And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones: ³²For the saying which he cried by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass."—

"³³After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again of the lowest of the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places. ³⁴And this thing became sin unto the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the face of the earth." 1 Kings 13:11-34 (KJV).

Now, Jeroboam is the first king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. How many of those following kings of Israel were good kings?

FROM THE AUDIENCE: None.

BROTHER PIPPENGER: None. They were all wicked. And when the Bible comments on their wickedness, it is always traced back to the sins of Jeroboam. It is the sins of Jeroboam that bring the curse upon the Northern Kingdom.

And in this passage, what is the sin of Jeroboam?

FROM THE AUDIENCE: (Inaudible response.)

BROTHER PIPPENGER: Pardon me?

FROM THE AUDIENCE: He made them Priests.

BROTHER PIPPENGER: He made Priests of the lowest of people.

And why did he have to do that?

FROM THE AUDIENCE: (Various simultaneous responses.)

BROTHER PIPPENGER: Because the Levites refused to enter into it, just like the Levites refused to enter into worship of Aaron's golden calf. Okay? So, there is something about unsanctified ministers that brings about a curse.

The False Prophet from Bethel

Okay. The False Prophet; let us look at the False Prophet.

In verse 18 [of 1 Kings 13], it says,

"¹⁸He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him." 1 Kings 13:18 (KJV).

Is a prophet going to lie?

FROM THE AUDIENCE: No.

BROTHER PIPPENGER: This one was, because he was a false prophet.

Galatians 1:8:

"⁸But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." Galatians 1:8 (KJV).

What angel, if it was an angel (if he was not making that up; that was not part of the lie), what kind of angel was it that told him this?

FROM THE AUDIENCE: (Indiscernible response).

BROTHER PIPPENGER: It was a fallen angel.

Proverbs 14:5 says,

"⁵A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies." Proverbs 14:5 (KJV).

So, this prophet is a false witness. He is the False Prophet of Bible prophecy (apostate Protestantism).

Be Ye Separate

And the True Prophet out of Judah was not to be connected with the False Prophet. He was not to go back the way that he came. He came out of Protestantism. He came through the history that brings the Protestant Reformation to its climax, and he was not to return to that experience.

2 Corinthians 6:17, and 18, says,

"¹⁷Wherefore come out from among them,"—

This is the Millerite story.

—"and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, ¹⁸And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." 2 Corinthians 6:17-18 (KJV).

The prophet was to be separate from the worship of Jeroboam.

Revelation 14:8:

"⁸And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication." Revelation 14:8 (KJV).

When does the fall of Babylon begin? In June of 1842 the Protestant churches began to close their doors; and, by the Summer of 1844, the Millerites were proclaiming the message, "Come out of Babylon!" The Millerites knew that they were not to drink the wine of Babylon.

So, this story of Jeroboam and the disobedient prophet, it is a story of Millerite Adventism in contrast with the False Prophet of apostate Protestantism.

So, my contention here is that had the disobedient prophet determined he was going home and he was not going to stop till he got home, that he [the False Prophet] would not have caught up with him. He [the disobedient prophet] had a head start. The only reason the False Prophet caught up with him is because he stopped by the tree.

Shadow

Psalm 36:7; 91:1; Isaiah 4; 30:13

Okay. Psalm 36, verse 7, says,

"⁷How excellent is thy loving-kindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings." Psalm 36:7 (KJV).

Psalm 91:1:

"¹He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." Psalm 91:1 (KJV).

So, God's people are going to be under the shadow of God's wings, and the shadow of God's wings, His wings are His secret place. Where is the secret place that God's people dwell under God's shadow at?

FROM THE AUDIENCE: The Most Holy Place.

BROTHER PIPPENGER: The Most Holy Place, the Heavenly Sanctuary.

Okay. So, Isaiah 4 deals with this. Isaiah 4, we can read verse 1, but it is kind of a different piece of information. So, let us start with verse 2 of Isaiah 4.

