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# The Book of Joel and The Laodicean Seventh-day Adventist Church - Number Thirty-Seven

Number Thirty-Seven

Author

Jeff Pippenger

Published

January 29, 2026

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Key Takeaways

- Empty room principle: In Miller’s dream, the dirt-brush man starts only when “the people all left,” so restoration begins after scattering empties the room—applied to July 2023 as the start of the broom-work.
- John → Jesus transition as pattern: The purging imagery to John’s warning that Christ would “throughly purge his floor” (Matthew 3:11–13) and “door/dispensation” language as the Philadelphian open-door theme (Revelation 3:7–8).
- Three-test structure:
- 2024 as foundation separation: Roughly half of the group separated over the single doctrinal point that was also singled out on Habakkuk’s tables—using it as the first purging.
- Joy vs shame as the marker of the capstone: “Joy” belongs to those with the “new wine/oil” (the message); “shame” marks those cut off—used to interpret why Miller’s shout is powered by joy and “awakening.”
- Capstone imagery tied to marriage readiness: The “wife hath made herself ready” passage as the capstone picture (Revelation 19:6–9) and connects it to the world being warned only by seeing the sealed class (Bible Training School, December 1, 1903).
- Capernaum/Judas as a test template: Treats John 6 (disciples departing) as a model of the omega discipleship test, then outlines Judas’s progression: reproof → offense → second hardening → final night decision.

In William Miller’s dream, the “bustle” at the beginning, when the people began to trouble the jewels was preceded by Miller assembling the jewels and calling “come and see.” Christ as the dirt brush man, uses the broom to sweep out the rubbish, assemble the jewels in a much larger casket, and He then called Miller to “come and see.” When Christ begins His broom-work, the room is empty, for Miller recorded that a “door opened, and a man entered the room, when the people all left it; and he, having a dirt brush in his hand, opened the windows, and began to brush the dirt and rubbish from the room.”

The dirt brush man enters the room when all the people had left it. In 2023, the dirt brush man entered the empty room, for the movement of the one hundred and forty-four thousand had been shattered and scattered. The truths represented by Habakkuk’s Tables of 2012 was buried in rubbish, and the room was empty. The dirt brush man is He who came after John the Baptist, who John said had a fan, and that He would use that fan to thoroughly purge His floor.

> I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. Matthew 3:11–13.

Galilee is a symbol of a turning point, and the point on the Jordan where Jesus came to be baptized is named Bethabara, and it means “the ferry crossing,” and it marks the place where ancient Israel crossed over to the Promised Land. When Jesus was baptized, He then became Jesus Christ. Galilee, Jordan, Bethabara and Jesus becoming the Christ are all emphasizing a change of dispensation, which is also what a door represents, especially for Philadelphians who are given the key of the open and shut door.

> And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. Revelation 3:7, 8.

When Christ “opened” the “door” and “entered the room,” the room was “His room,” for He thoroughly purges “His floor.” If it is His floor, it is His room.

> “At Capernaum Jesus dwelt in the intervals of His journeys to and fro, and it came to be known as ‘His own city.’ It was on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, and near the borders of the beautiful plain of Gennesaret, if not actually upon it.” The Desire of Ages, 252.

He enters His room to gather His wheat and to gather and burn the tares. The change of dispensation represented by Galilee, Jordan, Bethabara, the baptism, the transition from John to Jesus aligns with the transition of the church militant of Laodicea unto the church triumphant of Philadelphia. He entered His room in July of 2023. Miller had closed his eyes in the bustle of July 18, 2020, and when he opened his eyes, the room was empty of people; truth was buried beneath error, and then the dirt brush man opened the windows and began to sweep the rubbish out.

> “‘Whose fan is in His hand, and He will throughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the garner.’ Matthew 3:12. This was one of the times of purging. By the words of truth, the chaff was being separated from the wheat. Because they were too vain and self-righteous to receive reproof, too world-loving to accept a life of humility, many turned away from Jesus. Many are still doing the same thing. Souls are tested today as were those disciples in the synagogue at Capernaum. When truth is brought home to the heart, they see that their lives are not in accordance with the will of God. They see the need of an entire change in themselves; but they are not willing to take up the self-denying work. Therefore they are angry when their sins are discovered. They go away offended, even as the disciples left Jesus, murmuring, ‘This is an hard saying; who can hear it?’” The Desire of Ages, 392.

