This Month!" # $ %& '( % ) " $ % *% % % % % % % %+,-./% & 0 0 0

!"#$%$&'()*+,"-.,'/0'$(/1.+" 2)/',)" 0+3)" %,+4(2)2'("0,40.5

!"#$%$&'()*+,"-.,'/0'$(/1.+"2)/',)" 0+3)" %,+4(2)2'("0,40.5

!" # $ %& '( % ) " $ % *% % % % % % % %+,-./% & 0 0 0

!"#$%"&'(

)%#*+,-.#*/01

!"#$% &

!!!!!"#$%&'("#$%&'("#$%&'("#$%&'("#$%&'()*%+",$*-..)*%+",$*-..)*%+",$*-..)*%+",$*-..)*%+",$*-..

/"("*/"("*/"("*/"("*/"("*0.0.0.0.0.1#()2"(-1#()2"(-1#()2"(-1#()2"(-1#()2"(-+-3-4()'*+-3-4()'*+-3-4()'*+-3-4()'*+-3-4()'*

5-6")*)*6% (7-5-6")*)*6% (7-5-6")*)*6% (7-5-6")*)*6% (7-5-6")*)*6% (7-8).)'*98).)'*98).)'*98).)'*98).)'*95-*-:)*65-*-:)*65-*-:)*65-*-:)*65-*-:)*6;<,;<,;<,;<,;<,='*.-3,"()'*='*.-3,"()'*='*.-3,"()'*='*.-3,"()'*='*.-3,"()'*

!"#$%%"&'"()*+$)*!"#$%%"&'"()*+$)*!"#$%&'(")")!"#$%&'(")")!"#$%&'

! Our Firm FOUNDATION March 1999

! " # $ % & # ' (

FOUNDATIONOur F i rm

It is the mission of Hope Interna-tional and the editors of OurFirm Foundation to clearlypresent Christ and His truth. Thedays that yet remain of thisworld are few, and what we dowe must do quickly. We mustboldly proclaim the historic truthsof Adventism that place us on sofirm a foundation in the midst ofthis troubled world.—EDITORS

Co-Editors—Ron Spear, Jeff WehrAssociate Editors—Alan Esselbach, Clark

Floyd, Beth Jennings, Harvey SteckProduction Manager—Harvey SteckContributing Editors—Colin Standish,

Russell StandishDesign & Layout—Eddie HernandezCirculation—Stan Drake

To Subscribe:Prices for the annual subscription arelisted below. We have kept them as lowas possible; but if your finances cannotmeet the requested amount, just sendwhatever you can. We want this materialavailable to all, regardless of personalfinances. If you wish to give a donationto assist in providing subscriptions forthose whose funds may be limited, sendyour gift marked “Subscription Assis-tance” to the address below. Your dona-tion is tax deductible.

United States — US $24.00Canada and Mexico — US $34.00Overseas (surface mail) — US $34.00

Inquire for overseas air rates.Large Print Edition — US $60.00Audio subscription — (2 cassettes per

month): US $60.00 per year. For for-eign subscriptions please inquireregarding postage.

Hope International publications may beobtained from the following sources:

Hope InternationalP.O. Box 940Eatonville, WA 98328 USAOffice Hours:

Monday–Thursday: 9:00–5:30Friday: 9:00–12:00 Pacific Time

Phone: (360) 832-6602Fax: (360) 832-3720E-Mail: Editor@hopeint.orgWeb: http://www.hopeint.org

Copyright © 1999Hope International

Shipping Information: For all prod-ucts advertised in this publication (un-less otherwise noted):• Please add 10% of your total orderfor shipping, plus $2 for handling.• For destinations outside the USA,please add 15% plus $2 for handling.• If actual shipping chargers aregreater, you will be billed the differ-ence.Washington residents: please add7.7% sales tax to your total order, in-cluding shipping and handling.All prices are in U.S. dollars.

W

!!!!!"#$%&'()"#$%&'()"#$%&'()"#$%&'()"#$%&'()

Whosoever abideth in him sinnethnot: whosoever sinneth hath notseen him, neither known him.Little children, let no man deceive

you: he that doeth righteousness is right-eous, even as he is righteous. He thatcommitteth sin is of the devil; for thedevil sinneth from the beginning. For thispurpose the Son of God was manifested,that he might destroy the works of thedevil. Whosoever is born of God dothnot commit sin; for his seed remainethin him: and he cannot sin, because he isborn of God.” 1 John 3:6–9.

For many years I read this text andcould not understand it. I loved the Lord.I prayed; I studied my Bible and the Spiritof Prophecy. But still I was impatient—Istill was sinning. Not big sins, just “little”ones—like impatience.

Why do some Christians rejoice in vic-tory over their big sins, like smoking, drugs,or alcohol—and yet cannot have victoryover the small ones? What hope has thechurch of attracting sinners to the churchwhose members acknowledge by theirlifestyle that they are not overcoming sinin their lives?

God has answers to these vital ques-tions.

Let us first ask ourselves, Have wefully surrendered our lives to Christ with-out reservation? Do we realize that ourwills must be constantly surrendered toGod’s will?

Continual defeat in the battle againstsin fills many a professed Christian’s con-science with guilt. Satan’s harassment andtemptations are more than he can copewith on his own, so he gives up, or he istold that he cannot stop sinning untilJesus comes. Then Satan’s lie “solves” hisguilt-problem. He believes he is savedin his sins.

However, there are four things thatare essential in the experience of everyvictorious Christian:

First: Making a continued full sur-render of our wills takes time and disci-pline by daily study and prayer. We mustsearch with all our heart, following theexample of the Bereans as we make cer-tain that what we hear and embrace isthe truth. See Jeremiah 29:13; Acts 17:11;1 Thessalonians 5:21.

Second: We must have courage. Noone can be filled with courage whenhe is constantly conscious of defeat andself-condemnation. Courage aboundsin the heart of those who know theyare advancing daily in their relation-ship with Jesus—when they have vic-tory over the little sins as well as overthe big ones.

Third: We need the power of theHoly Spirit. Paul speaks of a class ofChristians who have a “form of godli-ness” but “deny the power thereof.” See2 Timothy 3:5. The very name—Chris-tian—implies power to live a godly life.To continue to practice sin, even smallones, means you acknowledge weak-ness and failure, but victory meanspower—a power to witness to themiracle of transformation in your dailyliving for Jesus. See Romans 12:1–2.

Fourth: The last essential is joy. Itis the result of fruitfulness in the Chris-tian life. True joy and happiness attractsthe recognition of our friends, neigh-bors, and loved ones. How can any-one experience the overflowing joywhile continually being defeated bysin?

These essentials can be fully experi-enced by all who are willing to be madewilling to be obedient to all known truthwithout a compromise.

Then, dear reader, surrender yourwill to Jesus every day. Discipline yourtime. By daily prayer and study of HisWord God will give you courage andpower and joy in your daily walk withJesus.

!"#$%#&'($!!"##!$%%&"'&(

FOUNDATION

March 1999 Our Firm FOUNDATION "

) % * $ ! * $ +!" # $ % & ' ( % ) " $ % *% % % %%% %+,-./% & 0 0 0 Cover Story

" ! , ' & $ - ! * $ +

Our Firm

1 2 3 . 4 , # %%%% 5 6 7 3 - 3 8 7 8

!