"²In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. ³And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem: ⁴When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning."—

"In that day," verse 2, what day is that? It is the Judgment of the Living. Here is where He is purging the sins of God's people. If you are still found written in the Book of Life, then you are those that have escaped of Israel and you are part of the beautiful and glorious branch of the Lord, and He will have washed away your filth and purged your blood with the spirit of judgment, and the spirit of burning.

What is the spirit of judgment and burning? That is Investigative Judgment. It is the Judgment of the Living, but it also connects with Malachi, chapter 3. He is sitting as the refiner and purifier of silver and gold.

For what purpose? To purify the sons of Levi, those that stand faithful during Aaron's and Jeroboam's golden calves Sunday Law test.

Verse 5:

—"⁵And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence. ⁶And there shall be a tabernacle"—

What is a tabernacle?

FROM THE AUDIENCE: A tent.

BROTHER PIPPENGER: A tent, and it is a sanctuary, a tent sanctuary.

—"⁶And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the day time from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain." Isaiah 4: 2‑6 (KJV).

The Most Holy Place is where God's people dwell under the shadow of the Most High, meaning they are under His influence.

But, there are two classes in the world. Go to Isaiah 30, verses 1 through 3.

"¹Woe to the rebellious children,"—

What rebellious children are we speaking about here?

Well, if you go back to chapter 28, verse 1, it says, "Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, . . ." Isaiah 28:1 (KJV).

And then in verse 14 it says, "Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem." Isaiah 28:14 (KJV). So, there is a Woe pronounced upon the leadership of Jerusalem (in Testimonies, volume 5, page 211, Jerusalem is the Seventh-day Adventist Church). There is a Woe pronounced upon the leadership of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, because of why?

FROM THE AUDIENCE: Because they have been drinking.

BROTHER PIPPENGER: Because they have been overcome with wine.

What have they done? They have eaten the bread and drank the water of the False Prophet of Bethel.

So, "Woe to the crown of pride" in verse 1 of chapter 28.

The same vision in chapter 29: it says, "Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt!" This is a Woe upon Jerusalem, upon Jerusalem's leadership.

So, when we get to chapter 30, verse 1, it is still the same vision. It says, "Woe." So, this is about the Woe that is pronounced upon those people that go back to Bethel and eat that bread and water.

—"¹Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me: and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin: ²That walk to go down into Egypt,"—

That is where Jeroboam and Aaron came from, is Egypt. These people are returning to Egypt.

—"and have not asked at my mouth; to strength themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt! ³Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion." Isaiah 30:1-3 (KJV).

So, the shadow is what you trust in. You can trust in Christ, the High Priest in the Most Holy Place and be under His shadow; or, you can trust in the dragon, in Egypt, and be under his influence. It is about influence, the shadow; His influence.

Notice your notes, Pamphlets, page 140:

"Shall the education given in our schools be after God's order, or after the wisdom of this world,"—

How do we symbolize the world more often than not in God's Word? Well, in verses 42 and 43 of Daniel 11, it is Egypt.

—"Shall the education given in our schools be after God's order, or after the [the shadow of Egypt] the wisdom of this world, which the Lord pronounces foolishness? Shall the hearts of students become estranged from God by eating of the tree of knowledge,"—

Ah, the tree of knowledge is where you get the wisdom of the world. The tree of knowledge is where you come under the influence of Egypt.

—"become estranged from God by eating of the tree of knowledge, which hardens the heart into disobedience, and ministers to vanity and pride? Shall not the education given in our schools be of that character which will give a more decided knowledge of God's Word, and which will bring the soul into a vital connection with God, keeping God before the mind's eye, and arousing every better feeling in the soul? This is the kind of education which is as enduring as eternity." Pamphlets, 140.

What I am suggesting is that when the disobedient prophet went home, he made a mistake and he sat down under this oak tree, under that shadow, under the influence of that oak tree, and that oak tree is a symbol of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

And what is one of the things that the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil represents?

FROM THE AUDIENCE: The Mystery of Iniquity.

BROTHER PIPPENGER: The Mystery of Iniquity. It is the mingling of the sacred with the common.

But, in any case, a tree is understood to be knowledge and education.

