Shall we begin with a word of prayer? Heavenly Father, we thank you for bringing us here safely this evening. As we begin a week of study, we ask that you would bless this time that we're going to spend together, considering your word, and this evening as we begin, we ask that you would forgive us our sins, forgive us our failings, and allow your Holy Spirit to take control of our thoughts and our understanding, that we might hear your voice in the presentation. We ask that you'd set the human agent aside, that speaking to my thoughts, my words, would be in subjection to your will, and that what is spoken and taught here this evening would be for your glory and honor. We ask that you'd fill this room with holy angels to prevent any distractions, and that you'd pull your Holy Spirit out upon us at this time, enlightening power. We ask for the presence of your Holy Spirit now to guide and direct in this study, in Jesus' name, amen. I haven't quite finished preparing the entire week's presentations, but I know what I want to prepare, so I know where I'm going. The first few nights, I intend to put some things in place to draw conclusions from towards the end of the week, and tonight I'm going to begin with the everlasting gospel. If you have your Bibles, if you would turn to Galatians chapter 1, I don't have that in the notes, but in Galatians chapter 1, verse 6, it says, I marvel that you are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel, which is not another, but there be some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But 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. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that you have received, let him be accursed. I'm convinced that in Adventism today, that we don't understand what the everlasting gospel is, and I mean that in a serious way. I believe that we have teachers in Adventism that present the gospel, and they present the nature of Christ, the nature of man, the nature of Adam before the fall, what justification is, what sanctification is, what righteousness by faith is, and in so doing, they look over what the everlasting gospel is, and the three angels' messages is the everlasting gospel, and the everlasting gospel is the work of Christ in place in enmity in man, and he accomplishes this work through the introduction of a prophetic message that tests the people that are involved with that time period, and that testing message, that testing prophetic message produces two classes of worshipers that are demonstrated at the end of the test, and if you don't understand that that is the everlasting gospel, then it seems pretty hard for me to understand how you can recognize the message of the hour at the end of the world, and the message of the hour is the third angel's message, and it is the everlasting gospel. I'll try to show you why I just said what I said as we proceed, 1, 6 through 9, and I'm saying that people in Adventism today that are preaching another gospel, the everlasting gospel, that according to Paul, are to be accursed, and Paul makes sure that we understand that because he says it twice, and when something is recorded twice in the scriptures, it's established. So on the top of page 1, it says the message proclaimed by the angel flying in the midst of heaven is the everlasting gospel, the same gospel that was declared in Eden when God said to the serpent, I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed, and it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. There was a well-known self-supporting pastor from Georgia that was in this area, from what I understand, within the past month, probably within the past three weeks, just before Oklahoma, maybe in the past month, and I remember being at a meeting of his, and all these self-supporting ministries, they have their own little niche that they're supposed to be specializing in, whether this one's teaching the health message or this one country living, but this particular one, his niche is the sanctuary and righteousness by faith and the gospel, and at a meeting at his place in Georgia about a year ago, he proclaimed in front of everyone that the Millerites did not experience the everlasting gospel. The everlasting gospel is something that's experienced by the 144,000 at the end of the world, and I'm thinking, why then is it called the everlasting gospel, okay, it should be just the end-time gospel, but this is a man in Adventism, a very prominent man, that's willing to say that publicly, I don't think he understands what the everlasting gospel is. The everlasting gospel is the work of Christ to place enmity between the seed of Satan and his seed, and I submit to you that this is accomplished through the introduction of a prophetic message that produces two classes of worshippers and then demonstrates them in a crisis. Under a prophecy, notice on page one where it says a prophecy, I'm going to try to show something here that is often argued against in Adventism, you hear people say prophecy is not the gospel, they try to separate it, but when it comes to Genesis 3.15, which says I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed, and it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. In Great Controversy 507, it says this, the spirit which put Christ to death moves the wicked to destroy his followers. All this is foreshadowed in that first prophecy, I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed, and this will continue to the close of time. So Genesis 3.15 is what? It's the first prophecy. Anyway, notice the next quote, from Youth Instructor, February 22, 1900, the first gospel sermon was preached in Eden when God said to the serpent, I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed, and it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. So which is it? Is it the first gospel sermon, or is it the first prophecy? It can't be separated, and based upon the rule of first mention, the gospel at the end of the world is going to be the gospel that's based upon a prophetic message. Jesus illustrates the end from the beginning. If this is the first gospel sermon, and this is the first prophecy, when the third angel's message arrives at the end of the world, it's going to be the everlasting gospel, and it's going to be a prophetic message. But notice this next paragraph there from Youth Instructor, it says, In Eden, Adam and Eve transgressed the law of God. God had forbidden them to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but instead of obeying the voice of God, they listened to the words of the tempter. Hath God said you shall not eat of every tree of the garden, Satan asked? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the tree of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die. What is that? Think about it. What is it? God told them, You shall not eat of it, lest you die. He told them that before it happened, right? It was a prophecy. Adam and Eve were being tested by the introduction of a prophetic message. It was going to test them. They were going to develop a character, and then in the crisis, they were going to demonstrate the character that they developed. And the serpent said unto the woman, You shall not surely die, for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. So if you're following what I'm saying, I'm suggesting that the everlasting gospel is the work of Christ in producing two classes of worshippers, and He does so by the introduction of a testing prophetic message. And here at the beginning, I'm also trying to identify the prophecy and the gospel are one and the same. Notice under Daniel, what Jesus says, He says, And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations. And then shall the end come, when ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet. Evidently, Jesus believed that the messages in the book of Daniel were the gospel of the kingdom. The gospel is the prophetic message. Notice the next quote from Councils to Writers and Editors, page 29. Our lesson for the present time is, how may we most clearly comprehend and present the gospel that Christ came in person to present to John on the Isle of Patmos, the gospel that is termed the revelation of Jesus Christ. We are to present to our people a clear explanation of revelation. We are to give them the word of God, just as it is, with as few of our own explanations as possible. Both Daniel and Revelation are identified by inspiration as the gospel. Everlasting, the everlasting gospel, Patriarchs and Prophets, page 72, Cain and Abel represent two classes that will exist in the world to the close of time. But notice that Cain and Abel were tested, and in this testing process they are going to develop and then manifest a specific character. From Patriarchs and Prophets, page 71 it says, Cain and Abel, the sons of Adam, differed widely in character. Abel had a spirit of loyalty to God. He saw justice and mercy in the Creator's dealings with the fallen race, and gratefully accepted the hope of redemption. But Cain