DATE OF PUBLICATION: 1995

 THE CHURCH  WILL APPEAR AS ABOUT TO FALL BUT WILL NOT FALL

1 - Satan will try to destroy the little company.

Those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus will feel the ire of the dragon and his hosts. Satan numbers the world as his subjects. He has gained control of the apostate churches; but here is a little company that are resisting his supremacy. If he could blot them from the earth, his triumph would be complete. As he influenced the heathen nations to destroy Israel, so in the near future he will stir up the wicked powers of earth to destroy the people of God . . Their only hope is in the mercy of God; their only defense will be prayer.

The trying experiences that came to Gods people in the days of Esther were not peculiar to that age alone. The revelator, looking down the ages to the close of time, has declared, The dragon was wroth with the woman and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Revelation 12:17. Some who today are living on the earth will see these words fulfilled.

The wrath of Satan increases as his time grows short, and his work of deceit and destruction will reach its culmination in the time trouble. Faith I Live By, 289:1-3.

2 - God will be with His faithful ones to the end.

I am encouraged and blessed as I realize that the God of Israel is still guiding His people, and that He will continue to be with them, even to the end. General Conference Bulletin, May 27, 1913, 165.

3 - God will care for His faithful ones.

The church, soon to enter upon her most severe conflict, will be the object most dear to God upon earth. The confederacy of evil will be stirred with power from beneath, and Satan will cast all the reproach possible upon the chosen ones whom he cannot deceive and delude with his satanic inventions and falsehoods. But exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins, will Christ, our representative and head, close His heart, or withdraw His hand, or falsify His promise? No; never, never. Testimonies to Ministers, 20:0.

4 - His people will not fall, but will go through to the end.

The church . . does not fall. It remains. 7 Bible Commentary, 911/2:2.

Note: The above passage, taken from Letter 55, 1886, has been quoted repeatedly. Here is the complete list:

Maranatha, 203:2

Maranatha, 32:5

Manuscript Releases, Volume 12, 324:3

Reflecting Christ, 226:6

2 Selected Messages, 380:2

7 Bible Commentary, 911/2:2

Upward Look, 356:5

In the process of looking them all up, one was found which had the complete letter! It is 2 Selected Messages, 376:1-383:1. That is indeed fortunate, for, only recently, we had found most of the letter only in the unpublished manuscripts, which we are in the process of printing under the title, The Last Days.

The portion found in The Last Days is quoted below.

Two facts will help us understand the above church does not fall passage:

(1) Consistently, the Spirit of Prophecy applies statements about the church to the faithful, commandment-keeping people of God. In other words, the church is composed of His faithful, obedient children, plus tares. Unless they repent, the apostates will fall! But those who remain dedicated will not. But, by their continued loyalty to God and obedience by faith in Christ to His commandments, the faithful will not. Yet so many superficial believers will go out from among us in that hour of great crisis, that it may, for a time, appear as if the entire church body is disappearing! When the governmental iron fist of Sunday law enforcement comes, Sabbathkeepers will make rapid decisions, which will determine their eternal destiny.

(2) The context of the paragraph, quoted just above (The church may appear as about to fall, but it does not fall. It remains.), reveals that the about to fall event culminates in the National Sunday Law crisis. It will be the National Sunday Law enactment which will very early overthrow the church, and that, although the disobedient will depart from the faith, Gods own, who love and obey His Word, will not fall but go through to the end. Fortunately, we now have the context of the above will not fall passage! Part of Letter 55, 1886, is included in an unreleased set of manuscript statements, which we printed in our lengthy study, The Last Days; and all of it is in 2 Selected Messages, 376:1-383:1.

In all the published reprints (with the exception of the 2SM passage), the full context of Letter 55, 1886, had never been presented. That fuller context is a typical discussion of the Sunday law crisis, and mentions the National Sunday Law, Satan's miracles, and governmental demands. It speaks about the apparent fall of the church and how only the sinners are sifted out while those who remain (those not sifted out; i.e., the remnant) will be the ones who maintain their obedience to Gods laws. So it will be the National Sunday Law crisis which will cause the false professors in our church to depart. And that which remains will be the true professors; the passage says nothing about what will happen to the organization (General Conference corporation, etc.).

Here is the fuller context of the will not fall passage, as given in a hitherto fore unpublished document in our publication, The Last Days:

We are to be ready and waiting for the orders of God. Nations will be stirred to their very center. Support will be withdrawn from those who proclaim Gods only standard of righteousness, the only sure test of character. And all who will not bow to the decrees of national councils, and obey the national laws to exalt the sabbath instituted by the man of sin to the disregard of Gods holy day, will feel, not the oppressive power of popery alone, but of the Protestant world, the image of the beast.

Satan will work his miracles to deceive. He will set up his power as supreme. The church may appear as about to fall, but it does not fall. It remains, while the sinners in Zion will be sifted out, the chaff separated from the precious wheat. This is a terrible ordeal, but nevertheless it must take place. None but those who have been overcoming by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony will be found loyal and true, without spot or stain of sin, without guile in their mouths . .

The remnant that purify their souls by obeying the truth gather strength from the trying process, exhibiting the beauty of holiness amid the surrounding apostasy . . That which God required of Adam before the fall was perfect obedience to His law. God requires now what He required of Adamperfect obedience, righteousness without a flaw, without shortcomings in His sight . . We cannot do this without that faith that brings Christ's righteousness into daily practice . .