Fundamentals of Christian Education, page 437, says,

"From God, the fountain of wisdom, proceeds all the knowledge that is of value to man, all that the intellect can grasp or retain. The fruit of the tree representing good and evil is not to be eagerly plucked, because it is recommended by one who was once a bright angel in glory. He has said that if men eat thereof, they shall know good and evil. But let it alone. The true knowledge comes not from infidels or wicked men. The word of God is light and truth. The true light shines from Jesus Christ, who 'lighteth every man that cometh into the world.' From the Holy Spirit proceeds divine knowledge. He knows what humanity needs to promote peace, happiness, and restfulness here in this world, and secure eternal rest in the kingdom of God." Fundamentals of Christian Education, 437.

What I am suggesting here is that the disobedient prophet stopped on his way back to Judah and came under the influence of this tree, and this tree is a symbol of education. And a tree can have good fruit or bad fruit, but in this story it was a bad idea for this disobedient prophet to stop there. If he had kept going, he would have never got caught. So, for the disobedient prophet, this tree brought forth bad fruit. It is a bad tree. And what I am saying is in connection with the Mystery of Iniquity, the mingling of the common and the sacred, which the disobedient prophet did when he sat down to eat with the False Prophet of Bethel, that the influence of the education represented by that tree is what leads him to his death, ultimately.

Matthew 7:13-27. Go to Matthew 7, and we will begin with verse 13, say something about verse 13 and then read on.

"¹³Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:"—

Now, when some people read this story of the disobedient prophet, the disobedient prophet is found in the way, his carcase is found in the way, they are thinking, "Well, this is the Old Path." But, he is in the wrong place. He was not on the Old Paths. That is where he was supposed to be walking.

So, what I am saying is "the way" where he is found is the broad way which leadeth to destruction. Okay?

"Enter ye in at the strait gate," what is a strait gate?

FROM THE AUDIENCE: The narrow path.

BROTHER PIPPENGER: The narrow path. It is being obedient to God's Word.

Was the disobedient prophet obedient to God's Word?

FROM THE AUDIENCE: No.

BROTHER PIPPENGER: [Shakes his head in agreement of "No."]

So, he was taking the broad way home, and it led him to destruction.

Verse 14:

—"¹⁴Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

"¹⁵Beware of"—who?

Beware of that old prophet from Bethel.

—"¹⁵Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing,"—

"I'm a prophet, too. An angel spoke to me."

—"¹⁵Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. ¹⁶Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?"—

FROM THE AUDIENCE: Amen!

BROTHER PIPPENGER: —"¹⁷Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit: but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit."—

What happened because this disobedient prophet came under the influence of the oak tree when he sat underneath it was bad. This tree brought forth bad fruit. Okay?

Verse 18:

—"¹⁸A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. ¹⁹Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. ²⁰Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

"²¹Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. ²²Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord,"—

In what day? In the time of the Latter Rain; in the judgment time; the Fourth Angel's Message.

—"Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? ²³And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

"²⁴Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:"—

Did the disobedient prophet do the Lord's saying? No.

He was not a wise man. What was he?

FROM THE AUDIENCE: He was foolish.

BROTHER PIPPENGER: He was a foolish virgin.

—"²⁵And the rain descended,"—

When are the foolish and the wise manifested?

FROM THE AUDIENCE: At The Sunday Law?

BROTHER PIPPENGER: No.

"And the rain descended." When the Rain begins to descend, the wise and the foolish are manifested.

When does the Rain begin to descend? Eleven years ago yesterday, on September 11, 2001. Of course, Islam did some nasty work again last night to escalate the Third Woe, if you have not been on the internet yet. They attacked embassies in Egypt and Libya, and killed ambassadors for the United States in Libya, and moved up the tension that right now Barrack Obama is trying to throw some water on the gas; because, the Prime Minister of Israel said he has tried to contact Barrack Obama to talk to him about Iran, and Barrack Obama is giving him the cold shoulder. So, now Barrack Obama is saying, "This isn't so. This isn't the true story," as of yesterday.

And, what is going on, for anyone that wishes to see, is Israel is frustrated that the United States is not willing to stand with them as they get ready to attack Iran.