"

#$

#%

$$

!"#$%&'(%)*%+",$*-..!"#$%&'(%)*%+",$*-..!"#$%&'(%)*%+",$*-..!"#$%&'(%)*%+",$*-..!"#$%&'(%)*%+",$*-..!"#$%%&'#()#*+,-&!"#$%&$'()&$*'+,-.$(/,0,12$%,.'$3-4$%&$-'(55$/&$*'+,-.,(1-(.$'67&$(-$%&55$(-$(/+6(089

/"("*0.%1#()2"(-%+-3-4()'*/"("*0.%1#()2"(-%+-3-4()'*/"("*0.%1#()2"(-%+-3-4()'*/"("*0.%1#()2"(-%+-3-4()'*/"("*0.%1#()2"(-%+-3-4()'*!"#./00&%%#1-2'3,0+:'6350$:(.(1$,7;&+-61(.&$($0&(0$+&5(.,)&$6+$*'+,-.$<,7-&5#4%6350$=63$/&$-(#&5=$2+6310&0$,1$>60?-$@6+0A

5*67#8-*3-.5*67#8-*3-.5*67#8-*3-.5*67#8-*3-.5*67#8-*3-.!"##*,%%,24#52-+627-B'&$',-.6+=$6#$($;(;(5$;+(C.,C&$.'(.$,-$/&,12$+&),)&0

/(769%('%/:';%<:9.-#=%>44,'?-6@%A",(%B/(769%('%/:';%<:9.-#=%>44,'?-6@%A",(%B/(769%('%/:';%<:9.-#=%>44,'?-6@%A",(%B/(769%('%/:';%<:9.-#=%>44,'?-6@%A",(%B/(769%('%/:';%<:9.-#=%>44,'?-6@%A",(%B!"#12%%"#89+'!&7:&7D+(C.,C(5$-.&;-$.6$2&.$76+&$63.$6#$=63+$;&+-61(5$0&)6.,61-

!"#$%%&'#()#*+,-&

!"#$%&$#&&$'(&!"#$%&$#&&$'(&!"#$%&$#&&$'(&!"#$%&$#&&$'(&!"#$%&$#&&$'(&)*+),++-&.'$/))*+),++-&.'$/))*+),++-&.'$/))*+),++-&.'$/))*+),++-&.'$/)01/0(&234$%&01/0(&234$%&01/0(&234$%&01/0(&234$%&01/0(&234$%&5./%$'(6'$'(&$&.75./%$'(6'$'(&$&.75./%$'(6'$'(&$&.75./%$'(6'$'(&$&.75./%$'(6'$'(&$&.7/)$6++$'(,.8#$,#$6'/)$6++$'(,.8#$,#$6'/)$6++$'(,.8#$,#$6'/)$6++$'(,.8#$,#$6'/)$6++$'(,.8#$,#$6'(6.79:(6.79:(6.79:(6.79:(6.79:

!"#$% &'

C-8")*)*8%(:-%D).)'*@%C-*-;)*8C-8")*)*8%(:-%D).)'*@%C-*-;)*8C-8")*)*8%(:-%D).)'*@%C-*-;)*8C-8")*)*8%(:-%D).)'*@%C-*-;)*8C-8")*)*8%(:-%D).)'*@%C-*-;)*8E7,%F'*.-3,"()'*E7,%F'*.-3,"()'*E7,%F'*.-3,"()'*E7,%F'*.-3,"()'*E7,%F'*.-3,"()'*!"#;&<<#*&+7E&--61-$#+67$($-.,++,12$.&-.,761=$/=$F+6.'&+$@(-',12.61G6+-&4$%'6$;(+.,C,;(.&0$,1$.'&$&(+5=$H0)&1.$76)&7&1.

$& <:-%/"*3(7",9%+'3(,)*-@%A",(%B<:-%/"*3(7",9%+'3(,)*-@%A",(%B<:-%/"*3(7",9%+'3(,)*-@%A",(%B<:-%/"*3(7",9%+'3(,)*-@%A",(%B<:-%/"*3(7",9%+'3(,)*-@%A",(%B!"#=&>,'#?2/%09'"-$.'&+&$($-6310$/(-,-$#6+$.'&$:&)&1.'I0(=$H0)&1.,-.,1.&+;+&.(.,61$6#$.'&$JKLLI0(=$;+6;'&C=A

>%F"##%('>%F"##%('>%F"##%('>%F"##%('>%F"##%('A,-4",-%G',%(:-A,-4",-%G',%(:-A,-4",-%G',%(:-A,-4",-%G',%(:-A,-4",-%G',%(:-G)*"#%F,).).HG)*"#%F,).).HG)*"#%F,).).HG)*"#%F,).).HG)*"#%F,).).H

!"#$%#&'() !"

*+,%')"%-+.!/%&'%)"&,' # 0"''",$%'+%')"%"12'+, $!

# Our Firm FOUNDATION March 1999

HHHHHHe that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have

the light of life.” John 8:12. If we are following Jesus, we know

that we are not walking in darkness, but shall be all light in—not

out of, but in—the Lord. If His light illuminates the mind, and

shines into the chambers of the heart, we shall be, as Christ has

said, “the light of the world.” Matthew 5:14. We shall not walk in dark-

ness. We shall see light, and shall talk of the love of Christ, talk of His

goodness and marvelous mercy, and we shall always find enough to talk

about on these themes, even to all eternity, when we have that life which

measures with the life of God.

The trouble with many of us is, we get our eyes fixed upon the shadow that Satancasts between our souls and God, and we fail to discover the light beyond the shadow.We talk in a kind of hopeless way, as though we were serving as a slave to a tyrant. Werepresent ourselves to the world as those who are having a terribly hard time of servingthe Lord. We pick up things to find fault about, to mourn over, and pity and sympathizewith ourselves, and fail to make a favorable impression upon those who have nottasted of the gift of God.

Instead of talking darkness, instead of having thoughts of gloom, we shouldremember that we have everything to make us glad, and this gladness should shineforth out of the very countenance. Let the light shine in your very faces. Do not let

!"#$%&'('$% (#))*+,-%("'(%+,-%'.#%'*/$$#.0% '$1%2,/$(*

,-(% ("/*%$#3)#4('$1% ("'(%5.,$30

(#))%"/6%+,-%7$,5+,-%'.#%'%*/$$#.0

8-(% ("'(% 9#*-*:"./*(% 4'6#% /$(,("#%5,.)1%(,%*';#

*/$$#.*<

by Ellen G. Whiteby Ellen G. Whiteby Ellen G. Whiteby Ellen G. Whiteby Ellen G. White

March 1999 Our Firm FOUNDATION $

the frown and the expression ofgloom have place there. Take alook into the mirror of God’s law,and see if you are cheerful in yourservice to Him. Look upon Jesus,full of forgiveness, and mercy, andpeace, instead of upon that whichwill bring you condemnation andgloom. Brethren and sisters, areyou looking toward the light—beholding the Lamb of God whichtaketh away the sin of the world?When Satan tells you that you area sinner, and points out this ne-glect and that wrong, tell him youknow you are a sinner, but thatJesus Christ came into the worldto save sinners. Tell him, “If anyman sin, we have an advocate withthe Father, Jesus Christ the right-eous.” 1 John 2:1. Repeat thepromise, “If we confess our sins,he is faithful and just to forgive usour sins, and to cleanse us fromall unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9.If you draw nigh to God, He willdraw nigh to you. Present thepromise to God in the name ofJesus, and you have His pledgedWord that He will let the Sun ofrighteousness shine upon you.

Jesus is the Lamb of God thattaketh away the sin of the world.Will you not repent of your sins,and let Him take away your guilt?Will you not say, “Lord, you cometo take away my sins, and I willlet you do it”? Will you let Himtake them away? Will you let Himtake them upon His divine soul,and impute to you His righteous-ness?

Jesus stands between Divinityand humanity, and He is fully ableto save you. There is all sufficiencyin Him. He has not come to savepartially, but to save unto the ut-termost all that come unto God byHim. He came to wash away yourtransgression; for He forgiveth in-iquity and sin. He pardoneth theguilty. He was manifested to takeaway our sins, to relieve our heartsof their sorrows and burdens, toput a new song into our mouths,even praise unto our God.

We are to respond to the invi-tations of the Spirit of God. Do werepent of our transgressions? Thisis an evidence that the Lord isdrawing us to Himself; it is Jesusthat gives us repentance. “Him

hath God exalted with his righthand to be a Prince and a Saviour,for to give repentance to Israel,and forgiveness of sins.” Acts 5:31.Then why not believe that He for-gives our sins? It is His Holy Spiritthat impresses us with the neces-sity of emptying the soul of all self-ishness; and when we give our-selves to God, He will fill thevacuum with His own divine Spirit,and give us the precious graces ofHis own character.