cherished feelings of rebellion and murmuring against God because of the curse pronounced upon the earth and upon the human race for Adam's sin. He permitted his mind to run in the same channel that led to Satan's fall, indulging the desire for self-exaltation and questioning the divine justice and authority. He permitted his mind to be a reflection of the mind of Satan. Of course, that's what it's all about, the mind of Satan or the mind of Christ. Next quote, next paragraph, these brothers were tested as Adam had been tested before them, to prove whether they would believe and obey the word of God. They were acquainted with the provision made for the salvation of man and understood the system of offerings which God had ordained. They knew that in these offerings they were to express faith in the Savior whom the offerings typified. What does it mean that the offerings typified something? What were they typifying? What were those offerings? They were prophecies. They were typifying Christ. They were given a prophetic command, this is how you do the offering, and these offerings were a prophecy, and it was going to test them. It was the prophetic word that was testing them. Am I stretching that? They knew that in these offerings they were to express faith in the Savior whom the offerings typified and at the same time to acknowledge their total dependence on him for pardon. They knew that by thus conforming to the divine plan for their redemption, they were giving proof of their obedience to the will of God. So what I'm saying here is the prophetic, the everlasting gospel is the gospel, it's the work of Christ in developing and then manifesting two classes of worshippers through the introduction of a testing prophetic message. Notice the next quote under developed. Cain and Abel are given us in Bible history to represent the two orders in humanity. Abel was faithful and loyal to God and he was preferred by the Lord. Cain was disloyal. He wished his own ideas to prevail. Abel protested against these principles as disloyal. But as the eldest, Cain thought that his methods and plans should have supremacy. It made him very angry that Abel would not concede to his views and his anger burned so hotly that he killed his brother. Here the two principles of right and wrong are developed. There's a development of character based upon a prophetic message that is testing that generation manifested. By manifested, I mean there comes a point in time in the testing process where the Lord brings the test to a conclusion and both characters are then manifested. And you know, if you haven't ever looked at the everlasting gospel in this fashion, perhaps you all have. This isn't something that I... I wasn't viewing God's Word in this fashion a year ago. Maybe I was a year ago, but not that long ago that I started looking at this. But once you see this, then God's Word is one of these little keys to God's Word where you start reading passages in the scripture and suddenly you'll see, hey, here's another illustration of two classes of worshippers being manifested. It brings the Word of God alive. Manifested, the murder of Abel was the first example of the enmity that God has declared would exist between the serpent and the seed of the woman, between Satan and his subjects and Christ and his followers. And wherever there are any who will stand in vindication of the righteousness of the law of God, the same spirit will be manifested against them. It is the spirit that through all ages has set up the stake and kindled the burning pile for the disciples of Christ. I understand that some have understood that there might be a threat coming this day to shut these meetings down. Well, they may or may not get shut down, but it is the spirit that through all the ages has set up the stake and kindled the burning pile for the disciples of Christ. The enmity referred to in the prophecy in Eden was not to be confined merely to Satan and the Prince of Life. It was to be universal. Satan and his angels were to fill the enmity of all mankind. I will put enmity, said God, between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed. It shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise thy heel. The enmity put between the seed of the serpent and the seed of woman was supernatural. There is a supernatural work that is accomplished in this testing period, in this testing process. And this testing process is brought about through the introduction of a prophetic message. And this enmity that is either placed in the seed of Christ or maintained in the seed of Satan, it's a supernatural work and it's brought to a conclusion, a climax at the end of the testing process. And it's about our minds. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, Philippians 2.5. This is Abel. Cain is Romans 8, 6 and 7. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. But the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God. Neither indeed can be. So how is it that we can receive the mind of Christ? Bible Echo, October 22, 1894. They are they that testify of me. What are they that testify of me? The scriptures. The scriptures are what testify of Christ. Just some portions of the scriptures? All the scriptures. How can it be that all the scriptures testify of Christ? That would mean that all the scriptures were prophetic in nature. They are they which testify of me, of the Redeemer, Him in whom our hopes of eternal life are centered. The prayer of Christ for His disciples was, sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth. If we are to be sanctified through the truth, we must have an intelligent knowledge of God's will as revealed in His word. We must search the scriptures, not merely rush through a chapter taking no pains to understand it, but we must dig for the jewel of truth which will enrich the mind and the soul. Adventists by and large don't believe that. In my experience, the Adventists I run into, they don't understand that they have the responsibility to dig for hidden jewels in the word of God. In fact, some of them will openly protest the idea of looking for a new light in the word of God, yet the command is, our attitude towards the word of God is that we're supposed to be looking for hidden jewels. If we don't have that mental attitude, that goal in mind, then we're just studying by rote and it has no effect upon us. Speaking of they are they that testify of me, in the next quote from Spirit of Prophecy Volume 3, page 211, it says, The history of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, as that of the Son of God, cannot be fully demonstrated without the evidence contained in the Old Testament. Christ is revealed in the Old Testament as clearly as in the New. The one testifies of a Savior to come, while the other testifies of a Savior that has come in the manner predicted by the prophets. In order to appreciate the plan of redemption, the scriptures of the Old Testament must be thoroughly understood. It is the glorified light from the prophetic past that brings out the life of Christ in the teachings of the New Testament with clearness and beauty. The miracles of Jesus are a proof of His divinity, but the strongest proof that He is the world's Redeemer are found in the prophecies of the Old Testament compared with the history of the New. Jesus said to the Jews, Search the scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me. At that time there was no other scripture in existence save that of the Old Testament, so the injunction of the Savior is plain. Sanctify them through thy word. Thy word is truth, and thy word are the words that testify of me, and the words that testify of Christ is the prophetic nature of God's word. If we are going to receive the mind of Christ, if we are going to be partakers of His divine nature, if we are going to be the seed of Christ as the everlasting gospel is accomplished upon us, then we must be students of prophecy because prophecy is the gospel. Switching to Christ's parables now, I'm going to draw a couple points from Christ's parables. This is a nice passage about Revelation, not the book of Revelation, but Revelation itself. Revelation is not the creation or invention of something new, but the manifestation of what was, until revealed, unknown to human beings. The great and eternal truths contained in the gospel are revealed through the diligent searching and the humbling of ourselves before God. There's a nice statement where Sister White says we cannot now tell who's wise or foolish virgins. There's no way to tell who the wheat and tares are, but the reality of it is that those people that are understanding God's word, according to this passage, one of the problems is they're not humbling themselves before God as they're studying the word. They're studying the word of God to prop up and sustain their own preconceived ideas. The divine teacher leads the minds of the humble seeker for truth and by the Holy Spirit's guidance the truths of the word are made known to him. And there can