So, for those of you that think that what we teach about the Third Woe beginning on 9/11/2001, Sister White says that prophecy—by the fulfillment of these prophecies, they will be confirmed. The Lord is now confirming, once again, with double measure, what we are teaching about the ass of Islam.

But, that is not what—where were we? Verse 25:

—"²⁵And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. ²⁶And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand. ²⁷And the rain descended, and the floods came,"—

"The rain descended." When did the Rain begin to descend?

FROM THE AUDIENCE: 9/11.

BROTHER PIPPENGER: 9/11.

What is "the flood"? Based upon Daniel 11, verse 40, what is the flood; because, the King of the North comes as an overflowing flood? It is the Euphrates overflowing. It is the banks. It is this mighty sweeping away as it overflows and passes over in verse 40. What is that? What is "the floods"?

Pardon me?

FROM THE AUDIENCE: The King of the North.

BROTHER PIPPENGER: What is the flood?

The King of the North brings the flood, but when does the flood arrive?

FROM THE AUDIENCE: At The Sunday Law.

BROTHER PIPPENGER: At The Sunday Law.

The Rains came at 9/11: the Sunday Law, the flood.

"And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew,"—

What are the winds? The Four Winds of Islam are restrained on 9/11, but they are slipping through the Angels' fingers.

All these things are in this verse: 9/11, The Sunday Law; and, of course, at The Sunday Law the United States has fully disconnected itself from righteousness, and the winds are only going to escalate and national apostasy is followed by national ruin.

—"And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it." Matthew 7:13-27 (KJV).

So, what am I saying? I am saying you determine a tree by its fruit, and the fruit of this tree, this oak tree that the disobedient prophet sat under, was bad fruit. This was a bad tree.

And a tree symbolizes knowledge. And the tree of knowledge, when it represents worldly education, is a bad tree.

And the first tree that we know about connected with knowledge is the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, this mingling of the sacred with the common, this Mystery of Iniquity.

It was at this tree where the Mystery of Iniquity was accomplished upon Adventism as Adventism was going home. And as they sat down under this tree in the 1930s and accepted the Catholic-Protestant technique of Biblical hermeneutics, they accepted apostate Protestantism's theology that is called the grammatical historical method, what they were doing is agreeing to go back to Bethel and sit down and eat the bread and the water of apostate Protestantism; and, for this, Adventism would die.

Now, where did Adventism come to its demise? It came to its demise with two animals in the scenario: a lion and an ass.

MILLERITE REFORM MOVEMENT

1798 1844

1842

1AM 2AM 3AM

Elijah's Message Elisha's Message

John the Baptist Christ

Shaking and Noise Breath comes into Dead Dry Bones

King of the North Children of the East

LION ASS

Babylon Islam

Figure No. 139.

And in this worship series, we have purposely taken a great deal of time to say that all the Reform Movements parallel one another; but, the classic Reform Movement that teaches us the waymarks and what Reform Movements are is the Reform Movement of the Millerites from 1798 to 1844; and, this history is the history of the First and Second Angels' Messages, the Second Angel's Message arriving in 1842, though it is not proclaimed until the Summer of 1844. It was in June of 1842 that the Protestants (the old prophet of Bethel) began to close the doors of its churches against the Millerite message. And the Third Angel's Message arrived on October 22, 1844. Therefore, this history is of the history of First and Second Angels' Messages. It is not the history of the Third. The Third [Angel's Message] arrives here [on October 22, 1844].

So, we have spent a great deal of time identifying that this First Message is the Elijah Message, that is followed by the Elisha Message: this is John the Baptist, followed by Christ. Right? We have studied this in this worship series.

This [Fist Angel's Message (1AM in Figure No. 139)] is Ezekiel 37 that causes a shaking and a noise; but, not until this Second Message arrives [Second Angel's Message (2AM)] does the breath come into the dead dry bones.

This [First Angel's Message, (1AM)] is the message of the King of the North for us at the end of the world; and, this is the message [2AM] of the children of the East for us at the end of the world (this is Daniel 11, verse 44).