On the last day of 2023, which touches the first day of 2024, the Lion of the tribe of Judah began to progressively unseal the revelation of Himself. In accordance with the three-step testing process of Daniel twelve’s unsealing, there would then be three tests, represented as “purified, made white and tried.”

> And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till 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; but the wise shall understand. Daniel 12:9, 10.

The first angel represents purification, as the convicted sinner places his sins upon the sacrifice in the courtyard, where he is justified by the blood.

The blood is then taken into the holy place where the sanctification process of holiness is represented as being made white through the washing of the blood from the courtyard. Righteousness is there manifested in those who overcome with the blood and the word of their testimony.

They are then tried, and in the latter days they are found to be ten times better than all the other wise men of Babylon. The third test is where they are glorified in the Most Holy Place and distinguished from the other class of professed wise men. That third test is the Sunday law, and the first test is the first angel’s call to return to the foundations, for in the next step the temple is erected. That next step is the second angel’s separation message, which is followed by the litmus test of the third angel.

In 2023, the first angel arrived as He had done on August 11, 1840, when he came down with a message of Islam of the second woe. He came down as He had done at 9/11, with a message of Islam of the third woe, and the call to return to the old paths. The foundations of Millerite history were set up once the message of the second woe was fulfilled on August 11, 1840. The angel of Revelation chapter ten then descended, thus typifying the descent of the angel of Revelation chapter eighteen and the arrival of the third woe.

Josiah Litch is the historical figured associated with the foundations being established on August 11, 1840. The name “Josiah” means “the foundation of God,” and king Josiah in sacred history represents Josiah’s reformation, which included the discovery of the curse of Moses, buried among the rubbish in the sanctuary, just as Miller’s jewels were buried in the room.

King Josiah died at Megiddo, which is Armageddon of Revelation chapter sixteen. The reformation of Josiah was a fulfillment of the prophecy set forth by the disobedient prophet, when Jeroboam set up the two altars in Bethel and Dan. That disobedient prophet died between the ass and the lion. King Josiah had been predicted, by name, and his reformation was part of the prediction, which included that the future king Josiah would beat down the very altar where the disobedient prophet confronted the wicked king Jeroboam.

Josiah means the foundation of God, and king Josiah fulfilled the prediction given about 340 years before his reign. He led out in a revival and reformation that ultimately arrived at the altar where the prophet from Judah confronted king Jeroboam. Once there, Josiah smashed the altar down, as the prophecy said he would do. Those two altars of Jeroboam were purposeful counterfeits of the temple in Jerusalem, even to the depth that Jeroboam instituted counterfeit feast days. In doing so, he was simply doing what Aaron did with the golden calf. Aaron’s rebellion was at the foundation of ancient Israel’s sacred history. It occurred when Moses was receiving the Law, which is the foundation of God’s government.

Aaron’s rebellion was a foundational rebellion, and it was repeated when Jeroboam founded the ten northern tribes as Israel. Moses rebuked Aaron, and Moses is the alpha, or foundation in relation to Christ the omega. Aaron and Moses represent two classes in the foundational rebellion and a third class are the heroes who stood with Moses—the Levites. King Jeroboam and the prophet from Judah are the two classes in the foundation rebellion of the northern kingdom, and once again the Levites are the heroes.

At Jeroboam’s foundational rebellion the prophet from Judah rebukes him and prophesies of a king that would be named “the foundation of God”—Josiah. The fulfillment of the predicted reformation included that when Josiah began his revival and reformation, the curse of Moses was discovered, and the reading of the sacred words of Moses empowered a revival and reformation that had already begun. Josiah, clearly a prophetic symbol, represents a revival and reformation that is empowered when a prophecy from the writings of Moses is discovered.