be no more certain and efficient way of knowledge than in being thus guided. The promise of the Savior was, when he, the spirit of truth, has come, he will guide you into all truth. It is through the impartation of the Holy Spirit that we are to be made to understand the word of God. The psalmist writes, wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? When I'm reading these things, these have different meanings for all of us. We all understand it the same at one level, but as you're reading these things and you're thinking about your own life experience, some of the things that are stated in passages like this will mean something different to me than it would to someone else. And this is a pretty serious claim here. It's saying that if you're not understanding the message of the hour, it's because the Holy Spirit isn't in your life. Even if everyone around you thinks that it is. This is evidence that the Holy Spirit isn't guiding your studies. The psalmist writes, wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereunto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee, O let me not wonder from thy commandments. Open thou my eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. We are admonished to seek for truth as for hid treasures. The Lord opens the understanding of the true seeker after truth and the Holy Spirit enables him to grasp the truths of revelation. This is what the psalmist means when he asks that his eyes may be opened to behold wondrous things out of the law. When the soul pans after the excellencies of Jesus Christ, the mind is unable to grasp the glories of the better world. Only by the aid of the divine teacher can we understand the truths of the word of God. In Christ's school we learn to be meek and lowly because there is given to us an understanding of the mystery of godliness. There's nothing more humbling than to recognize that as you're studying the word of God that the Holy Spirit is right there by your side and that God is working something out in his own way, in your own experience, and it ceases to be simply a gathering of information, it becomes an experience, and the mystery of godliness is accomplished in us. That's what she's saying here, it doesn't sound, it sounds maybe self-serving when I'm saying it, but that's what she's saying. Let me read this last couple sentences from that paragraph again. When the soul pans after the excellencies of Jesus Christ, the mind is unable to grasp the glories of the better world. Only by the aid of the divine teacher can we understand the truths of the word of God. In Christ's school we learn to be meek and lowly because there is given to us an understanding of the mystery of godliness. How is the understanding of the mystery of godliness given to us? It's because we've been humbled in our studies and see the line of the tribe of Judah opening his word to our hearts and our minds. Next paragraph. He who inspired the word was the true expositor of the word. Christ illustrated his teachings by calling the attention of his hearers to the simple laws of nature and to familiar objects which they daily saw and handled. Thus he led the minds from the natural to the spiritual. What's it mean to lead the mind from the natural to the spiritual? Because Sister White says it's often about Christ's parable teaching. He was leading the minds of those listeners from the natural world to the spiritual world. What is that? What type of comprehension or understanding is that? Heavenly, but it's prophetic. It's that kind of reasoning that a student of prophecy has to use when he looks at literal Babylon in the Old Testament and he has to convert it to spiritual Babylon at the end of the world. He's using the same process that Christ was using in the parables. Taking a natural object, a water, and teaching you that the water is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the latter rain. It's a process of approaching the word of God that was in every one of the parables. Thus he led their minds from the natural to the spiritual. Many failed of grasping at once the meaning of his parables, but as they day by day came in contact with the objects with which the great teacher had associated spiritual truths, some, not all, some discerned the lessons of divine truth he had sought to impress, and these were convinced of the truth of his mission and converted to the gospel. Leading the mind from the natural to the spiritual is the prophetic work, it's the prophetic logic, and when one begins to see God's word from that perspective, some will be led to the gospel, not all. Christ's Object Lessons, page 17, leading us from the natural to the spiritual kingdom Christ's parables are links in the chain of truth he unites man with God and earth with heaven. So if man is united with God, what is that? That's the gospel, right? That's placing the enmity in the man. That's the everlasting gospel. So let's consider a couple of the parables. The Pharisee and the publican represent two great classes into which those who come to worship God are divided. Their first two representatives are found in the first two children that were born into the world. Now, brothers and sisters, does everyone follow that? She's saying the Pharisee and the publican in the time of Christ, and that was an actual, something that actually took place and he used that and he developed a parable, but the Pharisee and the publican were who? Cain and Abel. So the principle that he was working upon, because Christ is the, there's a quote where Sister White says, it's the voice of Christ that speaks through patriarchs and prophets from the days of Adam until the closing scenes of time. The author of all prophecy is Jesus Christ. So when he's talking about the publican and the Pharisee, and he's basing that upon Cain and Abel, that's in agreement with this principle in 1 Corinthians 10 and 11. Now all these things happen unto them for examples and they're written for admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come. Cain and Abel were written in order that the Jews that were standing there with Christ could understand who the Pharisee and the publican were. That had been written for them who were living at the end of their world. That's the principle there. There was a brother here not that long ago that I've had some interaction with, Eugene Pruitt. Eugene Pruitt one time told me, he said, I believe 1 Corinthians 10 and 11, but I don't believe it like you do. And I spoke to his students and his students confirmed that this is his teaching. He believes that all these things happen as moral lessons that we need to understand at the end of the world. All the lessons of the Bible, we're to understand at the end of the world the moral lessons. But the idea that these illustrations in the Bible are repeated at the end of the world, he don't see that. When you don't see that, you don't see a lot of things. There's many people out there that approach the Word of God that way. Brothers and sisters, the way I read this, it says that Cain and Abel, the story of Cain and Abel gets repeated at the end of the world with the people that get the seal of God and the mark of the beast. Isn't the seal of the God and the mark of the beast an issue over worship? I don't mind going on in the dark, but maybe they don't want to film it in the dark. You're getting what? You're getting sound, okay. So what I'm saying is, I disagree with Eugene. When it says all these things happen under them in samples, what's the Greek word there that's translated as in samples? Typos? Types? And if you look it up, in the definition it says typos, types, pattern. All these things happen as a pattern. Now I happen to agree with him at one level. All these stories, they carry moral lessons that we need to understand as well, but we're not supposed to take part and leave the other part alone. And I think we're in agreement with Sister White. Notice this next quote, this chair is over here. Never are we absent from the mind of God. God is our joy and our salvation. Each of the ancient prophets spoke less for their own time than for ours, so that their prophesying is in force for us. Now all these things happen unto them for in samples, and they are written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come. Not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, which things the angels desire to look into. The Bible has accumulated and bound up together its treasures for this last generation. All the great events and solemn transactions, see I don't read that, I don't read it the way Pruitt reads it, alright? You take an Ellen White CD-ROM and you type in that phrase there, great events, solemn transactions. She uses that expression more than once. It's not the same quote repeated over and over again. She speaks about these great events and solemn transactions. She says, the great events and solemn transactions that we must know as we stand on the threshold of their fulfillment. She speaks about this expression