The great issue so near at hand will weed out those whom God has not appointed and He will have a pure, true, sanctified ministry, prepared for the latter rain . . A new life is proceeding from satanic agencies to work with a power we have not hitherto realized. And shall not a new power from above take possession of Gods people? Letter 55, 1886, 4-7 (to G.I. Butler and S.N. Haskell, December 8, 1886). [This letter is quoted in more complete form in 2 Selected Messages, 376:1-383:1.]

The great final test is soon to come upon all of us. How important it is that we cling to God and His sacred Scriptures. Instruct, warn, plead with others. There is little time left.                                vf

AN OFFICIAL VIEW OF THE CHURCH

In 1984, I noticed that an 800 number was occasionally mentioned in denominational publications, where non-believers could call in for Bible studies. That sounded good, so I tried to locate it. It was obvious that there were many denominational 800 numbers at the time, many conference book centers had them. Finally, locating the number (it was not printed very often), I dialed it. A young man answered the phone.

Questioning him, I learned he was a Seminary student attending Andrews University. I told him this was the only 800 number that unbelievers could contact to get Bible studies from the denomination. He agreed. I then asked if there were any other 800 numbers at Andrews, and he said there were two: one for student recruiting, and one for their University Book Store. When I mentioned that I would like to share the missionary 800 number with others, so they could learn how to become members of the church, he sounded worried and told me I needed to phone a different number and speak with his supervisor.

Dialing it, the lady was quite upset that just any Adventist would refer people to that number! Why did I want to tell people they could call a free phone number, in order to learn how to become Seventh-day Adventists? She said the matter would have to be presented to a committee at the General Conference, and a reply would be sent to me.

A couple weeks later I received a letter on official General Conference letterhead. It stated that the number could not be used by members, but only by the church.

There it was: a clear-cut definition of what the leaders considered to be the church. In their view it was the leaders. Laymen are members of the church, but not the church. They are like warts on a toad. they are not the toad, but appendages which happen to be stuck to it.

In this view, the organization, defined as those in authority, are the church. If you grasp this concept, you can better understand the thinking of many leading men.

IDENTIFYING THE TRUE CHURCH

Down through the ages, Gods true church has consisted of those who obey His law. Seventh-day Adventists today must obey it in order to be accepted by Him. There are no exceptions. The church He accepts is the depositary of His law (4T 286; 5T 455).

To the same work [of proclaiming the Ten Commandments] He has called His people in this generation. To them He has revealed His will, and of them He requires obedience. In the last days of this earths history the voice that spoke from Sinai is still saying to men: Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. . . Even the churches are taking sides with the great apostate in claiming that the law of God has been changed or abrogated [no longer need be obeyed].6 Testimonies, 10.

Our work as believers in the truth is to present before the world the immutability of the law of God. Ministers and teachers, physicians and nurses, are bound by covenant with God to present the importance of obeying His law. We are to be distinguished as a people who keep the commandments. The Lord has stated explicitly that He has a work to be done for the world. 6 Testimonies, 199-200.

God has a church upon the earth who are His chosen people, who keep His commandments. Testimonies to Ministers, 61.

God has a church on earth who are lifting up the down-trodden law, and presenting to the world the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world. The church is the depositary of the wealth of the riches of the grace of Christ, and through the church eventually will be made manifest the final and full display of the love of God to the world that is to be lightened with its glory. Review, September 5, 1893.

The whole world is filled with hatred of those who proclaim the binding claims of the law of God, and the church who are loyal to Jehovah must engage in no ordinary conflict. Testimonies to Ministers, 50.

The church [are] His chosen people, who are keeping His commandments. Review, November 8, 1956.

God is leading out a people. He has a chosen people, a church on the earth, whom He has made the depositaries of His law. He has committed to them sacred trust and eternal truth to be given to the world. 2 Selected Messages, 66.

The Lord hath not spoken by any messenger who calls the church that keeps the commandments of God, Babylon. 2 Selected Messages, 68.

The church is Gods fortress, His city of refuge, which He holds in a revolted world . . From the beginning, faithful souls have constituted the church on earth. Acts of the Apostles, 11.

The church of Christ, enfeebled and defective as it may be, is the only object on earth on which He bestows His supreme regard. Testimonies to Ministers, 15.

The Lord has a people, a chosen people, His church, to be His own, His own fortress, which He holds in a sin-stricken, revolted world; and He intended that no authority should be known in it, no laws be acknowledged by it, but His own. Testimonies to Ministers, 16.

The members of Satan's church have been constantly working to cast off the divine law, and confuse the distinction between good and evil. Ibid.

The church is the property of God, and God constantly remembers her as she stands in the world . . He forgets not His representative people who are striving to uphold His downtrodden law. He knows that the world that hated Him, hates them. Testimonies to Ministers, 19.

Like David, we may now pray, It is time for Thee, Lord to work, for they have made void Thy law. Men have gone on in disobedience to Gods law until they have reached a point of insolence that is unparalleled . . Will Gods commandment-keeping people be carried away with the prevailing iniquity? Will they be tempted, because universal scorn is placed upon the law of God, to think less of that law which is the foundation of His government both in heaven and in earth? No. To His church His law becomes more precious, holy, honorable, as men cast upon it scorn and contempt. Like David, they can say, They have made void Thy law. Therefore I love Thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold. Therefore I esteem all Thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way. Testimonies to Ministers, 21.

During ages of spiritual darkness, the church of God has been as a city set on a hill. From age to age, through successive generations, the pure doctrines of heaven have been unfolding within its borders. Acts of the Apostles, 12.

The church on earth, composed of those who are faithful and loyal to God, is the true tabernacle, whereof the Redeemer is the minister. 7 Bible Commentary, 931.

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