From the light that I have hadfor years, I know that the great lackamong us as a people is the lackof love. The God of heaven looksupon you and sees that you areself-sufficient. But any soul thatcomes hungering and thirsting forthe waters of life, will have his soulrefreshed from the Living Foun-tain. When you thirst, you will hearthe voice calling, “The Spirit andthe bride say, Come. And let himthat heareth say, Come. And lethim that is athirstcome. And whoso-ever will, let himtake the water of lifefreely.” Revelation22:17. Jesus pointsyou to the Fountainopened for Judahand Jerusalem,wherein you maywash and be clean.And when we havetasted of the watersof life, we shall beconstrained by thelove of Christ to sayto others, “Come,taste and see thatthe LORD is good.”See Psalm 34:8 .When we drink fromthe waters ourselveswe shall echo thecry, Come. Whoso-ever is athirst, lethim come, and takeof the Water of Life freely. “Who-soever will.” Tell me who is ex-cluded from receiving the benefitsof this divine invitation. “Whoso-ever will, let him come.” All wehave to do is to submit the will toGod, to place the will on the Lord’sside. Come and take the Lord atHis Word, and drink of the Waterof Life freely.

If we have Christ abiding withus, we shall be Christians at homeas well as abroad. He who is aChristian will have kind words forhis relatives and associates. He willbe kind, courteous, loving, sym-pathetic, and will be educatinghimself for an abode with the fam-ily above. If he is a member of theroyal family, he will represent thekingdom to which he is going. Hewill speak with gentleness to hischildren, for he will realize thatthey, too, are heirs of God, mem-bers of the heavenly court. Amongthe children of God no spirit ofharshness dwells; for “the fruit ofthe Spirit is love, joy, peace,longsuffering, gentleness, good-ness, faith, meekness, temperance:against such there is no law.” Ga-latians 5:22–23. The spirit that ischerished in the home, is the spiritthat will be manifested in thechurch. O, we must educate thesoul to be pitiful, gentle, tender,

full of forgivenessand compass ion.While we lay asideall vanity, all foolishtalking, jesting, andjoking, we are not tobecome cold, unsym-pathetic, and unso-cial. The Spirit of theLord is to rest uponyou until you shallbe l ike a fragrantflower from the gar-den of God. You areto keep talking of thelight, of Jesus, theSun of righteousness,unt i l you shal lchange from glory toglory, from characterto character, goingon from strength tostrength, and reflect-ing more and moreof the precious im-age of Jesus. When

you do this, the Lord will write inthe books of heaven, “Well done,”because you represent Jesus.

Chr is t ians should not behardhearted, unapproachable;Jesus is to be reflected in our de-portment, and we are to have acharacter beautiful with the gracesof Heaven. The presence of Godis to be an abiding presence with

!"#$%&'$(")''*$(%+),-."/$(0'$+,.0(1"/$2'3#31$(0'4#-$"/&,.0('"#3-'331#-(,+$5"#30%++$60%-.'/&"7$.+"&5$(".+"&51$8$8$8&'/+'6(,-.7"&'$%-97"&'$"/$(0'*&'6,"#3,7%.'$"/2'3#38

% Our Firm FOUNDATION March 1999

us; and wherever we are, we areto carry light to the world. Thosearound you are to realize that theatmosphere of Heaven surroundsyou.

But many of you say, “How canI help sinning? I have tried to over-come, but I do not make advance-ment.” You never can in your ownstrength, you will fail; but help islaid upon One who is mighty. InHis strength you may be more thanconqueror. You should arise andsay, “Through the grace of God, Iwill be an overcomer.” Put yourwill on the side of God’s will, andwith your eye fixed upon Him whois the Author and Finisher of yourfaith, you may make straight pathsfor your feet . When you aretempted, say, “Jesus is my Saviour,I love Him, because He has firstloved me.” Show that you trustHim. As you walk the streets, asyou work about your house, youcan communicate with your Lord.Lay hold upon Him by living faith,and believe the Word of God tothe letter.

Now suppose that you putaway all murmuring and complain-ing, and look to the Light. Let ustry it for this year, and see whatkind of year we shall have. WhenSatan suggests doubt and dark-ness, begin to sing of the match-less love of Jesus. Ask God to helpyou place your thoughts uponJesus, and Satan cannot controlyour mind. Let us put away allcommonness, and become a lightto the world. Let our words be aschoice silver; and wherever yougo, those around you will realizethat a precious influence goes withyou. The light and love and powerof God will rest upon you. Deter-mine that through Jesus you willelevate the soul above all that islow and earthly, and let your con-versation be full of hope and cour-age in the Lord. Say, “I will be free,I am free;” and when Satan tellsyou that you are a sinner, tell him,“I know it, but Jesus said, ‘I amnot come to call the righteous, butsinners to repentance.’ Matthew9:13.”

Through the mercy of God wehave been taken out of the quarryof the world by the mighty Cleaverof Truth, to be hewn, and pol-

ished, and fitted forthe heavenly build-ing. We have beenbrought into the high-way cast up for theransomed of the Lordto walk in. And weshould go in this waywith rejoicing, insteadof with complaining.This way has beenopened for us at aninfinite cost, and weought to manifest ourjoy and gratitude thatwe are permitted tobe numbered amongthe children of God.Should we walk fromday to day with rejoic-ing and gladness of heart, show-ing forth the praises of Him whohath called us out of darkness intoHis marvelous light, what effectwould we have upon the mindsof those around us? They wouldsay, “Certainly they have been withJesus, and have learned of Him.”

There is no need to doubt, tobe fearful that the work will notsucceed. God is at the head of thework, and He will set everythingin order. If matters need adjustingat the head of the work, God willattend to that, and work to rightevery wrong. Let us have faith thatGod is going to carry the nobleship which bears the people ofGod safely into port.

When I voyaged from Portland,ME., to Boston, many years ago, astorm came upon us, and the greatwaves dashed us to and fro. Thechandeliers fell, and the trunkswere rolled from side to side, likeballs. The passengers were fright-ened, and many were screaming,waiting in expectation of death.After awhile the pilot came onboard. The captain stood near thepilot as he took the wheel, and ex-pressed fear about the course inwhich the ship was directed. “Willyou take the wheel?” asked thepilot. The captain was not readyto do that, for he knew that helacked experience. Then some ofthe passengers grew uneasy, andsaid they feared the pilot woulddash them upon the rocks. “Willyou take the wheel?” asked thepilot; but they knew that they

could not managethe wheel. Whenyou think that thework is in danger,pray, “Lord, standat the wheel. Carryus through the per-plexity. Bring ussafely into port.”Have we not reasonto believe that theLord will bring usthrough t r ium-phantly?

There are beforeme many who areold hands in thecause. I haveknown some of youfor the last thirty

years. Brethren, have we not seencrisis after crisis come upon thework, and has not the Lord car-ried us through, and wrought forthe glory of His name? Can younot believe in Him? Can you notcommit the cause to Him? You can-not with your finite minds under-stand the working of al l theprovidences of God. Let God takecare of His own work. You are tohang your helpless soul uponJesus. Commit the keeping of yoursoul unto God, as unto a faithfulCreator. When you do this, youwill have something of the love ofGod; for it will abound in yourheart unto His glory. The meetingswill be uplifting in character; forthe Lord will put a new song intoyour mouth, even praise unto ourGod. You will say, “Hear what theLord has done for my soul.” Yoursoul will be all light in the Lord.

We have been looking on thedark side of the picture. Now let usturn to the other side. Let us turnthe dark side to the wall. Let us lookon the beautiful pictures of the loveof God. Educate your tongue to talkof God’s mercy, and speak forth thepraises of Him who hath called youout of darkness into His marvelouslight. Let us fulfill the purpose ofGod, and be indeed the “light of theworld.” !

Review and Herald, September 20,1892.