more than once, several times. But it says, all the great events and solemn transactions of Old Testament history have been and are repeating themselves in the church in these last days. And I don't know how someone that has even just a very basic education can read into that sentence that it's what it's saying, is all the great and solemn moral lessons of the Old Testament are to be understood in God's last church. It says, all the great events and solemn transactions have been and are repeating themselves. Events and transactions seems a little bit more than moral lessons. Great Christ Object Lessons 152. The Pharisee and Publican represent two classes into which those who come to worship God are divided. The first two representatives are found in the first two children that were born into the world. So the Pharisee and Publican, that's Cain and Abel. And we want to step it up to another level now, because Peter represents both the Publican and the Pharisee. And what we're saying for those of you that got here a little bit late, is we're defining the everlasting gospel, and I'm suggesting that in Adventism we're not familiar with the everlasting gospel really is. The everlasting gospel is the work of Christ in placing enmity between the seed of Satan and the seed of himself. And this enmity is placed in mankind through the introduction of a prophetic message that tests that generation, that group of people, producing two classes of worshipers. And they're fully demonstrated at the conclusion of the testing process. That's the everlasting gospel. There's a quote where Sister White says, when the third angel's message is preached, it should be, power attends its presentation. There must be power, or it will accomplish nothing. That's a paraphrase, but that's what she says. And for me, I've come to understand here recently, that to preach the third angel's message as it should be, means to preach the third angel's message as a message, not that you know about and your audience doesn't know about, but preaching the third angel's message as it should be, is to let your audience know that the third angel's message is a prophetic message that is going to produce two classes of worshipers in Adventism during a testing process. And the production of those two classes of worshipers is based upon how they respond to that prophetic message. And if you don't understand that, then you sleep right on through the testing process and you receive the mark of the beast. Speaking of the Pharisee and the Publican, from Christ's Object Lessons 152, it says, For each of the classes represented by the Pharisees and the Publican, there is a lesson in the history of the Apostle Peter. In his early discipleship, Peter thought himself strong, like the Pharisee, in his own estimation he was not as other men are. When Christ, on the eve of his betrayal, forewarned his disciples, all shall be offended because of me this night, Peter confidently declared, although all shall be offended, yet will not I. Peter did not know his own danger, self-confidence misled him. He thought himself able to withstand temptation, but in a few short hours the test came, and with cursing and swearing he denied his Lord. Here Peter is Cain, he's the Pharisee, and he fails the test. Mark 14, 29 and 30 says, But Peter said unto him, although all shall be offended, yet will not I. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, that this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me twice. Thrice. He denies him three times. This testing process that's part of the everlasting gospel is a progressive test, it's progressive, and Peter failed this test progressively. The evil that led to Peter's fall and that shut out the Pharisee from communion with God is proving the ruin of thousands today, Peter, the Pharisee, and thousands today. There is nothing so offensive to God or so dangerous to the human soul as pride and self-sufficiency. Of all sins it is the most hopeless, the most incurable. Peter's fall was not instantaneous, but gradual. The testing process is progressive. Okay, now let's look at Peter the Publican. At the last meeting of Christ with his disciples by the sea, Peter, tested by the twice-repeated question, thrice-repeated question, the test, something about the test being three. Havest thou me? Had been restored to his place among the twelve. His work had been appointed him. He was to feed the Lord's flock. Now converted and accepted, he was not only to seek to save those without the fold, but was to be the shepherd of the sheep. Three tests, still dealing with Peter. An illustration of both the Pharisee who failed the test and the Publican who passed the test, but the test in the story of Peter is a three-fold test. So Terwite is going to say that and she's going to bring in another three-fold test in this next quote, Christ Object Lessons 154. Self-confidence led him to the belief that he was saved, and step after step was taken in the downward path until he could deny his master. Never can we safely put confidence in self or feel this side of heaven, that we are secure against temptation. Those who accept the Savior, however sincere their conversion, should never be taught to say or feel that they are saved. This is misleading. Everyone should be taught to cherish hope and faith, but even when we give ourselves to Christ and know that he accepts us, we are not beyond the reach of temptation. God's word declares, many shall be purified, made white, and tried. Only he who endures the trial will receive the crown of life. So now, speaking of Peter, and we know that Peter had three tests, whether he was a Publican or a Pharisee, she just brought in the three-step test of Daniel 12, purified, made white, and tried. Daniel 12 was fulfilled by the Millerites. Daniel 12, verses 3, 4, 9, and 10, we'll read that and then discuss it a little bit. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as stars forever and ever. But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. What kind of knowledge? Prophetic knowledge. The book of Daniel is unsealed. Isn't the book of Daniel the prophecies of Daniel? Prophetic knowledge is increased. Verse 9, and he said, Go thy way, Daniel, for thy words are closed and sealed up until 1798, until the time of the end. Many shall be purified and made white and tried, but the wicked shall do wickedly, and none of the wicked shall understand. They won't understand what? The increase of knowledge. They won't understand the prophetic message that is presented to that generation to test them, and the prophetic message that tests that generation is the three-step testing process. Is it not? Verse 10 says, purified, made white, and tried. Did the Millerites fulfill this history? What were their three tests? The third angel's message. Was this knowledge, life or death, optional? Hosea 4.6, My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me, seeing that thou hast forgotten the law of thy God. I will also forget thy children. When did the Millerites become a priest? 1844, they entered into covenant, and they were made priests, but those people that went through the testing process of 1798, the three-step testing process, and failed the test? No priests, no covenant. Why? What were they doing? They were praying to Satan in the holy place. They become the seed of Satan at the end of the testing process, and only 50 move into the most holy place with Christ, the seed of Christ. That was the everlasting gospel. The everlasting gospel in the Millerite history was accomplished upon the Millerites through the introduction of a prophetic message in 1798 that tested that generation, a three-step testing process of the first, second, and third angels' message. And when it reached its conclusion, you were either praying to Satan, or you were praying to Christ. There wasn't any in between. Many who went forth to meet the bridegroom under the first, second, and third angels refused the third, the last, testing message. If nothing else, that part of the sentence tells you that the first, second, and third angels' message were testing messages. They were tests, she says, at other places. But they refused the third, the last testing message to be given to the world, and a similar position will be taken when the last call is made. Sister White is clear. There's one statement in Selected Messages, Book Two, where she says, you can't have a third angels' message without a first and a second. You can't separate the three angels' messages. If you have the second angels' message, then you ought to know automatically that it was preceded by the first, and it's going to be followed by the third. If you can find it in Scripture, the second, it's preceded by the first, followed by the third. So, when she says, a similar position will be taken when the last call is made, it means the third angels' message is going to arrive in our history, and we're going to have two tests before that third and final test, which is where the door closes. A