The foundational rebellion in the story of king Jeroboam is represented by the king of Israel, and also by the prophet from Judah who was sent with a divine pronouncement against Jeroboam’s foundational rebellion and instructions for the prophet identifying which path to avoid when returning to Judah. The prophet from Judah rejects Jeroboam’s request to stay, but thereafter accepts the invitation of the lying prophet of Bethel, and seals his fate. The disobedient prophet would die between the ass and the lion, and then be buried in the tomb of the lying prophet.

On August 11, 1840, a prophecy of the second woe was fulfilled, and the foundations of Adventism was laid. Josiah Litch presented the prophecy in 1838, and then ten days before August 11, 1840 he fined tuned his calculations and predicted August 11, 1840, as the day the Ottoman supremacy would cease, in fulfillment of the prophecy of Islam of the second woe.

King Josiah symbolizes the final revival and reformation, for every prophet speaks more directly of the latter days, than any prior days. King Josiah symbolizes the final revival and reformation, and that reformation has been set forth in the Bible by a prediction. The book of Joel identifies the final revival and reformation that takes place among those who will be the one hundred and forty-four thousand. Josiah’s revival was two steps, it began, then a prophecy was unsealed that added momentum to the work. The two steps are the early and latter rain, as set forth in the book of Joel, and fulfilled in the books of Acts, and then fulfilled again in the Millerite history.

At the foundational rebellions of Aaron, king Jeroboam and the prophet from Judah to king Josiah, and then on to Josiah Litch, identifies a line of testimony concerning the foundational test. The foundational test is the first test, that is followed by the temple test when the capstone is placed. After that the third test, the litmus test arrives.

From the golden calf, unto Jeroboam’s altars at Bethel and Dan, to king Josiah, unto Josiah Litch represents a series of prophetic footsteps that lead to the foundational test of 9/11. When the great buildings of New York came down at 9/11, a prophecy of the third woe identified the test calling for a return to the old foundational paths, for the parallel of August 11, 1840 and 9/11 could be seen by any Laodicean Seventh-day Adventist who chose to see. Al Qaeda’s involvement in 9/11 is often brought into question in these days of conspiracy theories that generally are true, but Al Qaeda means “the foundation,” and they began as an organization one year before the time of the end in 1989, in fact on August 11, 1988.

If these details about the prophetic symbolism of the foundations is not noticed, much is lost. At 9/11 the foundations were laid in the first step. The second step the temple is finished as the capstone is placed. The third step is the closed door of the Sunday law. From 9/11 unto the Sunday law the message is primarily directed to Laodicean Seventh-day Adventists, for judgment begins at the house of God, and it ends for the house of God at the Sunday law. There and then Laodicean Seventh-day Adventism is passed by; as were the Protestants in Millerite history, and the Jews in the history of Christ, and as were those who died over forty years in the history of Moses.

The third woe of 9/11 was typified by the second woe of August 11, 1840, and at that level both waymarks are represented by the ass, the first symbol of Islam in Bible prophecy. The Sunday law is the mark of the beast, and that beast is often represented as a lion, thus counterfeiting the Lion of the tribe of Judah. The Sunday law is the lion and the disobedient prophet from Judah died between the ass and the lion, and was buried in the same grave as the lying prophet of Bethel. He died in the prophetic period from 9/11 unto the Sunday law, which is the prophetic period from the ass unto the lion. That testing period is the grave of the lying prophet of Bethel, who had the disobedient prophet from Judah buried in his very own grave.

Jeroboam’s kingdom, which is represented as a counterfeit of the kingdom of Judah, where Jerusalem and the temple are located, represented the Protestants of Millerite history, that were no longer God’s people. They lost their covenant designation between August 11, 1840 and the closed door of October 22, 1844. That history aligns with 9/11 unto the Sunday law, and for this reason, the disobedient prophet of Judah is buried in the same tomb as were the apostate Protestants, who were represented by the lying prophet of Bethel.

Overall king Josiah was a good king, but he did die at Megiddo, an obvious and direct application to Armageddon. He went astray by refusing the warning message of Necho. Necho, the king of Egypt, and therefore the king of the south was on his way to do battle with Babylon, the king of the north. Josiah represents the Judeans that die at Armageddon, because they rejected the warning message of the battle of the king of the south and the king of the north in Daniel 11:40–45. That message became the foundation at 9/11.