Or, in the story of the disobedient prophet, this is the story of the lion [1AM], and the ass [2AM].

The Lion

And we see in your notes, Daniel 7:3-4. It says,

"³And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. ⁴The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it." Daniel 7:3-4 (KJV).

Who is the first kingdom there in Daniel 7 that is like a Lion?

FROM THE AUDIENCE: Babylon.

BROTHER PIPPENGER: Babylon, the King of the North.

The Ass

And in Genesis 16:11-12, speaking of Ishmael and Hagar, it says,

"¹¹And the angel of the Lord said unto her,"—[unto Hagar]— Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the Lord hath heard thy affliction. ¹²And he will be a wild man;"—

And this word wild is, more often than not, translated as its meaning dictates as the wild Arabian ass.

ASS: H6501—(Jeremiah 2:24) from 6500; 1) wild ass. Strong's Concordance.

"²⁴A wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure; in her occasion who can turn her away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they shall find her." Jeremiah 2:24 (KJV).

—"his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren. Genesis 16:11-12 (KJV).

Islam, at the end of the world, the descendants of Ishmael, is going to be against every man in the world, and he is going to dwell in the presence of all his brethren.

And, there is a quote where Sister White says "the spirit of Ishmael is the spirit of discord." (That is a paraphrase.) But, if you removed everyone from Planet Earth except those followers of Mohammad (the Islamists, the Mahometans as the Pioneers called them), if everyone but them were on Planet Earth, they would continue to fight with one another until there was just one man standing because that is the spirit of Ishmael, and that spirit is said to be in the presence of all his brethren. So, this is just foolish political correctness that teaches that it is a minority of Islam that is radical and is going to push this agenda of the Koran. The Bible teaches that the spirit of Ishmael is in all its brethren.

But, if you were to read the Koran very carefully, the instruction from Mohammad is, is when you are in a society where you are in such a minority that you have no way to promote Mohammad and the Koran, is that you are just to pretend that you are a peace loving happy camper until you reach the [Islamic] population point to where you can become militant. And that is not political correctness; that is the Inspired Word of God commenting on the reality of the Koran.

So, what we are saying here is this "Ass" is Islam.

And, we are saying that when the disobedient prophet comes to his end, the disobedient prophet, who is he? Who is the disobedient prophet in this story?

FROM THE AUDIENCE: Adventism.

BROTHER PIPPENGER: This is Adventism. They have a message of rebuke for apostate Protestantism, "Come out of Babylon. You are carrying the doctrines of Rome. You are keeping Sunday sacred when there is not a word in the Bible to support you in this position." This was the message that was given to Adventism, not just for apostate Protestantism but for the whole world. Is this not the Third Angel's Message?

FROM THE AUDIENCE: (Affirmations.)

BROTHER PIPPENGER: How can you tell people the Third Angel's Message, about the mark of the beast, if you do not know what the mark is or who the beast is? You have a message to carry to them.

So, he comes back with this message and is told to never drink their doctrines, never accept their doctrines, drink their water, eat their bread; and, he heads home and he sits down under the tree of worldly education and accepts the technique of Biblical interpretation that is promoted in Catholicism and apostate Protestantism. And from that influence of that tree, he goes back and he begins to imbibe of these fallen doctrines of Babylon. And, as he heads home, he ends up being killed by a LION as he is riding on an ASS, and the Lion and the Ass just stand there in order to give a symbolic picture of Adventism to anyone that is willing to see.

And what does this symbolic picture say? It says the two messages [referring to the First and Second Angels' Messages] that Seventh-day Adventists will be incapable of receiving because they sat down under the educational tree of apostate Protestantism is Daniel 11:40-45 [referring to the LION in Figure No. 139], and Islam of 9/11 [referring to the ASS in Figure No. 139]. That is why they die. They cannot understand these two messages.

And their death, those in Adventism that die, will die with the Lion and the Ass standing there with them, to give witness to the two messages that they rejected. And why did they reject them? Because, they sat down under the shadow of that tree of knowledge and returned back to Bethel to eat and drink with the False Prophet.

