Sabbath: A Moment of Destiny
Image © Pacific Press
Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Matthew 24:14, Revelation 14:14-20, Matthew 16:27, Acts 1:9-11, Mark 4:26-29, Revelation 16:1.
Memory Text: “Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, ‘Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe’” (Revelation 14:14-15, , NKJV).
God has always spoken to His people, giving them whatever relevant truths they needed to hear at the time. From the warning about the Flood (Genesis 6:7) to the first coming of Jesus (Daniel 9:24-27) to the pre-Advent judgment (Daniel 7:9-10; Daniel 8:14) to final events before Christ returns (Revelation Chapters 12-14), God has spoken to us. In these last days of human history, He has sent a special message to the world and to His people, designed to meet the need of the hour. He pictures this message as being carried by three angels flying in midheaven with their urgent, end-time message to all the world.
The three angels’ messages is Jesus’ final message of mercy, a call that leads us from trusting in our own righteousness to trusting the righteousness of Jesus to justify us, to sanctify us, and, at the end of time, to glorify us.
As always, though, we must choose Christ, to surrender to Him and to obey Him, and the choices we make now will, indeed, impact the choices we make in the final crisis ahead of us.
Thus, now is the time to prepare.
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, April 8.
(27)
The fundamental issue I have is one of perspective. Which is more important; describing the signs, of living a life of preparedness?
I have told this story before. (sorry, I have a finite number of stories to tell so I have to repeat them from time to time.) When I was a child I would come home from school really hungry. Dad was milking the cows and Mum was feeding the chooks, Neither would be home for over an hour, and that was a long time to wait for tea (supper, for the rest of you), so I would steal a couple of cookies out of the jar. However, before I did I would check the sky to see what size the clouds were. Clear days and rainy days were not a problem. But, those beautiful NZ days with little puffy clouds gave me a bit of a pause. I did not want to hear the trumpets of the second coming sounding when I had my hand in the cookie jar.
Sometimes I think we have not grown up all that much. We will look for signs of Jesus coming (and even manufacture a few of our own) when in fact we should be getting on with the job of living a Christian life in a way that is both ready for his coming and encouraging to others.
Jesus said, "Occupy till I come!"
I read the suggested Scripture references in preparation for this week’s study. As I was reading Rev.14:14-20, I did not want to stop short, and kept reading until the end of the book of Revelation; it was a solemn experience.
Reading the account about the circumstances at the end of time, the end of the old earth and the transition to a new earth and heaven, caused my mind to stand still and reflect on the reality of this prophecy.
To remember and engage in the three angels' message is all we have to do to wake ourselves up from the slumber which the ‘uneventful’ passing of time, like a comfortable blanket, has placed over us, causing us to feel safe and secure. We need to stay vigilant, remaining aware in order to stand firm – Eph. 6:13-18.
I believe it would be helpful if we frequently re-read this account, starting with the 14th chapter of the book of Revelation, if for no other reason than to keep us from slumber as we ‘wait for the bridegroom to come'. This time of waiting is the time the adversary is busy at work to deceive the nations, including the believer.
Part of my Born Again story is, to me, a testimony to these signs of our times.
Having grown up in an Adventist Christian home and elementary and high school, it was in my college years at the local public university that Satan began to work his hardest to draw me away. The things of Jesus and the story of salvation began to make less and less sense to me. And there was a pretty solid challenge from the professors in my anthropology department, my major, regarding my Creationist ideas. There was the same temptation as came to Eve, that I was somehow smarter than these things I had been told in my sheltered upbringing. I tried to blend the Bible and the world at first, and then eventually I just embraced worldly ideas so that I could be wise and have what I thought was a broader experience.
I had loved Jesus fiercely as a little girl ... talked to Him often and was constantly looking to the cumulus clouds to see if it was His Return Day. I remember getting witnessing tracts at church when I was 7 or 8 and putting them in zip baggies and leaving them at the neighbors' door, without my parents knowing. God was my best friend. So now as an 18-yr-old, I remember saying to God something like, "Dear God, I'm not sure if Jesus is real, if You are real, Jesus. Are you? Well anyway, God, I know Jesus was the most loving man I've ever heard about and I'll try to live my life like that, following His example. My life goal (it's the one written in my senior profile in the yearbook) is to always please You and be helpful to others. Beyond that, about Jesus, I'm not sure, so for now I'll table my questions about the cross and resurrection and righteousness by faith and all these complex things I don't really understand - after all, God, you're too big for us to understand anyway right? - and then someday, maybe when I'm old and sitting in the proverbial rocking chair, we can take up the subject again. And maybe I'll even be able to finish reading my college textbooks then, too." I really did say something like this to God.