The first test is the first angel’s call to return to the foundations.

The second test is the second angel’s call to separate and finish the temple.

The third test is the third angel’s litmus test of the seal or the mark.

The first test is a test upon the foundations, and in 2024 roughly half of those involved with the Sabbath zoom meetings left over the only doctrinal argument that is represented upon the 1843 chart. That argument was over the symbol that establishes the vision of God’s people in the latter days. The Millerite controversy had the Protestants claiming Antiochus Epiphanes, or Islam was the power who exalts himself, and falls, to establish the vision in verse fourteen of Daniel eleven.

> And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south: also the robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall. Daniel 11:14.

Was Islam or Antiochus Epiphanes the robbers of thy people, or was it Rome, as Miller identified. Miller had understood that the desolating powers of paganism and papalism were both the power that exalted themselves, who fell and who were the robbers of God’s people. The argument is represented on the chart that was “directed by the hand of God, and should not be altered,” and is the only representation on either of Habakkuk’s tables which identifies an event that had no direct reference in the prophetic Word. The reference on the chart was to highlight that foundational argument as a symbol of the separating power of God’s prophetic Word.

In 2024, roughly half of the zoom group left over the false understanding that it is the United States that establishes the vision, and not Rome, as the Millerites so aptly defended.

The purging that began in 2023, began when Christ entered the room with His fan, and the fan is His words of truth. When He entered His room, it was empty of people, so He raised up a voice in the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord. The voice was to prepare the way for the Messenger of the Covenant to suddenly come unto His temple; His temple of the one hundred and forty-four thousand.

Then in 2024, the first test, the test of the foundations, the test of who establishes the vision—that vision that seals the remnant. The internal vision that seals the remnant is the vision of Christ in chapter ten, and the external vision is the vision that is established by the antichrist, and the antichrist is Rome. An internal vision of Christ and an external vision of antichrist. The sealing is a settling into truth, both spiritually and intellectually; and the internal vision of chapter ten is the spiritual, and chapter eleven’s external vision is the intellectual. The understanding and corresponding experience of both visions is the required criteria for anyone who would be sealed, as Daniel represented in the first verse of Daniel chapter ten.

> In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision. Daniel 10:1.

The alpha test of the foundations was over verse fourteen of Daniel eleven, and it was a parallel to the same foundational test of the Millerites, and that test was the only controversy from Millerite history that is represented upon the table Habakkuk’s watchman was commanded to write and make plain. The foundational test of 2024, was the first angel’s descent, as represented by August 11, 1840, 1888 and 9/11.

That angel had also descended as Michael, for Michael is the one who resurrected Moses, who with Elijah was resurrected on the last day of 2023. That resurrection is represented by Ezekiel as being accomplished by a prophecy of the four winds, which Sister White calls the angry restrained horse, which is Islam of August 11, 1840 and 9/11. The alpha test was the foundational testing external vision. The omega test would be an internal capstone vision.

Why would there be an alpha and omega to be followed by a third test? This is the very issue I am identifying. The alpha external testing vision of 2024, is the first of three tests. That foundational test must be passed to be involved in the capstone omega test. Those two tests are of a different prophetic nature than the third test. The third test is a litmus test which demonstrates if the candidate has truly passed the previous two steps.

The first test is the foundation, and the second test is the temple completed. The foundation of the temple was laid during the history of the first decree to come out of Babylon. In the history of the second decree the temple was completed. The third decree was different, for in that decree, Judah’s national sovereignty was restored giving them the authority to prosecute civil and religious crimes. Judgment is restored at the third decree. In 2024, the foundational alpha test separated those in the dirt brush man’s virtually empty room.

The omega test is where the temple is finished, as represented by the capstone being placed. The completion of the temple is the church triumphant that is established when the tares are removed. The completion of the temple in Miller’s dream was when the jewels were cast back into the larger casket “without any visible pains of the man who cast them in.” After Miller identifies the dirt brush man casting the jewels into the larger casket, he ends his testimony with the words, “I shouted with very joy, and that shout awoke me.”