similar position will be taken when the last call is made. Every specification of this parable should be carefully studied. We are represented either by the wise or foolish virgins. Now, this is difficult for some people to understand, particularly if they don't believe that all the events and solemn transactions of the Bible have been and are repeating in the Church in the last days. If you don't believe that, I'm going to say now, it will be difficult to follow, but Adam and Eve were tested by a prophetic message. If you eat that, you'll die. They flunked the test, and then the first prophetic gospel sermon was given in Genesis 3.15, identifying the work of Christ and putting enmity between the seed of Satan and the seed of Christ through the introduction of a prophetic message, and the first illustration of that is Cain and Abel, that had a prophetic message given to them, the sacrificial system, which was prophetic. They produced two classes of worshippers, and those two classes of worshippers are also represented in the Pharisee and the Publican, who is also represented by Peter, both sides of Peter's experience, and Peter's three-fold testing process is right there in Daniel 12. I didn't put it there, Inspiration put it there, and that three-fold testing process was the Millerites, and at the end of the history of the Millerites, you have the wicked and the wise. You have the Publican and the Pharisee. You have Cain and Abel, the everlasting gospel. But here in this last quote, if you'll see it, and it's not hard to see, she's making sure that you understand, that we understand, that in the history of the Millerites from 1798 to 1844, when this three-step testing process took place, that the parable of the ten virgins was also being fulfilled. So when the third angel reaches its climax on October 22, 1844, and the door is closed not only into the holy place, but in the parable of the ten virgins, you have two classes of worshippers demonstrated, and who are they? The wise virgins, the foolish virgins. The parables are all teaching the story about the everlasting gospel. So the first message, purified. What's the first message? Fear God. Fear God. We have a problem with that in Adventism today. We like to emphasize that the word fear in the Bible means reverence. That's not what Sister White says. She says when William Miller presented his message to the audience, they were scared to death, because they realized that Jesus was returning, and they weren't ready. It was a fearful message. That was the first angel's message. If you understand from God's prophetic word that probation is about to close, Jesus is about to return, and you're not ready, you can go to the foot of the cross and be purified. That's the first test, conviction of sin, purification. Second test is to be made white. How are you made white? Put the robe of Christ's righteousness on you. Right there at the foot of the cross, when you are purified, when you're justified at that same moment in time, the Lord is willing to put his righteousness on you. Purified, made white, and then what? Try. The trying, the judgment, the place where the door closes, this is where you manifest that character that you've developed. That's where the Millerites manifested it. That's where Cain and Abel manifested it. That's where Peter manifested it. That's all the work of the Holy Spirit, John 16.8, and when he has come, he will reprove the world of sin and of righteousness and judgment. That's the same thing, brothers and sisters, it's purified, made white, and tried. It's the same thing. It's the first angel's message, the second angel's message, the third angel's message. Testimony of two or three, it's established. The testing process is always the same throughout Scripture. Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary. Who is so great a God as our God? The first angel's message is the courtyard. The second angel's message is the holy place. The third angel's message is the most holy place. The courtyard is where the conviction of sin is accomplished, as you cut the throat of the lamb. In the holy place, you're made white, and in the most holy place, you are tried, you're tested. It's always the same. Do you see it? Here in Loma Linda, we like the theological term, so we have that in there for you, too. The courtyard, that's justification. The holy place, that's sanctification, and the most holy place, that's glorification. Three tests, always three tests. Manuscript Releases, Volume 16, page 270. He who went forth to meet the bridegroom under the first and second angel's message refused the third, the last testing message to be given to the world. The parable of the ten virgins was given by Christ Himself, and every specification should be carefully studied. A time will come when the door will be shut. The door is shut at the third test. When the third angel's message arrived, the door into the holy place was shut. The door into the parable of the ten virgins was shut. When the third way marker in the story of Noah arrived, the door was shut. When the third way mark arrived in the story of Moses, the third way mark was Passover. They went into their houses, and what did they do? They shut the door. The third way mark, the door is shut. It's there that the character is manifested, whether you're the seed of Satan or the seed of Christ, throughout the scriptures. The wheat and the tares, from Christ's Object Lessons 123. Both the parable of the tares and that of the net plainly teach that there is no time when all the wicked will turn to God. The wheat and tares grow together until the harvest. The good and the bad fish are together drawn ashore for the final separation. Again, these parables teach that there is no probation after judgment. There's people in Europe right now that are attacking the message that we teach, and what they're saying, the problem with the message that these guys are teaching, is that they teach that probation closes for Advent is that the Sunday Law, and this isn't true. Their logic is that we go to 1844, they say this is what we do, and we see in 1844 a closed door into the holy place, and we emphasize a closed door at the third message, but what they see in 1844 is that Christ opened the door to the most holy place, so when the Sunday Law comes, probation is still open for Seventh-day Advent. Boy, if that isn't some darkness. These parables teach that there is no probation after judgment. The Holy Spirit convicts of sin, righteousness, and judgment. At that third test, probation closes. When the work of the Gospel is completed, there immediately follows the separation between the good and evil. Were the Millerites separated right there on October 22nd, 1844? And the destiny of each class is forever fixed. Still speaking of the wheat and tares, in Selected Messages, Book 2, page 69, she says, Let both tares and wheat grow together until the harvest, then it is the angels that do the work of separation. If you've been in Adventism very long, you've probably struggled with church discipline, and deciding whether the church should be disciplining this person or that person, and sometimes it crosses the line. Open sinners, they need to be disciplined, right? They need to be corrected. But if I'm a tare, you really don't know whether I'm a wheat or tare, and you don't have the spiritual authority to be disciplining me. You have the responsibility to discipline me if I'm an open sinner. But we can't tell who the wheat and tares are. Who separates? That's what we're getting to. So who's the angels that does the separation? The first, second, and third angels' message. And what are the first, second, and third angels' message? What are they? They're a prophetic testing message that's introduced to that generation. Three-step testing process, and they are what separates the wheat from the tares, and it's the third point in time, the third test, where they're manifested as to what they are. Our three-fold test is the three angels' messages of Revelation 14, 6-12. And I saw another angel fly, and this is the first angel. And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God. Brothers and sisters, in the Millerite history, that message of Fear God, it began in 1798, and it was empowered in 1840. That's the first angel's message. It says, Fear God, that's the first angel's message for the Millerites, and give glory to him. That's the second angel's message in the history of the Millerites, because in the summer of 1844, they glorified the Lord when the midnight cry was poured out upon them, for the hour of his judgment has come. There in the first angel's message, the hour of the judgment came on October 22, 1844. The first angel's message has that three-step testing process that was experienced by the Millerites, because they were the messengers of the first angel. And it's about worship, isn't it? And worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the seas, and the fountain of waters. So I'm not denying that all three of