:3$5"#$;%+)(0'$3(&''(31%3$5"#$;"&)%<"#($5"#&0"#3'1$5"#6%-6"77#-,6%(';,(0$5"#&="&98$=%50"+9$#*"->,7$<5$+,?,-./%,(01$%-9<'+,'?'$(0'@"&9$"/$A"9("$(0'$+'(('&8

March 1999 Our Firm FOUNDATION &

!"#$%!"#$%!"#$%

!&"!"#$%

!&"!"#$%

For the

!"!#$% &"$'"!"#$%&'()'&*+',!"#'-(&*'.//'&*()+'*+.#&0'.)1'/+.)')2&'$)&2&*()+'2-)'$)1+#%&.)1()34'5)'.//'&*6'-.6%'.78)2-/+13+*(9:'.)1'*+'%*.//'1(#+7&'&*6';.&*%4<

!"#$%"&'()*+,-.

!"#"$%&"'($")(*+%,-($./(01"$0203-4"%)2-5021

by Betty Esselbachby Betty Esselbachby Betty Esselbachby Betty Esselbachby Betty Esselbach

My stepfather was from thecountry of Holland—commonlycalled today The Netherlands.Thinking of that land immedi-ately brings to mind pictures ofwindmills, people ice skating inthe winter on the frozen canals,

and people inquaint old cos-tumes withwooden shoes!

His namewas ReginaldCornelius AnnedeVries, and hespoke with adelightful accentthat I never tiredof hearing. Healways had aproblem withthe “th” sound—

pronouncing it as a “da.”His mother and father were

very devout Christians who hada deep and abiding trust in ourSaviour. When he attendedchurch, he was expected to sitwith his parents and be rever-ent and quiet, listening atten-tively to the sermon, as wereall children in those days. Af-ter the family returned homefrom church, his father would

quiz him on what the sermonwas about, and what he hadlearned from it.

However, as he grew olderand attended university, and wasout in society, my stepfather losthis faith in God. As a very youngman, he took a job with a com-pany that sent him as some kindof representative to other coun-tries. On one of these plannedtrips, he booked passage on theTitanic for her maiden voyage tothe United States ofAmerica. He was verymuch looking for-ward to this trip, forhe wanted to visitAmerica.

One night, shortlybefore the scheduledtrip, his mother had avery vivid dream thatthe trip would end upin disaster and that hewould die. His mother got downon her knees and begged himnot to go on the Titanic. Forawhile he scoffed at her plead-ings, but, finally, to allay her fearsand anxiety, he returned histicket and instead booked pas-sage on a Dutch steamer.

When he arrived in New York,he heard young boys selling spe-cial edition newspapers onthe streets crying, “Extra,Extra, Titanic Sinks in At-lantic Ocean.” Many liveswere lost! It is a story thatwill never be forgotten.

Why did his motherhave that dream? She be-lieved that it was a warn-ing from God. What

would have hap-pened to my step-father if he had not lis-tened to his mother?Probably he wouldhave died. Only ourHeavenly Fatherknows.

But perhaps the lifeof a young man whohad lost his faith inGod was saved by theimplicit faith and trust

of a godly mother.“Trust in the LORD with all

thine heart; and lean not untothine own understanding. In allthy ways acknowledge him, andhe shall direct thy paths.” Prov-erbs 3:5–6. !

Reginald deVries on the right.

March 1999 Our Firm FOUNDATION &

Mr. deVries’ mother.

' Our Firm FOUNDATION March 1999

A

RussellStandish,speaker andauthor, writesfromAustralia,where hedirectsRemnantMinistries.

B0'$9,36,*+'3$/'+($%$3'-3'"/$/"&'<"9,-.$&'.%&9,-.(0'$('7*+'C3$/#(#&'1$/"&2'3#3$0%9$%+3"*&"-"#-6'9$("$(0'$*&,'3(3%-9$&#+'&31$DE'0"+91$5"#&0"#3'$,3$+'/($#-("$5"#9'3"+%('8F

!"#"$%&'()#*+"#,'-,.,/#*0$by Russell Standishby Russell Standishby Russell Standishby Russell Standishby Russell Standish

As Jesus sat on the Mount of Oliveswith His disciples late Wednesday af-ternoon, a little more than twenty-fourhours before His arrest in the Garden

of Gethsemane, they could not help butsee the beautiful temple located on MountZion, reflecting picturesquely the settingsun.

The disciples wereamazed as they reflectedupon the words Christspoke while leaving thetemple, before climbingthe mount: “I say untoyou, There shall not beleft here one stone uponanother, that shall not bethrown down.” Matthew24:2. The disciples felt asense of foreboding re-garding the temple’s fu-ture, for Jesus had alsopronounced to the priests and rulers, “Be-hold, your house is left unto you desolate.”Matthew 23:38. Could it be that the temple,Israel’s pride and focus of identity, wouldsoon be destroyed? They anxiously awaitedfurther explanation from Christ.

The disciples were undoubtedly influ-enced by the priests of their day, who taughtthat God would never reject the Jewish na-tion as His special people. (Thirty-nine yearslater, in the year A.D. 70, when the city ofJerusalem was surrounded by Roman armies,the priests, ignoring precedence, boldly pro-claimed that God would never permit their

temple to be de-stroyed.) Unable tounderstand the im-plication of Jesus’words and con-fused by their pre-suppositions, thedisciples diligentlyquestioned Christ,“Tell us, when shallthese things be?and what shall bethe sign of thy com-ing, and of the endof the world?” Mat-

thew 24:3.Christ’s answer to their questions was

prompt. While He did provide them with signsof the destruction of Jerusalem, His attentionwas focused chiefly upon the signs of the

March 1999 Our Firm FOUNDATION (

G?%-.'+,6%+H0&,3(,%-3$6+%,7("$<'$.#,9'9$<5(0'$@"&9$"/A"9$%+"-'%+"-'%+"-'%+"-'%+"-'8$8$8$8>";'?'&1$(0'3#&?'5$30";'9(0%($"?'&$(;"I(0,&93$"/$3#60*'"*+'$9'-,'9(0'$'J,3('-6'$"/4%(%-8

events just prior to His Second Com-ing. Choosing the most importantsign, the one designed to destroy thefaith of devout Christians, He an-swered, “Take heed that no man de-ceive you.” Verse 4. So significantwould be the sign of deception in thedays just prior to the Second Comingof Christ that He emphasized it on noless than four occasions in His replyto the disciples’ questions.

He added, “For many shall comein my name, saying, I am Christ; andshall deceive many.” Verse 5. Further,He warned, “And many false proph-ets shall rise, and shall deceive many.”Verse 11. Finally, emphasizing the ex-treme severity of the deceptions,Christ stated, “For there shall arise falseChrists, and false prophets, and shallshew great signs and wonders;insomuch that, if it were possible, theyshall deceive the very elect.” Verse 24.

In view of all of these dire warn-ings, we stand amazed at the lack ofany fear of deception among Chris-tians today. Most certainly we are inthe day when our Lord will soon re-turn. While we do not know the ex-act time of His coming, He has pro-vided us with incredible informationconcerning the state of the world andthe condition of mankind just priorto that event. Yet every deception ofthe devil is accepted by some Chris-tians, one group or another, as if itwere the truth of God. Rarely is athought given to the question, Is thisa message from God, or is it yet an-other effort of the archdeceiver to takeus away from our eternal heritage? Nowonder that Christ declared the last-day church to be “wretched, and mis-erable, and poor, and blind, and na-ked.” Yet Christians today believe thatthey are “rich, and increased withgoods, and have need of nothing.”Revelation 3:17. Surely it is time forChristians to arouse from their fearfulslumber and rise up and serve theirLord in fidelity and truth, ever search-ing His Word in order to discover truthand to unmask deception.

!"#$% &'#%!#()*% +,)$&-Scripture has warned, “Be sober,

be vigilant; because your adversarythe devil, as a roaring lion, walkethabout, seeking whom he may de-vour.” 1 Peter 5:8. Incredibly, veryfew Christians today give even apassing consideration to this divine

warning. One of the master decep-tions of Satan is to obliterate theknowledge of his existence from theminds of people who regard them-selves as devout Christians. A sur-vey of evangelical Christians in theUnited States, undertaken in 1997,revealed that 69% of the people de-nied the existence of the devil. Evan-gelical Christians claim to be guided

by the Word of God alone. TheLatin term “Sola Scriptura” is com-monly used to assert their faith inevery word of the Bible. However,the survey showed that over two-thirds of such people denied the ex-istence of Satan. Yet Satan is men-tioned no less than fifty-four timesin sixteen different books of theBible. The devil, or the devils, whichinclude Satan and his supportingfallen angels, are mentioned on onehundred and fifteen occasions innineteen books of Scripture. Otherreferences to Satan as the adversary,the serpent, the dragon and Lucifer,increase the number of referencesto the devil in Scripture. How blindcan such evangelical Protestants be?