Take note that Miller’s loud cry that awakens, was empowered by “joy.” Joy is the symbol of those in Joel who have the “new wine,” and “shame” is upon those other drinkers of wine who have been cut off from the new wine. The Midnight Cry that awakens Miller, follows after the dirt brush man casts the jewels into the larger casket. The larger casket is full of the jewels that have been separated from the rubbish and cast into the casket, which is both the temple of the one hundred and forty-four thousand, and the message of the Midnight Cry. The temple is finished in the second decree, or the second angel, or the second and omega test. In Miller’s dream, the omega test is represented when the windows of heaven are opened.

> And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. Revelation 19:6–9.

On October 22, 1844, “four comings of Christ” were fulfilled, and each of those four comings are more perfectly fulfilled at the soon-coming Sunday law. He came as the Messenger of the Covenant, in fulfillment of the purging and purification of the Levites in Malachi three. He came to receive a kingdom in fulfillment of Daniel 7:13. He came to cleanse the sanctuary in fulfillment of Daniel 8:14 and He also came to the marriage. The marriage takes place when the bride has made herself ready.

> “‘When the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.’ Christ is waiting with longing desire for the manifestation of Himself in His church. When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 69.

The “world can only be warned,” according to inspiration, by “seeing men and women” with the seal of God during the Sunday law crisis.

> “The work of the Holy Spirit is to convince the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. The world can only be warned by seeing those who believe the truth sanctified through the truth, acting upon high and holy principles, showing in a high, elevated sense, the line of demarcation between those who keep the commandments of God, and those who trample them under their feet. The sanctification of the Spirit signalizes the difference between those who have the seal of God, and those who keep a spurious rest-day. When the test comes, it will be clearly shown what the mark of the beast is. It is the keeping of Sunday. Those who after having heard the truth, continue to regard this day as holy, bear the signature of the man of sin, who thought to change times and laws.” Bible Training School, December 1, 1903.

When the bride makes herself ready the harvest is come. The harvest begins with the gathering together of the first fruit wheat offering that is lifted up as a wave offering ensign. First the first fruits, which are the one hundred and forty-four thousand in the book of Revelation, are gathered, and then the other flock, who are the great multitude. The ensign is his mighty army, and his mighty army is arrayed in fine white linen. At the marriage, the temple of the one hundred and forty-four is finished in advance of the judgment of the Sunday law, and that temple is not only Miller’s larger casket, but it is the church triumphant that possesses all the gifts, including the spirit of prophecy.

> And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Revelation 19:10.

The one hundred and forty-four thousand are those who have the testimony of Jesus, and the testimony of Jesus is set forth “line upon line” in both the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy. When the Laodicean movement of the one hundred and forty-four thousand transforms into the Philadelphian movement of the one hundred and forty-four thousand, they will all employ the line upon line methodology to present their testimony. That testimony is a combination of the Divine blood and the human witness.

> And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Revelation 12:11.

The testimony of humanity combined with the blood of Divinity is the testimony of Moses and the Lamb. Moses was humanity, the alpha to the blood of the omega Lamb’s divinity. All the gifts are restored as soon as the bride makes herself ready, and as a mighty army clothed in white linen, she takes her position as the ensign of the Lord’s advancing army. That battle march begins when the bride is made ready and clothed in white, which is when the windows of heaven are opened, as they were in Miller’s dream.

> And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. Revelation 19:11–16.

When the dirt brush man enters the empty room and opens the windows He gathers up the jewels and cast them into the larger omega casket. James White would identify those jewels as God’s people, but William Miller would tell you symbols have more than one meaning, and the jewels represent not only the scattered foundational truths, but also the scattered jewels that are on the crown that is lifted up representing Christ’s kingdom of glory.

> And the Lord their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land. Zechariah 9:16.

The omega and second test after the foundational alpha test of Rome establishing the vision, is the capstone omega test. It is the finishing of the temple test, that precedes the third litmus test of judgment. The test purges the two classes of worshippers from each other, separating the wise and foolish based upon the oil, which is the message, or as Sister White identified in her commentary of the synagogue at Capernaum—the “words of truth.”