these messengers were fulfilled in the Millerite history, but the everlasting gospel that's represented right there in the first angel's message, all by itself, was experienced by the Millerites. Because when the hour of his judgment came on October 22, 1844, what was the next thing the Millerites had to do? They had to understand the Sabbath, didn't they? So it says, for the hour of his judgment has come on October 22, 1844, and worship him, the creator. Who's the creator? He's the God of the Sabbath. The first angel's message is the historical sequence of events in the Millerite history. Even though I'm not denying that they fulfilled all three of these messages. But now to the second angel's message, and there followed another angel saying, Babylon has fallen, has fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And the third angel followed them. When's the third angel's message present truth? At the end of the world, the third angel's message, I mean, it's present truth in the sense that it's a warning against receiving the mark of the beast, right? When the Sunday Law arrives in the United States, this message is its perfect fulfillment. It's been prefigured by several examples throughout sacred history. But it reaches its perfect fulfillment at the Sunday Law, right? And the Sunday Law testing time, it begins at the Sunday Law in the United States, and it goes until Michael stands up and human probation closes. It's a period of time, but it's all just the Sunday Law testing time. When this third angel's message here that we're reading becomes present truth, it's during the Sunday Law crisis. It says, And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worshiped the beast in his image, and received his mark in his forehead or in his hand, who's that? Who are those people? They're the people that received the mark of the beast, right? It's not a trick question, it's a simple question. The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation, and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever. And they have no rest, day nor night, who worshiped the beast in his image, and whoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saint. Who are these? Here's one class that receives the mark of the beast. Here's another class that receives the seal of God. The everlasting gospel has been accomplished for mankind, when? At the Sunday Law crisis, right? That is the final fulfillment of the everlasting gospel, isn't it? I mean, probation's over for all mankind at this point, when Michael stands up. Takes place at the end of the world, right? Manuscript Releases, Volume 5, page 425. And this is a hard saying. In Manuscript Releases, it actually says Word, but I think it's also found in Life Sketches or Selected Messages, this quote we're going to read, and it says Work there, okay? So it's not my typo, it's a typo in the CD-ROM, but you'll see what I'm talking about in just a second. I then saw the third angel, said my accompanying angel, fearful is his work. Okay, it says Word. Fearful is his work. Whose work? The third angel. Awful is his mission. He is the angel that is to select the wheat from the tares, and seal or bind the wheat for the heavenly garner. So what separates those that receive the mark of the beast, or the seal of God? It separates the first and second angel's message from the third. This three-fold testing process, and this three-fold testing process is a prophetic message that's introduced that tests that generation and produces two classes of worshipers. These things should engage the whole mind, the whole attention. Again I was shown the necessity of those who believe we are having the last message of mercy being separate from those who are daily receiving or imbibing new error. I saw that neither young nor old should attend the assemblies of those who are in error and darkness. Said the angel, let the mind cease to dwell on things of no profit. This is a hard thing, is it not? The man who was here six weeks ago or so, that is so convinced that the message I teach is the greatest delusion and the greatest fanaticism going on in Adventism today, that he's taken up the manner that he's going to straighten everything out about this message. The first thing that he ever critiqued was an understanding that we have over the last six verses of Daniel 11. The last six verses of Daniel 11 begin in verse 40 and they go right on into Daniel 12.1. In Daniel 12.1, Michael stands up and Sister White tells us when Michael stands up, human probation closes. If you believe, and I hope you believe, that all the prophets agree with one another, they're all telling the same story, then the events of the last six verses of Daniel 11, they have to be paralleling the history of when the third angel's message that we just read takes place. When the world is being divided into two classes, one that received the mark of the beast during the Sunday Law crisis and the other that receives the seal of God, and when that process is over in Revelation 22.11, then Michael stands up and says, he that is unjust, let him be unjust still. That's the close of probation. But in the book of Daniel, and Sister White says, the same line of prophecy that's taken up in the book of Daniel is taken up in the book of Revelation. Revelation 22.11 is John's telling us what Michael says as he stands up. When Michael stands up, that's the close of probation, Daniel 12.1, and what he says as he stands up is Revelation 22.11. He's standing up and he says, he that is unjust, let him be unjust still. The books are the same book. So these last six verses of Daniel 11, they must be a history that parallels the history of when people are coming to manifest whether they receive the mark of the beast or the seal of God. Now this brother that critiques what we said about the last six verses of Daniel 11, and this is what I want to put in the record for all the theologians at Advent Hope and here in Loma Linda that love to receive this kind of input. You go ahead and look at the critique on the last six verses of Daniel 11 that this brother put together, and after you sort out all the personal innuendo and the personal opinion, you realize that he really doesn't say anything about the nuts and bolts of the sequence of events that we identify for the last six verses of Daniel 11. Basically all he says is, I disagree. But he says one other thing, and I have an illustration to try to make this point. I hope it works. He says one other thing. He says, I don't know what the last six verses of Daniel 11 are, but I know that Pippinger's wrong. That's what he says. That's what he says. So here we are in Loma Linda, and I'm here to tell you, and this is probably a bad reflection on me, but I'll be honest with you, I don't even know how many valves there are in a heart. I have a hunch in Loma Linda there's probably some cardiac doctors. They know how many valves there are in a heart. If someone has to have their valve repaired in their heart, why would you listen to me? If I said, you know, I don't know why this cardiac doctor thinks that that's the way to solve that valve problem. I don't know how to solve it. I don't know anything about the heart, but I know that he's wrong. For me, I don't even get to be in the argument with the cardiac doctors if I don't even have an understanding of the heart. So for someone to come and critique a presentation on the last six verses of Daniel 11 and say, I don't know what those verses mean, but I can tell you that this brother's wrong. What I'm saying is, why is he even considered? What kind of mentality is it with God's people that they're willing to listen to that kind of biblical analysis from someone and say, I want to follow him. Now I don't have to do my homework. I don't have to test it and see if it's so. Scary times, brothers and sisters. Scary times. Perhaps what we teach about the last six verses of Daniel 11 is fanaticism and delusion. But why is it that the Holy Spirit can't reveal it to that brother, and he can say, this is what those verses mean, look at what they mean, now contrast it with this, and you can see why that's a bunch of foolishness. He can't do it. He hasn't even tried. So let's go through just a portion of the last six verses of Daniel 11, because brothers and sisters, if you understand the everlasting gospel, you can't help but see that this is a parallel to the third angel's message. But tidings, this is verse 44, but tidings out of the east and the north, what's tidings in the Bible? A message, okay, a message out of the east and the north. What kind of language is that? A message from the east and the north, what is that? It doesn't say a message from, what's east and north? It's a prophetic message, right? In order to understand what east and north is, if you want to understand what it is, you're going to have to bust open your concordance and see what east and north represents in the word of God. This is a prophetic message. Is the three angels' message a prophetic message? Is