Such blindness leaves Christiansto attribute every supernatural phe-nomenon to God. This places Satanon vantage ground. He can weavehis deceptions into events and mani-festations, confident that deludedChristians will attribute his decep-tions to God.

For example, Christians are de-ceived by spiritualistic evidences.Such persons believe that they have

actually seen and spoken with theirdead relatives—never consideringthat Satan is the master imperson-ator. He and his demons can imper-sonate any individual who has everlived upon this earth with such ac-curacy that it is impossible even fortheir closest loved ones to distin-guish the genuine from the devil-ish. Thus Satan is well able to weavea pattern of deception around manywho genuinely believe that they arefollowing the Word of Christ.

No wonder Jesus warned us toavoid deception in the last days! Hesaw that even apparent devoutChristians would so discard the onlybasis of truth—the Bible—that theywould become gullible subjects ofthe deceptions of Satan.

."//01)23&)14%5)&'%&'#%!#36Some have pointed to what ap-

peared to be the prophet Samuel atthe behest of the Witch of Endor asbeing a genuine experience fromGod of communicating with thedead. It will be recalled that whenGod ceased bringing counsel to therebellious King Saul, he in despera-tion sought the assistance of thiswitch. This remarkable incidence isrecorded in 1 Samuel 28:6–25. Thereader is encouraged to read thepassage in full. Some believe thatbecause “Samuel” appeared beforeSaul, this figure was indeed thegenuine prophet returned fromheaven. However, the context ofScripture absolutely nullifies such aconclusion. We must remember whyit was that Saul decided to visit theWitch of Endor. Scripture records:“And when Saul inquired of theLORD, the LORD answered him not,neither by dreams, nor by Urim, norby prophets.” 1 Samuel 28:6. Theonly reason that Saul sought out thewitch was because God had madea decision to no longer communi-cate with this rebellious king. Cer-tainly God would not then chooseto communicate by another means,and especially not through the Witchof Endor—who by God’s commandshould have been put to death be-cause of her devilish activities.

On numbers of occasions theScripture plainly states that no indi-vidual undertaking seances was tobe permitted to live in the nation ofIsrael. The Israelites were specifically

)* Our Firm FOUNDATION March 1999

commanded by God, “Thou shaltnot suffer a witch to live.” Exodus22:18. Further, they were informed,“There shall not be found amongyou any one that maketh his son orhis daughter to pass through the fire,or that useth divination, or an ob-server of times, or an enchanter, ora witch, or a charmer, or a consulterwith familiar spirits, or a wizard, ora necromancer.” Deuteronomy18:10–11.

Manifestly, God would not usea medium of communication whichHe Himself had so emphatically for-bidden His people to use. Further-more, Samuel was dead. The Scrip-ture on no occasion states that thesouls of the dead immediately pro-ceed to heaven. Indeed, the wholefocus of Scripture in relationship tothe dead is that those who have ac-cepted the Lord, receive their rewardnot at death but rather at the Sec-ond Coming—when Christ will raisethem from their state of dreamlesssleep. Over and over again, the deadare said to be asleep. See Job 7:21;Matthew 27:52–53; John 11:11–17;Acts 7:60; 1 Corinthians 15. Thus itis little wonder that the Lord de-clared, “for the living know that theyshall die: but the dead know notany thing.” Ecclesiastes 9:5. Therewas no possibility whatsoever ofSamuel being able to return to Saulor to express any of his thoughts tohim.1

!#()*)$'%7)#16

"8%914#*%":% ;)4'&-Another deception of Satan

which has pervaded Christianity isthe concept that he is the most uglybeing in the universe. Several yearsago when I was exiting from a su-permarket in the United States, Inoticed one of the notorious super-market tabloids. The headline read“Satan and Christ Seen in CloudsOver Texas.” The subheading stated,“Theologians Declare This Sign In-dicates the Commencement of theFinal Conflict Between Christ andSatan.” A fake photograph on thefront page depicted Christ as hand-some in appearance, and Satan asthe ugliest creature one could imag-ine. Once again, such deceptionsserve Satan’s purpose well. Fewhumans would enjoy being repre-

sented as being incredibly ugly, butSatan is no human. His deceptionsare enhanced by the common ex-pectation of those who believe thathe exists, that he is a violent crea-ture, and that his appearance is com-parable to his character!

How differently the Scripturepresents Satan! Speaking of himprior to his fall, the Bible states,“Thou hast been in Eden the gar-den of God; every precious stonewas thy covering, the sardius, to-paz, and the diamond, the beryl, theonyx, and the jasper, the sapphire,the emerald, and the carbuncle, andgold: the workmanship of thytabrets and of thy pipes was pre-pared in thee in the day that thouwast created. Thou art the anointedcherub that covereth; and I have setthee so: thou wast upon the holymountain of God; thou hast walkedup and down in the midst of thestones of fire. Thou wast perfect inthy ways from the day that thou wastcreated, till iniquity was found inthee . . . . Thine heart was lifted upbecause of thy beauty, thou hast cor-rupted thy wisdom by reason of thybrightness.” Ezekiel 28:13–15, 17.Thus the Bible represents Satan,

prior to his fall, as being an angelof immense beauty, full of wisdomand enveloped in brightness. Hewas perfect. His covering was ofmagnificent precious stones. Theprophet Isaiah describes him as “Lu-

cifer, son of the morning!” Isaiah14:12.

Now the question poses itself,Is Satan still able to display bright-ness and beauty, or does he appearlike the devilish fiend as representedin the fictitious clouds over Texas?If Satan actually looked like those“clouds” indicated, few peoplewould be deceived by such a beingof evident evil.

Looking to the last days, Paul,writing to the believers in the Greekcity of Corinth, prophesied that:“And no marvel; for Satan himselfis transformed into an angel oflight.” 2 Corinthians 11:14. Here isa dramatic warning that Satan willappear in the last days—not as abeing of gross appearance with twohorns and a tail—but as a magnifi-cent angel of light! For those whohave been deceived into thinkingthat Satan is a nonexistent being,there will be no questioning of thetrue identity of this being. The samesurvey of evangelical Protestantsthat indicated that 69% of the peoplebelieved in no satanic being, alsoindicated that almost 90% of thembelieved in the angels of God. Inthe latter case, they are correct.However, those who have discardedthe Biblical evidence of a real devilwill be totally deceived by the mag-nificence of Satan’s presence. Believ-ing that only God and His angelsexist, they will be vulnerable to be-lieve their senses rather than theplain Word of God. They will befound not to be true followers ofChrist, for His true followers willhave tested everything they saw andheard by the Word of God—not bytheir senses.

Let it not be forgotten that Satanappeared to Christ as a glorious an-gel! Had Satan appeared as a dia-bolical entity, there is no doubt thathe would have possessed no decep-tive power whatsoever. But in or-der to deceive Christ he came as ifhe were an angel of light—hasten-ing at the bidding of God to sustainChrist after His forty days of fastingand prayer in the wilderness!

It was not until Satan spokewords which contradicted the plainWord of God that his deception wasunmasked. In view of the devil’squestioning, Christ did not believeHis senses. Satan commanded: “If

>'&'$,3$%9&%7%(,6;%&-,-.$(0%(4%(%-$;,++%**'%&$,-$(0'+%3($9%53K-"(%3$%$<',-.$"/.&"33%**'%&%-6';,(0$(;"$0"&-3%-9$%$(%,+K<#(%3$%7%.-,/,6'-(%-.'+$"/$+,.0(L

March 1999 Our Firm FOUNDATION ))

thou be the Son of God, commandthis stone that it be made bread.”Luke 4:3. Christ faced a dilemma.His eyes told Him that the being infront of Him was a glorious angelof God! However, the evidence wasthat Satan’s question contradictedthe plain words of God. Forty daysearlier Christ had heard His Fathersay, “This is my beloved Son, inwhom I am well pleased.” Matthew3:17. Never for a moment did Christplace the evidence of His eyes be-fore the plainest Words of God. HadHe done so, He would have beendeceived.