Capernaum is where in John 6:66, Jesus lost the greatest number of disciples at one time, and those disciples never returned. As the largest test of discipleship in the time of Christ, Capernaum is a symbol of the omega test of discipleship in the time of Christ, which in turn would typify the omega test of discipleship in the three-step testing process that began in 2023. In Capernaum, the test was represented by the Bread of Heaven, and it identified the failure of the Jews in the context of their inability to understand prophecy, due to their unwillingness to accept that when Jesus’ spoke of natural things, it was to be understood in a spiritual application.

We will continue these things in the next article.

> “Christ’s discourse in the synagogue concerning the bread of life was the turning point in the history of Judas. He heard the words, ‘Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you.’ John 6:53. He saw that Christ was offering spiritual rather than worldly good. He regarded himself as farsighted, and thought he could see that Jesus would have no honor, and that He could bestow no high position upon His followers. He determined not to unite himself so closely to Christ but that he could draw away. He would watch. And he did watch.

> “From that time he expressed doubts that confused the disciples. …” The Desire of Ages, 719.

## First Test

> “The look that Jesus cast upon the selfish Judas convinced him that the Master had penetrated his hypocrisy, and read his base, contemptible character. This was a more direct reproof than Judas had before received. He was provoked by it, and thus a door was opened through which Satan entered to control his thoughts. Instead of repenting, he planned revenge. Stung by the knowledge of his sin, and provoked to madness because his guilt was known, he rose from the table, and went to the palace of the high priest, where he found the council assembled. He was imbued with the spirit of Satan, and acted like one bereft of reason. The reward promised for the betrayal of his Master was thirty pieces of silver; and for a far less sum than the box of ointment cost he sold the Savior.

> “In spirit and practice many resemble Judas. As long as there is silence in regard to the plague-spot in their character, no open enmity is seen; but when they are reproved, bitterness fills their hearts.” Youth Instructor, July 12, 1900.

## The Second Test

> “Before the Passover Judas had met a second time with the priests and scribes, and had closed the contract to deliver Jesus into their hands. . . . Judas was now offended at Christ’s act in washing the feet of His disciples. If Jesus could so humble Himself, he thought, He could not be Israel’s king. All hope of worldly honor in a temporal kingdom was destroyed. Judas was satisfied that there was nothing to be gained by following Christ. After seeing Him degrade Himself, as he thought, he was confirmed in his purpose to disown Him, and confess himself deceived. He was possessed by a demon, and he resolved to complete the work he had agreed to do in betraying his Lord.” The Desire of Ages, 645.

## The Final Decision

> “In surprise and confusion at the exposure of his purpose, Judas rose hastily to leave the room. ‘Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly. . . . He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night.’ Night it was to the traitor as he turned away from Christ into the outer darkness.

> “Until this step was taken, Judas had not passed beyond the possibility of repentance. But when he left the presence of his Lord and his fellow disciples, the final decision had been made. He had passed the boundary line.

> “Wonderful had been the long-suffering of Jesus in His dealing with this tempted soul. Nothing that could be done to save Judas had been left undone. After he had twice covenanted to betray his Lord, Jesus still gave him opportunity for repentance. By reading the secret purpose of the traitor’s heart, Christ gave to Judas the final, convincing evidence of His divinity. This was to the false disciple the last call to repentance. No appeal that the divine-human heart of Christ could make had been spared. The waves of mercy, beaten back by stubborn pride, returned in a stronger tide of subduing love. But although surprised and alarmed at the discovery of his guilt, Judas became only the more determined. From the sacramental supper he went out to complete the work of betrayal.

> “In pronouncing the woe upon Judas, Christ also had a purpose of mercy toward His disciples. He thus gave them the crowning evidence of His Messiahship. ‘I tell you before it come,’ He said, ‘that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I AM.’ Had Jesus remained silent, in apparent ignorance of what was to come upon Him, the disciples might have thought that their Master had not divine foresight, and had been surprised and betrayed into the hands of the murderous mob. A year before, Jesus had told the disciples that He had chosen twelve, and that one was a devil. Now His words to Judas, showing that his treachery was fully known to his Master, would strengthen the faith of Christ’s true followers during His humiliation. And when Judas should have come to his dreadful end, they would remember the woe that Jesus had pronounced upon the betrayer.” The Desire of Ages, 653–655.

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