the third angel's message a sealing message? It is a sealing message. And where does the angel that seals God's people ascend from in Revelation 7? From the east. Maybe this is the sealing message here. And the sealing message, as Mr. White says, is the third angel's message, but in any case, the tidings out of the east and the north shall trouble him, and the hymn in this passage is the King of the North, the Pope of Rome. Therefore, he shall go forth with great fury to destroy and utterly make away many. If you look in the Hebrew of those words, it means there's going to be blood that's spilled. It doesn't mean that he's going to just go hurt some people. He's going to utterly make them away. He's going to kill them. What spirit is that? What spirit is that in terms of what we've been looking at this evening? That's Cain. Okay, that's Cain. This is everlasting gospel terminology here. And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace. What's a tabernacle? In the scriptures, what's a tabernacle? Church. Didn't Moses raise up the tabernacle sanctuary of his palace? What's a palace? It's where a king lives. This is church and state. He's going to bring the issue of church and state. What's the issue of church and state at the end of the world? You must have the mark of the beast. This is the third angel's message, Jess. This is church and state. And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain. He makes this issue between two entities, the seas and the glorious holy mountain. Now you drop down underneath that passage from Daniel 11 and Daniel 12 to 1 Corinthians 14, 32 and 33, it says, And the spirits of prophets are subject to the prophets, for God is not the author of confusion. And no doubt those two verses mean many things, but one thing it means is that all the prophets are telling the same story. Ellen White is subject to the prophecies of John, who's subject to the prophecies of Isaiah, who's subject to the prophecies of Peter, all the way through. The spirits of the prophets are subject to the other prophets. If it wasn't so, the Bible would be confusing, would it not? God is not the author of confusion. So here's Michael standing up in Daniel 12, 1, and here's Michael standing up in Revelation 14. Is that the same story? It's got to be the same story. God is not the author of confusion. Can we have confidence in that? We have also a more sure word of prophecy, Whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place until the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts, knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old by the will of men, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Prophecy is not something that man invented. So Abel, the King of the North, the papacy, I haven't defined that, but you know, it was right from the beginning of Adventism, the King of the North was the papacy, and it wasn't until Uriah Smith introduced the idea that the King of the North was Turkey in the 1880s or so, that there was some confusion about it, and it lasted for a long time, but now even the theologians in Adventism are willing to agree that the King of the North in the last six verses of Daniel 11 is the papacy. There isn't really an argument about that. There's a very nice book that was released about ten years ago that documents all the trouble that came into Adventism by Uriah Smith's interpretation of the King of the North being Turkey. It took people out of the church, because any time a war was approaching, with his literal approach to Armageddon and Turkey, the Adventist evangelists, when they saw World War I coming, they'd start using his interpretation, and people would get scared into the Adventist church, and as soon as World War I passed, and it wasn't Armageddon, then more people would leave Adventism that came in prior to the war, and it happened all the way through the history, where now, just by experience, there isn't any argument, the King of the North in the last six verses of Daniel 11 is the papacy. And here, the papacy, there's a message that comes that troubles the papacy, and he plants his authority, church and state, on planet earth, and it divides planet earth into two entities. The glorious holy mountain. What's the glorious holy mountain? Isaiah 2, verses 2 and 3, and it shall come to pass in the last days. I like this one, because it says this takes place when? In the last days. That's when Michael stands up in Daniel 12, verse 1. That's when the third angel's message is fulfilled at the end of the world. This is a parallel passage. It shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountains of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. What's the glorious holy mountain? The house of God, the God of Jacob. It's God's people. It's God's church at the end of the world. For a second testimony, actually a third, if you count verse 45 of Daniel 11, Ezekiel 20, verse 40 says, For in my holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, serve me. This is God's people. So when church and state is planted there in Daniel 11, verse 45, on one side of the king of the north is the glorious holy mountain. That's God's people. On the other side is the seas. Next page. God's people are Abel. The seas are Cain. Isaiah 17, 12-14 says, Woe to the multitude of many people, which make noise like the noise of the seas, and to the rushing of nations that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters. The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters, but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind. And behold, at eventide trouble, and before the morning, he is not. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us. This is the enemies of God's people, these seas, these waters. Of course the classic one is Revelation 17, 15. And he said unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the horse sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. So when the palace, and the tabernacle, church, and state is placed on planet earth at the end of the world, right before human probation closes, the world is divided into two classes. The glorious holy mountain, God's people, Abel, and the rest of the world, the seas, Cain. What is just taking place? What's just taking place in these verses? That's the illustration of the everlasting gospel. All the prophets agree with one another. So this passage here, it has to be a parallel passage to Revelation 14. They lay right over one another. So you go ahead, you get on the internet, and you pull up Mr. Pruitt's evaluation of the time of the end magazine, and he will tell you some things about what we teach about the last six verses of Daniel 11. He'll tell you that one of the fanaticisms that I teach, is that the last six verses of Daniel 11 is the third angel's message. And he says, no way, that isn't the third angel's message. This Tidings of the East and the North isn't the third angel's message. And I submit to you, he can't see it, because he doesn't know what the everlasting gospel is. It is the third angel's message. Notice the next quote on the bottom here, and there's a couple for the King of the North, if you're not settled into that. Let's go there next. The King of the North, Joel 2.20, But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hindered path toward the upmost sea. Where is the northern army? Come to his end with none to help. Between the seas. See in front of him, see behind him. That's Daniel 11, 40-45. You shall come to his end between the seas, in the glorious holy mountain. And there's another quote on that, in terms of the King of the North coming to his end. But notice this from Great Controversy. Please notice the setting of this. I mean the classic illustration of Adventism, the main passage of the scriptures that typifies Adventism at the end of the world is who? Ancient Israel, right? Ancient Israel is the primary illustration of modern Israel. With ancient Israel, you have a beginning in the time of Moses. I'm not saying there isn't lessons from the story of Moses that apply at the end of the world. There are. But in one sense, if you're going to look at the beginning of ancient Israel and the end of ancient Israel, the beginning of ancient Israel would probably line up nicely with the Millerite history, and the end of ancient Israel would probably be more applicable to our day and age, the end of modern Israel. So ancient Israel is the classic illustration of modern Israel, but when it comes to where you and I are at today, the time when Christ walked among men, that's where we're at. You can show from prophecy that when Jesus was here walking among men, it was the time of ancient Israel's visitation, and you can show using the language of Ellen White that this now is the time of Adventism's visitation. We're in the same history. So approaching this quote from the Great Controversy, notice what she says. Before his crucifixion, the Savior explained to his disciples that he was to be put to death and rise again