<3:#&=%>1*=% )1

?80$&)14%@"6A$%5"86Like His true followers today, the

Lord knew only one criterion oftruth: “To the law and to the testi-mony: if they speak not accordingto this word, it is because there isno light in them.” Isaiah 8:20. Thequestioning nature of Satan’s com-mand—a doubt which no angel ofGod would have even considered—alerted Christ to the fact that this ap-parent angel of light was in fact thedevil himself in a deceptive guise.Notice Christ’s reply: “It is written,Man shall not live by bread alone,but by every word that proceedethout of the mouth of God.” Matthew4:4. Unless Christians learn to ac-cept every word that proceedeth outof the mouth of God, and that wordalone, they will be deceived. Theywill have ignored Christ’s earnestwarnings against deceptions.

Seeing that Christ answered himwith a passage of Scripture foundin Deuteronomy 8:3, Satan himselfdecided to tempt our Lord throughthe use of Scripture too. QuotingPsalm 91:11–12, Satan requested ofChrist after taking Him to the pin-nacle of the temple, “If thou be theSon of God, cast thyself down: forit is written, He shall give his an-gels charge concerning thee: and intheir hands they shall bear thee up,lest at any time thou dash thy footagainst a stone.” Matthew 4:6.

Here Satan escalated his decep-tion. He quoted the very Word of God,which he despises, in order to deceivethe One of purest character. You willnotice if you return to the passagewhich Satan quoted that he omitted

a vital portion of verse 11—“to keepthee in all thy ways.” This portion ofthe passage was crucial. The purposeof the angels is not to care for those

who presumptuously endanger theirlives. Their work is to care for those,who taking all proper care, are placedin the most perilous of conditionsthrough no fault or folly of their own.Here we see that the quoting of Scrip-ture in no wise is a guarantee that weare dealing with the angels of God.The devil is a diligent student of theBible as we have seen from this inci-dent. He has, without doubt, searchedand re-searched every portion ofScripture, seeking to misuse it to hisadvantage, which he attempted to dowith our Lord. Christ was not de-ceived. His mind was so full of theWord of God, which He had beentaught from His mother’s knee, thatHe replied, using Deuteronomy 6:16:“Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thyGod.” Matthew 4:7. No Christianneeds to be deceived by Satan’s mostsubtle efforts to deprive him of hiseternal heritage if only he will placehis life in the hands of Jesus and dili-gently study the Word of God underthe guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Once more the devil attempteda new ploy. What he could notachieve by casting doubt on Christ’sfaith, and that which unavailed bymisusing Scripture, he thought hecould accomplish through an act offlattery. So ambitious are manyChristians that they will sell theirsouls for a position in their localchurch. So grandiose are the desiresof many pastors and priests that theywill do the same thing in order to

receive ecclesiastical promotions.Pride of position is to become ascommon at the time of the SecondAdvent as it was in the days of thePharisees and Sadducees.

On the third occasion of tempta-tion, Satan offered Christ the entireworld. The condition was a simpleone—that Christ spend a moment ortwo bowing down and worshipingthe devil. As humans, we may nothave been asked to literally bowdown before Satan in worship, butmany of us will bow to his tempta-tions, casting aside our convictions inorder that our pride and unholy am-bitions may be fulfilled and that ourreputation before men will be inflated.Yet the One who “made himself ofno reputation” (Philippians 2:7)yielded to no such evil motives. Oncemore the Word of God was His stay.Quoting the words of both Deuter-onomy 6:13 and 1 Samuel 7:3, Christreplied, “Thou shalt worship the Lordthy God, and him only shalt thouserve.” Matthew 4:10.

Only those who are stayed uponthe Word of God, will, in thestrength and power of our Lord, re-sist every deception of the devil.When Satan comes to impersonateChrist, he will appear as the mostbeautiful creature that humans haveever seen. He will be clothed in lightso brilliant that human eyes canscarcely bear the sight! He will useScripture in order to ensure that hiswords are even more deceptive.Satan loves above all to unite God’sholy truth with his satanic errors, forthus are people deceived. Further-more, Satan is only too pleased toflatter the unconverted heart into ac-cepting his deceptions. He providesthe very best reasons to do wrong.Only those who day by day unitetheir will with the will of Christ, willbe able to stand such pandering totheir pride. Satan knows all aboutpride. It was pride which developedin his own heart and transformedhim from Lucifer, the coveringcherub, into Satan, the archenemyof God and His flock. !

! !"#$%&$'&()*+,-$)'./0..'"&$"&$,-*$.,%,*$"1$2%&

'&$ )*%,-3$ 4*$ #*/"22*&)$ 5!"#$%&'(#)&$ *+

,#-("6$78$90..*::$9;$<,%&)'.-$%&)$=":'&$>;

<,%&)'.-?@%#,:%&)$A07:'/%,'"&.3$A;B;$C"D$E3

9%+')%&3$F'#G'&'%$HHIJJ3$K<L;

M-+'33H0&,3(,%-3$+'%&-("$%66'*($'?'&5;"&9$(0%(*&"6''9'(0$"#("/$(0'$7"#(0$"/A"91$%-9$(0%(;"&9$%+"-'%+"-'%+"-'%+"-'%+"-'1(0'5$;,++$<'9'6',?'98

)! Our Firm FOUNDATION March 1999

I

to

by Sally Hohnberby Sally Hohnberby Sally Hohnberby Sally Hohnberby Sally Hohnbergergergergerger

!""#$%#&'())*

+$*#,$-('.)/012$/,-(,3&)',0$('-4$&,#$&/2)/'$(-".-"5#"05)67$.#*$#8'&//)(*)/9:;-,#0'<$(=)/'0$(9:;-,#0',;)#/0>;,-<,0$(#$%1?#.0""9

Ph

ot

o:

Photo

Disc

Sally and JimHohnberger,of RestorationInternational,reside inPolebridge,Montana, andhavededicatedtheir lives full-time toreaching allpeople withthe practicalgospel.

Part 3

StudyStudy

Show Thyself Approved.

In this three-part series we havebeen looking at ways to get moreout of our devotional time. Wenoted that as we study the Scrip-

tures we are gaining spiritual nour-ishment, and as it is not healthy toeat our food too fast, so it is lessbeneficial to read quickly and su-perficially. I shared a color-codingsystem and also three little disci-plines that have been a help to me.I would now like to share with youhow I best benefit from topical stud-ies.

?"B)23*%<&06)#$

Study topics that will be useful toyou on a day-to-day basis. We needto study the topics of the problemsthat we find ourselves facing andstruggling with every day, rather

than those areas that are comfortableto our likes, interests or personali-ties, but which are not life changing.For example:

All of us need God to answer im-portant questions about our personalwalk like: How do I surrender? Whatis conversion? What is the right ac-tion of my will? Can I overcome sinand self with Christ? How do I over-come anger, appetite or emotions rul-ing over me? How can God subduemy emotions? What is my part andwhat is God’s part? How does Godfree me from wrong thoughts, words,habits, practices or deeds? What istrue faith—a feeling, an action, or amental assent? What are works? Whatis the fruit of a connected Christian?Will God save me in my sins or frommy sins? What is my preparation be-

March 1999 Our Firm FOUNDATION )"

@'$6%--"($.,?'$(0'7'33%.'$"/$%$4%?,"#&$,/(0'$4%?,"#&$,3$-"(*&'3'-(+5$3%?,-.$#38

fore I am ready to proclaim the gos-pel to the world? How do I deal withthe erring? How does self die? Wheredo the timid find self-worth as it isin Jesus? How do I enter in? DoesGod really love me? Can I be saved?Where do I gain self-control to livethe life God has asked me to live?What does it mean to hear God’svoice? Can God really, personally di-rect me and lead me more closelythan when He was with the dis-ciples, walking this earth with them?Why must we tarry with Jesus first?We need to know the answers tothese topics intellectually, but moreimportantly—experientially.