The Way

Matthew 7:13. Verse 13 of Matthew 7 says,

"¹³Emter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: . . ." Matthew 7:13 (KJV).

So, the disobedient prophet, it is fairly easy to see if you are using the proof-text method of Biblical study, that this is an illustration of Adventism and it is giving a message of where Adventism fails with the message of the last six verses of Daniel 11 [the Lion], and the message of the Third Woe [the Ass]. And, it tells us that what prepares us to reject those messages is the historical grammatical emphasis that is placed upon the interpretation of the Bible that comes out of Babylon, out of Catholicism and apostate Protestantism.

So, with understanding that the disobedient prophet is a symbol of Adventism, we are now prepared to move to the prophecy of the disobedient profit that he left with Jeroboam; that being, that the Lord was going to raise up Josiah by name; and, that is where we will go tomorrow.

A thing popped into my mind, and I did not know how to weave it into this. There is probably a way to weave it into this study, but I am going to say it anyway, even if it seems how of place.

Someone was sharing with me here recently about the ASI (Adventist-laymen's Services and Industries) discussion over Spiritual Formations and that Ted Wilson was there and he was opposed to Spiritual Formations. And they talked about here recently on 3ABN, and Ted Wilson was—

Pardon me?

FROM THE AUDIENCE: They had a panel there.

BROTHER PIPPENGER: Yes, and they had a panel and Ted Wilson was there, and he spoke about Spiritual Formations and was opposed to it. In the world, what they call that is lip service. If you are going to deal with Spiritual Formations, deal with it, deal with it. Say to anyone that continues to practice this technique and is under the appointment of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, "Here is your walking papers." Deal with it!

As we have said here before, if you were truly going to do the work of a Josiah, you have many things to clean up in the camp.

And it is nice that the General Conference president is out there putting his word against the teachings of the Jesuits, Spiritual Formations. But, for me personally, and this is just a personal thing for me, if he wants to lead out in a revival and reformation, the first thing that he should do, in my opinion, is he needs to come out and reject publicly the stated position of his father when his father was the General Conference president. Under oath in a trial, his father said, "The teaching that the Pope of Rome is the antichrist of Bible prophecy has been assigned to the historical trash heap."

But, Sister White says, "All those that become confused on the meaning of antichrist will ultimately end up on the side of antichrist." Ted Wilson's father has a legal statement where he said the Pope of Rome is not the antichrist. If Ted Wilson wants to begin the work of Josiah, he needs to come out and say, "My father was wrong. The Pope of Rome is the antichrist." And we need to understand this because we cannot warn people about the mark of the beast unless we know for certain who the beast is, and the beast is the Pope of Rome, the antichrist of Bible prophecy.

And the first problem I think Ted Wilson should take down in Adventism is his father's legal position that the Pope of Rome is not the antichrist. When he does that, then I think maybe we can see the beginnings of a Josiah. It is time to clean up the camp. The Sunday Law is approaching. The Third Woe is escalating. We need a Josiah now. We do not need a policy man.

Shall we pray?

Benediction: Heavenly Father, we know that all the prophecies, all the stories in the Old Testament and the New Testament are illustrating the end of the world, and that in the curse of Leviticus 26, the 2520-year curse that was pronounced upon Israel for breaking the statutes of chapter 25, and in that curse you said that if we recognize that we were in captivity and we would confess our sins and the sins of our fathers, among other things, that you would gather us. Father, our fathers, our spiritual fathers, have sat down under the tree of education and returned to apostate Protestantism. We confess this sin and ask forgiveness. We ask that your Holy Spirit would convict us of the seriousness of this, that we might be awakened and not be among that large class of Seventh-day Adventists that are going to die on the broad way leading to destruction, and the symbol of their death will be the rejection of the last six verses of Daniel 11 and the Third Woe, their rejection of the warning of the Lion and the Ass. We pray that you would accomplish a revival among your people as represented by Josiah, though we understand that you have told us that this apostasy will wax greater and greater until the Second Coming. We still know that you are about to lift up an ensign, and we want to be part of that number. We ask you to accomplish that for us. In Jesus's name, amen.