from the tomb, and angels were present to impress the words on the minds and hearts. It wasn't like they just heard it. They heard it, and there were angels driving it home. They heard it from Christ, and there were angels trying to cement it in. But the disciples were looking for temporal deliverance from the Roman yoke, and they could not tolerate the thought that he in whom all their hopes centered should suffer an ignominious death. The words which they needed to remember were banished from their minds, and when the time of trial came, it found them unprepared. The death of Jesus as fully destroyed their hopes as if he had not forewarned them. So what's she talking about here? She's talking about probably several things you can see there. But she's talking about that in the time of Christ, the disciples were forewarned. They knew what was going to happen. And you know what was going to happen? What was happening in the time of Christ is there was a sequence of events. And you know what those events were? They were the events connected with the close of probation. Because in 34 A.D., Israel was going to be divorced of God. So the time of Christ was the events connected with the close of probation. And after 34 A.D., what was coming? A.D. 70, the destruction of Jerusalem, the scattering. So the history of Christ was a history of the events connected with the close of probation and the need of preparation for the time of trouble. Because A.D. 70, Sister White plainly says, A.D. 70, the destruction of Jerusalem, is an illustration of the great time of trouble. So the history of Christ is the history of the events connected with the close of probation and the need of preparation for the time of trouble. So she just tells them this and then knows what she says. So in the prophecies, the future is open before us as plainly as it was open to the disciples by the words of Christ. The events connected with the close of probation and the work of preparation for the time of trouble are clearly presented. But multitudes have no more understanding of these important truths than if they'd never been revealed. Now brothers and sisters, you look at it. Revelation 20, verses 1-11 is not listing prophetic events. It's not. But I don't deny that Revelation 20, verse 11, when Michael stands up and says, He that is unjust, let him be unjust still. This is a classic illustration of the close of probation. But it's not preceded by a sequence of events. The place in the Bible where the close of probation is illustrated and preceded by events is the last six verses of Daniel 11. The events connected with the close of probation are Daniel 11, 40-45. The events connected with the close of probation and the work of preparation for the time of trouble are clearly presented. Brothers and sisters, can you not see that we are at the end of the world? Can you see the economics going down, down, down, down, down? They're only being held up by God's grace. That's all. You see any wars or rumors of wars? Pestilences? Earthquakes? Volcanoes? We're at the end of the world. Where is it that we can see the last six verses of Daniel 11 clearly presented? This suggests that someone somewhere has to know who they are at the end of the world. That's what she's saying. She's not saying it specifically, but it's implicit in it. Is that the right word? It's implied. The events connected with the close of probation and the work of preparation for the time of trouble are clearly presented. But multitudes have no more understanding of these important truths than if they'd never been revealed. Satan watches to catch away every impression that would make them wise unto salvation, and the time of trouble will find them unready. Don't turn yet. I want to make another point here, brothers and sisters. You read the critique of the last six verses by Mr. Pruitt, and he'll tell you another place where we are in fanaticism, is that we suggest that the last six verses of Daniel 11 are salvational. He says, this is one of our great errors, is that we say those last six verses are salvational, and the other one is, we say that those last six verses represent the third angel's message. And brothers and sisters, Sister White says the events connected with the close of probation, that Satan watches to catch any piece of information that would make them wise unto salvation. What does that mean? It means if you don't understand those events, you lose your salvation. Isn't that what it means? That's what it means to me. Now notice the next quote. The next paragraph. The very next thing she says. When God sends to man warnings so important that they are represented as proclaimed by holy angels flying in the midst of heaven, he requires every person endowed with reasoning powers to heed the message. Sister White is saying the events connected with the close of probation is the third angel's message. And the events connected with the close of probation, that's the last six verses of Daniel 11. So when someone's saying to you, if you're saying the last six verses of Daniel 11 is salvational and it's the third angel's message, and someone's saying that's fanaticism and that's a delusion to be teaching that, then what are they saying about what Sister White just said right here? The fearful judgments announced against the worship of the beast in his image should lead all to a diligent study of the prophecy to learn what the mark of the beast is and how to avoid receiving it. But the masses of people turn away their ears from hearing the truth and are turned to fables. The apostle Paul declared, looking down to the last days, the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. That time has fully come. The multitudes do not want Bible truth because it interferes with the desires of the sinful world-loving heart and Satan supplies the deceptions which they love. But God will have a people upon the earth who maintain the Bible and the Bible only is the standard of all doctrines and the basis of all reforms. The opinions of learned men, the deductions of science, the creeds or decisions of ecclesiastical councils as numerous and discordant as are the churches which they represent, the voice of the majority, not one nor all of these should be regarded as evidence for or against any point of religious faith. Before accepting any doctrine or precept, we should demand a plain, thus saith the Lord in its support. Satan is constantly endeavoring to attract the mind to man in the place of God. He leads the people to look to bishops, to pastors, to professors of theology as their guides instead of searching the scriptures to learn their duties for themselves. Then by controlling the minds of these leaders, he can influence the multitudes according to his will. Now if you're here the rest of the week, Lord willing, I hope you'll see the logic of laying out the everlasting gospel because we're going to be pointing to it, not necessarily tomorrow or the next day, but we're going to be pointing to it in a way to illustrate what's going on on planet earth today. How many of you are coming back tomorrow so I have an idea of how many didn't receive a handout because we ran out? One, two, okay, so three, four, I'll make 50 tomorrow instead of 40. Any questions? Yes? I want to understand something clearly, I think I misunderstood, I think I thought that the Sunday log was the closest probation on the Adventist church and that others who have not been privy to the messages would have a short window of time to get it. The Sunday log is progressive, but judgment comes to the house of God first. Not all the time. We'll show you, if you're here, we'll show you that the Millerites got judged second. The Lord has shown me clearly that the image of the beast will be formed before probation closes, before it is the great test for the people of God by which their eternal destiny will be decided. This is the test they must pass before they are sealed. Shall we pray? Heavenly Father, we wish to be among those that have the supernatural transformation within our own experience. We wish to have that enmity, that perfect hatred for sin placed within us through the everlasting gospel. We ask that you would give us the discernment to recognize our responsibility, the work that we have to do to participate in this experience. We wish to be raised up as your people, as ensigns at the Sunday log that we can be involved with bringing in those that come out of the other churches, but we know before that time that we have a testing process that has been prefigured throughout scriptures that we must navigate through successfully. We ask that these meetings will be part of that, the information that you provide for us that will help us accomplish that task. As we part ways this evening, we ask that you give us traveling mercies and that you give us a good night's rest and that you would bring us back here safely again tomorrow evening as we can continue in this study. We thank you for all these things, in Jesus' name, amen.