Tuesday: The Reformation Continues
God has raised up a last-day people to stand on the shoulders of the great Reformers of the past with the Bible as their only creed, Christ alone as their only source of salvation, the Holy Spirit as their only source of strength, and the return of our Lord as the consummation of all their hopes. Truths long obscured by the darkness of error and tradition, including the true Bible Sabbath, will be proclaimed to the world just before the return of our Lord.
The three angels’ messages gave birth to this last-day movement to complete the Reformation and to participate with Christ in finishing His work on earth.
Image © Providence Collection at Goodsalt.com
The great prophecies of the Bible’s last book reveal a divine movement of destiny arising out of disappointment to proclaim God’s final message to the world. Revelation chapter 14 describes a worldwide church spanning the globe with the good news of the eternal gospel.
The three angels of Revelation chapter 14 are joined by a fourth angel in Revelation chapter 18. This angel gives power to the proclamation of the three angels so that the “earth [is] lightened with [God’s] glory” (Revelation 18:1). Chapter 18 focuses on the major events leading up to the climax of human history and the final, ultimate triumph of the gospel.
Read Revelation 18:1. What three things does John tell us about this angel? (See also Habakkuk 2:14.)
The angel who comes down from the glorious presence of God in the throne room of the sanctuary was commissioned to proclaim God’s last message of mercy and to warn the inhabitants of the earth of what is coming upon planet Earth.
The text says that the angel comes with “great authority” (Revelation 18:1, NKJV). The New Testament Greek word for “authority” is exousia. Jesus uses this word in the Gospel of Matthew in harmony with the sending out of His disciples. In Matthew 10:1, Jesus gives His disciples “authority” (NIV) over the principalities and powers of evil. He sends them out with the divine power to be victorious in the battle between good and evil. In Matthew 28:18-19, He once again sends them out, but this time with “all authority” in heaven and on earth to go and “make disciples of all the nations” (NKJV).
| Ultimately, how do the issues in the last days (as they really do every day) come down to authority? Whose authority do we follow: God’s, our own, the beast power’s, or someone else’s? Whose authority are you following now? |
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The above is a very important message but I am willing to guess that most of you cannot read it. Some of you will no doubt treat it as a puzzle and, knowing my background, make an educated guess at what I have done. But in any case the message is not readily understood, even though it is important.
I have lived in foreign countries where the main language is not English, and one of the real worries has been that I will be in danger and someone will try to warn me and I won't have a clue what they are saying.
This leads me to the point of what Christianity and spreading the Gospel is all about. We do not have any hope of convincing people about Christianity if we speak a language they cannot understand. For this past three months we have been discussing the three angel's messages and we have been talking about them in a language that most of us in this forum understand. We all know the history of the papacy, and the timeline for future events and most of our discussion has been; "This is the way this should be interpreted" It is great for our own egos to know that we are right.
The problem is that when we try and tell other people this message it comes across as, "Our knowledge is better than yours!" The three angel's messages are not about justifying our position but about getting the message out.
How can we get the message across that Jesus is coming again? By sensational claims about what will happen in the future? It is hard enough for people to believe tomorrow's weather forecast, let alone that the earth is going to end soon with a bang.
Our message only takes on meaning when we live according to our beliefs. We believe in the risen Christ? Then we have to live like he is alive in us and we in him. We believe in the return of Jesus? Then we have to live as though he has come into our hearts now. We spend a lot of time justifying our belief in these events, but if we are not living the spiritual equivalence of those events daily, the Gospel message remains unintelligible code.
The message is the same, the good news of the gospel. Jesus Christ crucified for our sins. Jesus Christ paid the price for our sins. He is our intercessor before our Heavenly Father. Our lives lived as He would have us to live, fill His diadem. Christ is yearning for us to surender to Him, responding to His love. After all He rescues us from the power of Satan. He is waiting to enter our hearts. We let Him come in. He lives within us. We are prepared for the final crisis. There is no language barrier, between Him and us. We just need to come to Him. ".-- ." ".- .-. ." ".... . ---" "--..--" ".- -. -.." ".... ." ".. ---" "... ..- .-. ---" "--..--" ".--- . .-. . -- .. .- ...." "...-- ----- ..--- ..---" "..--.."
"By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:35. Here in the U.S. the love of many of us in the church has grown a bit colder, following those in the "world." People have pretty much ceased fighting and have just given up on each other; all the while claiming that they still want to be unified. All of the great prophetic mysteries we have been blessed to unfold will take on no real meaning if the everlasting gospel hasn't been allowed to convict us. People will only see that what be believe doesn't change anything about us.
This quarter, I've almost felt like I could predict what elder Maurice was going to share with us. But the message is super important. My students can know the right answers, but right answers aren't enough for eternity. Scripture is not just for information, it is for transformation.
Dear Father, Let me be changed by the word into a loving follower of Jesus, so when I share these messages I won't be a clanging gong or cymbal. Amen
I believe that the man lost in the woods in some remote part of the world, who has never heard the Gospel message, if he purposes in his heart to act with unselfish, undefined, genuine respect and benevolence, is like an Abraham, to whom God will count his sincerity for righteousness (Genesis 15:6, Romans 4:3).
By the same reasoning, we must remember that spiritual things are spiritually discerned and, therefore, are as foolishness to one who lacks spiritual discernment (1 Corinthians 2:14). The heart that innocently, intuitively, seeks the Lord will understand the message, even as the Lord meets the yearnings and groanings of anyone who, even unwittingly, seeks Him.
A pastor preached that we should not be worrying about the current events happening and do not watch too much news but continue reading the Bible and prepare yourself daily. Buy I also belief knowing the current events help us with our 'watching and praying'.
"Whose authority are you following now?" That's a simple question. I liked the meaning of authority "a person or organization having power or control in a particular, typically political or administrative, sphere."
Then, let's change the question: who influences most aspects of your life? Because your creed may define you, my creed may define me.
Let us be conscious about under whose authority we are deciding the least and the most important choices today. And let a rational moto guide us, always on the side of the real power, Love!
Two ways ‘authority’ can be defined are as “legal validity“ (adj) or “author whose statements are regarded as correct “(noun). By these definitions, there is really only one legitimate authority which is God alone. Anything else that purports to set itself up as an ultimate authority is an attempt to usurp that legal validity. Even authority figures on earth derive their power from God whether they acknowledge this to be true or not. (John 19:11)
So the question for me is always whether or not at each moment of the day I am assenting to the true authority or acquiescing to someone or something that I fear more than God.