A spouse asks, “How do I becomethe spouse God is calling me to be?”How do I keep an objective view ofthe conflict when my emotions pullme strongly in the old ways of theflesh? How do I create an atmosphereof growth toward Christ for myspouse? Is continual union and com-munion with Christ a reality?

Aparent needs to study, evalu-ate and experiment with God

on how to bring his child to Christto be changed in disposition, de-sires and habits. Where is the bal-ance of justice and mercy in paren-tal government? What is heavenlydiscipline? What does God meanwhen He says that we should com-mand our household in righteous-ness? What would Jesus do were Hein this conflict of wills right now?What is a parent’s first work? Whatis true missionary work? How do weredirect a rebellious, wayward child?Where should we live? How am I tomeet all the needs and duties of ourhome? How important is themother’s work in the home? Whatdoes the priest of the home do?

Youth must have surrender,union, communion, and a knowl-edge of Scripture to guide them intheir needs. They need to come tobe able to answer the question,What is my purpose in life? Whatpractical training do I need? Whatoccupation should I pursue? Whatare my talents and abilities? How doI problem solve in this world of somuch worldliness? Can I be a Chris-tian and be successful in an occu-pation if I practice integrity, honestyand Sabbath observance? What isproper conduct with the opposite

sex? What is appropriate in court-ship and marriage? These are impor-tant questions in our day-to-day life.A practical God makes knowledgepractical and useful.

Achild needs to ask God, “Lord,what would you have me to

do?” What does it mean to be a teammember in the home? What is myoccupation/work? How do I surren-der? Why must I pray, study, readand learn to sit quietly? What is andis not proper association with oth-ers? What should be my attitude to-ward my parents?

These types of studies are life-changing. They give solid directionand needed structure to our studytime. As we read to understand thebasics, we are preparing to proclaimthe gospelmessage to theworld. Thisworld is ingreat need ofChristians, fol-lowers ofChrist, to helpbrothers andsisters learnhow to be liv-ing Christiansin their homes and under all circum-stances. It gives us an example ofhow to overcome sin and selfish-ness through a constant crying outto God. It teaches us how to con-nect with wisdom and divine powerto help us in our homes—how toraise our children for Heaven now,and how to be a spouse in Christ.These are the true needs of today.

When we can personally leadpeople to Christ to find the powerto live above the pull of the flesh,inclinations and wrong ways oflife, because it is our living expe-rience, the message will go like awildfire in dry grass! God awaitsHis army to come under HisGeneralship and power before Hecan direct the finishing of thework. He must first prepare Hispeople individually! We need thecontinual drawing upon divinepower in our lives, giving us vic-tory daily. We need the experienceof training our children on how tocome to Christ and surrender toHim so they, too, may find the gos-pel power over their flesh. In this

way, like none other, we will betrained to finish the work. We needto learn to live the gospel in ourhomes in the practical matters oflife before any of our precious doc-trines, or medical missionary workwill be for saving good and notjust a work in the world. We can-not give the message of a Saviourif the Saviour is not presently sav-ing us. We cannot give what wedo not possess ourselves. We cangive knowledge, a healthier dietor lifestyle to some who are open,but without the experience ofChrist as our Saviour from anger,irritation, despair and so forth, allour efforts will never finish thework. In Luke 4:18 we read: “TheSpirit of the Lord is upon me, be-cause he hath anointed me to

preach the gos-pel [power ofGod to save mefrom self] to thepoor . . . toheal the bro-ken-hearted, topreach deliver-ance to the cap-tives, . . . sightto the bl ind,. . . to set at lib-

erty them that are bruised.” We allneed to study practical, life-chang-ing themes, and find the balanceand personal application in Christour Saviour.

I pray that these study-helps willaid you in finding a closer, prob-lem-solving Lord in your life as Hehas been in mine. “Study to shewthyself approved unto God, a work-man that needeth not to beashamed, rightly dividing the wordof truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15. God bewith you! !

If you would like to contactSally Hohnberger or if youwould like to receive Restora-tion International’s newsletter,write:

Restoration International1100 Sherman Creek Rd.

Eureka, MT 59917

)# Our Firm FOUNDATION March 1999

IIIII! " # $ % & ' ( " ) " )! " # $ % & ' ( " ) " )

IIIII cannot sleep after twelve o’clock. I am encouraging souls to ex-

amine their own hearts and to seek counsel most earnestly from God.

Now is the time for us to afflict our souls by fasting and prayer. We

cannot lay out the way in which the Lord will work, but we can fol-

low the leadings and drawings of His Holy Spirit. We shall gain noth-

ing by lifting up our souls unto vanity and in self-confidence.

This I am saying in the visions of the night in assemblies in Battle Creek. If ever

the believers in Battle Creek needed the Holy Spirit’s guidance, it is now. They

need the deep moving of the Spirit of God, that they may give the trumpet a certain

sound.

by Ellen G. Whiteby Ellen G. Whiteby Ellen G. Whiteby Ellen G. Whiteby Ellen G. White

!"#$!%&'

!"#$%%"&'"()*+$)*!"#$%%"&'"()*+$)*

March 1999 Our Firm FOUNDATION )$

Read the first eleven verses ofthe fortieth chapter of Isaiah.Present the truth in its power, as itis in Jesus. Keep the mind stayedon God and imbued with His HolySpirit. Present the affirmative oftruth. Stand on the platform ofeternal truth. But do not accuse.Say nothing to arouse enmity andstrife.

The truth—present truth forthis time—will be meat in due sea-son. Let plain, authoritative truthbe presented with decided assur-ance and in the spirit of love andkindness, that the Holy Spirit’spower may give force to the wordsspoken. You are surely wheremany souls have become con-fused. But Christ has promised,“Lo, I am with you alway, evenunto the end.” We are to claim thispromise. The Lord is not asleep orindifferent to our faith, and He willgive knowledge and grace to allwho will humble their hearts be-fore Him. (All emphasis added un-less otherwise noted.)

Have perfect faith in the prom-ises of Christ. “Teach them,” Hesaid, “all that I have commandedyou.” See Matthew 28:20. The Lordhas many precious souls in BattleCreek, and they need the verywords of instruction that Christ hasgiven for them. The gospel ofChrist is full of love, rich in assur-ance and comfort. Every soulneeds now to understand thefoundation of his faith. In simplelanguage and under the inspirationof the Holy Spirit, present thetruth. We have the Word, that won-derful Book, which contains thevery instruction needed at thistime.

The testing time is right uponus. We must build upon the Rockthat will stand the storm of test andtrial. As we see the fulfillment ofprophecy, we know that the endof all things is at hand. Present theeternal principles of truth. Showwhat the Word of God declares isto take place on this earth. TheGod who gave Daniel instructionregarding the closing scenes of thisearth’s history will certainly con-firm the testimony of His servantsas at the appointed time they givethe loud cry.

All the messages given from1840–1844 are to be made forciblenow, for there are many peoplewho have lost their bearings. Themessages are to goto all the churches.

Chr is t sa id,“Blessed are youreyes, for they see:and your ears, forthey hear. For verilyI say unto you, Thatmany prophets andrighteous men havedesired to see thosethings which ye see,and have not seenthem; and to hearthose things whichye hear, and havenot heard them.”Matthew 13:16–17.Blessed are the eyeswhich saw thethings that wereseen in 1843 and1844.

The messagewas given. Andthere should be nodelay in repeatingthe message, for the signs of thetimes are fulfilling; the closingwork must be done. A great workwill be done in a short time. A mes-sage will soon be given by God’sappointment that will swell into aloud cry. Then Daniel will standin his lot, to give his testimony.

The attention of our churchesmust be aroused. We are standingupon the borders of the greatestevent in the world’s history, andSatan must not have power overthe people of God, causing themto sleep on. The Papacy will ap-pear in its power. All must nowarouse and search the Scriptures,for God will make known to Hisfaithful ones what shall be in thelast time. The Word of the Lord isto come to His people in power.