And God was pretty quiet all through my 20s, 30s, early 40s. At least I wasn't hearing too much from Him. Of course I was very busy running my life. I didn't read His Word anymore and I said quick prayers only once in a while.
Then, in my mid-40s, God just starting tugging at me so vigorously. That's the only way I can describe it. Out of the blue, the secular man I was dating started calling me a Christian, even though I strongly denied it, assuring him that I had an open-minded worldview that affirmed all religions as being equal ways to truth (such a clever lie of Satan's...sounds so inclusive). At the same time, I was yearning to attend church again. I told myself that I missed singing and praying and the mix of ages of people in community together. That first time I went back to church, this was a huge non-SDA local church with multiple services and the large screens and music bands and all, they were just starting a series on the book of Esther. The sermon was Esther, the women's group study was Esther, they put an "Esther" name tag on me and treated me like I was the "star" of the gathering. God loves us so personally. A little while later, out of the blue (because I never make New Year's resolutions), I made a New Year's resolution to read through the Bible, just because. I don't want this post to be too long so I'll leave it at sharing that there were so many ways that I felt urged onward to switch gears out of New Ageism back to God. I remember thinking that it was as though God was saying to me, "Esther, I want you to make a decision about Me/Jesus RIGHT NOW. Not when you're old. Please Esther, you must meet with Me right now! I want to tell you something important. This is not too hard for you to decide about. I want you to walk with Me again."
The parable of the 10 virgins, 5 of them thought having the invite and the candle stub was enough. But it just wasn't. It has to be trimmed and burning with the oil of the Holy Spirit, waiting for the Bridegroom. And that takes time. It's not something that last minute, when the Midnight Cry sounds, we can relight our candle. God knew that the light He gave me as a little girl....it needs to be lit RIGHT NOW. He knows how long that sanctification process is going to take in me. It's an urgency like the urgency to button up your home for the Winter, or to put the seeds out in the Spring. It's just an internal, almost physical, hunger to constantly seek the Kingdom of God. (I don't care a wit about finishing those college textbooks, anymore.)
And that's how in my heart, even though people have been saying for all of my 53 years that Jesus is coming soon, I know something is stirring right now because it is in me. God is urging us to connect closely with Him, to make that decision to follow Him wherever He leads us, to decide to trust Him even if there are parts of the gospel story we don't understand yet (just like the faithful, unfallen angels did). I can't even begin to share with you how eternally grateful I am to be out of the world and back with Jesus. It is the difference between life and death, not only in the future, but in the quality of life right now.
Good morning (* 8:11am in Kenya) Esther.
Thank you for this testimony which is sunlight for my new day,fuel to a fire that that was dying in me.
Be blessed Ma'am!
Amen, Sister Okullu, you are precious to Jesus!
You have brought joy to my heart as I read your testimony. I find it so beautiful to hear of one who answers God's call and receives not only His Grace, but also His glorious Love which draws us to want to know Him more and more each day.
Alleluia for the joy of Jesus , dear Sister Celeste!
I have thought in the past that the three angels' message was for us to share with others, a warning to others. Because we already have the message, it is for others. Though as the lesson points out it is for us, even if we already have it; it is there for us to lead us on, to keep us on track, to keep us from deviating from our goal, which is being faithful to the end.
Our GPS. Interesting fact with a GPS as with God as our guide, we stay on track by following the guide only if we are connected.
Matthew 24:12-13. Don't grow cold. Endure till the end.
Daniel 12:13. Keep the faith. don't worry you will recieve your reward.
Luke 21:36. Stay connected.
Hello, John. I'm not sure I understand your meaning. I came in on a Jack Colon series, "Revelation Now", which is based on the three angels' message. Our church also has evangelism series twice a year, based on the three angels' message as well. Would you mind expanding on your comment? Thank you, John. I appreciate it.
The 3 angels' message is not only for us to share with others, but for us also. I do believe that, by sharing the three angels' message, your commitment to continuously heeding the message and refraining from slipping back is strengthened.
Wonder why is it the angel coming out if the temple telling the One like the Son of Man in Rev 14:14 to thrust in His sickle instead of the other way around?
Good question, Robert. Is this an indication that God's way of doing things is to make it manifest to all that His timing and actions are perfect? Jesus takes the huge step of bringing the present evil age to an end when even the angels of heaven can see that it's time for that to happen.