The signs of the end are fastfulfilling. The time of trouble isvery near us now. We are to bebrought into strait places in a wayin which we have not beenbrought heretofore. The time oftrouble is near, and we are toawake to a realization of this. Weare to be sure that our feet are in

the narrow path. We need an ex-perience that we have not yet had,that we may have the assurancethat the God of all grace is a very

present help in timeof need. The time oft r o u b l e — t r o u b l esuch as was not sincethere was a nation—is right upon us, andwe are like the sleep-ing virgins. See Mat-thew 25:1–13. We areto awake and ask theLord Jesus to placeunderneath us Hiseverlasting arms, andcarry us through thetime of trial beforeus.

Let us turn our at-tention away fromunimportant things,and give ourselves toGod. We scarcelydream of the destroy-ing angels that al-ready are permittedto bring disaster anddestruction in theirpath. Shall my life be

spared to act a part in the closingscenes of this earth’s history?

How little we know of what isgoing on in Heaven! What fearfulindifference those on this earthshow to eternal realities. Souls areunprepared for what is about totake place in our world; the warn-ing must be given, The end of allthings is at hand.

Again I say to my ministeringbrethren in Battle Creek, Preachthe Word. The last message ofmercy is to be given to prepare apeople to stand in these last days.Everything is to be shaken that canbe shaken, that those things thatcannot be shaken may remain.

This is what has been presentedto me—that we are asleep, and donot know the time of our visitation.But if we humble ourselves beforeGod, and seek Him with the wholeheart, He will be found of us. SeeJeremiah 29:13. !

Manuscript Releases, vol. 21, 436–437. (Written January 30, 1906, fromSanitarium, California, to Brotherand Sister Farnsworth.)

B0'$N%*%65;,++$%**'%&,-$,(3$*";'&8:++$7#3($-";%&"#3'$%-93'%&60$(0'46&,*(#&'31/"&$A"9$;,++7%)'$)-";-("$>,3/%,(0/#+$"-'3;0%($30%++<'$,-$(0'$+%3((,7'8

)% Our Firm FOUNDATION March 1999

* ! . + / . ' $ ) 0

DearReader,DearReader,

We haveprovided thisNewsWatchcorner inorder to keepyou postedon headlinenews thatrelates withprophesiedlast-dayevents.

If you havea news item ofinterest andwould like toshare it withus, please sendus a copy. Seepage 2 for ourmailingaddress andfax number.

5')$B#8$%)1%&'#%5)16C

DEFNews Item: “As the count-

down to the year 2000 movesforward, early examples of theglitches computers may runinto because of date fieldsreading ‘2000’ are already tak-ing shape. . . .

“A Minnesota woman whois over 100 years old receivedan invitation to attend kinder-garten in her hometown, fol-lowing a computer error.

“In 1993 Boeing, whichuses proprietary networkedsoftware to prepare parts or-ders seven years before filingthe orders, got a flood of er-ror messages because of mis-interpretat ion of the dateseven years out.

“Unum Life Insurance Co.deleted hundreds of recordsfrom a financial reporting da-tabase af ter one of thecompany’s computers mistook“00” in a date field for 1900.”PC Magazine, January 14,1999.

“While the impact of theY2K bug is unknown, theworld seems to be survivingthe Year 99 bug well. Somecomputer programs read the‘99’ date as an instruction tostop working.

“There are three big daysfor this problem. Jan. 1, 1999(the beginning of the year),April 9, 1999 (the 99th day ofthe last year), and Sept. 9, 1999(The four nines of ‘9-9-99’).

went a whoring with their owninventions.” Psalm 106:39.

“And I wil l punish theworld for their evil, and thewicked for their iniquity; andI will cause the arrogancy ofthe proud to cease, and willlay low the haughtiness of theterrible.” Isaiah 13:11.

“For it is written, I will de-stroy the wisdom of the wise,and will bring to nothing theunderstanding of the pru-dent. . . . hath not God madefoolish the wisdom of thisworld? 1 Corinthians 1:19–20.

In man ’s professed wis-dom, is it not possible thatGod will confound the wis-dom of man regarding theirsupposed great technicalknowledge? May not God beconfounding the plans of mento control the whole world?

.0G31% .3&'"*)2$% H3I#

@3)1$% J0&% K8"&#$&31&

L)4'&$% ;)/)&#6

Religious Liberty Update:“While relations are better be-tween Fidel Castro’s govern-ment and Catholics a year af-ter Pope John Paul II visitedCuba, Protestant pastors saythey are no better off and, in

Some doomsdaywatchers sawthem as pre-cursors to aY2K catastro-phe.

“On the firstdate, however, fewproblems were found.Computerized taxi meters inSingapore went dead at noonJan. 1 for about two hours. Po-lice computers in three Swed-ish airports failed at midnighton Jan. 1 but were fixed in afew hours. And radio stationKFQD in Anchorage, Alaska,was unable to receive The As-sociated Press’ newswire whenthe date changed.

“The most sensitive prob-lem involved two medicalproducts. A Hewlett-Packardexternal def ibr i l la tor andInvivo’s Millennia 3500 multi-parameter patient monitor stillwork properly, but display thewrong time and date if not re-set properly.

“ ‘These are kind of whis-pers in the wind for what’sgoing to happen in the year2000,’ said Chris LeTocq, a cor-porate Y2K analyst. ‘If you’rehearing stories of softwarehaving problems with 1999,that means Year 2000 is real.”World, January 16, 1999.

Prophetic Perspective:“Lo, this only have I found,that God hath made man up-right; but they have sought outmany inventions.” Ecclesiastes7:29.

“Their land also is full ofidols; they worship the workof their own hands, that whichtheir own fingers have made.”Isaiah 2:8.

“Thus were they defiledwith their own works, and

March 1999 Our Firm FOUNDATION )&

some cases, worse than before.“Since the papal visit, the gov-

ernment has confiscated at leastone evangelical church property.Several pastors report they havebeen prevented from completingparsonages and sanctuaries afterauthorities revoked building per-mits. . . .

“ ‘The pope’s visit was a politi-cal maneuver to give an image tothe world,’ says Osmel Peréz, aBaptist pastor in the central Cubatown of Esperanza. He believes thevisit served to strengthen Catholicchurch and state ties, to the ex-clusion of evangelicals. ‘The popecame to represent Catholics, notus. The bishops are benefitingfrom his visit.’ ” Christianity To-day, February 8, 1999.

Prophetic Perspective: “andall the world wondered after thebeast.” Revelation 13:3. It is inter-esting to note that while the popein his recent visit to the Americassaid nothing in defense of Protes-tants in Cuba, who are losing theirfreedoms, he was quite vocal instating that Latin American Protes-tants should not be able to sharetheir faith with Catholics becausethis act supposedly removed theirown freedom of choice. Here wesee the hypocrisy behind all theoutward claims of the pope thathe believes in true religious lib-erty.

MN<N% O"P% Q86% ;384#$&

.3&'"*)2% O3&)"1News Item: New York— “Over

the last year, the United States hassurpassed Italy and the Philippinesand become the third largestCatholic country in the world.Ahead of it are Brazil and Mexico,both with about 88 million Catho-lics. . . .

“At present, 22.7% of Americanscall themselves Catholics, whichmeans the total number is around61 million.” National Catholic Reg-ister, January 24–30, 1999.

“There are 153 Catholics amongthe members of the 106th Con-

gress, representing 37 states andtwo territories. Of those, 25 are inthe Senate and 128 in the Houseof Representatives—with 95 com-ing from the Democratic party and58 from the Republican. Catholicshave the highest representation inCongress of any church.” NationalCatholic Register, January 17–23,1999.

Prophetic Perspective: “Ca-tholicism is gaining ground uponevery side. See the increasing num-ber of her churches and chapelsin Protestant countries. Look at thepopularity of her colleges andseminaries in America, so widelypatronized by Protestants. Look atthe growth of ritualism in Englandand the frequent defections to theranks of the Catholics. Thesethings should awaken the anxietyof all who prize the pure principlesof the gospel.” The Great Contro-versy, 566.

“There are many who are dis-posed to attribute any fear of Ro-man Catholicism in the UnitedStates to bigotry or childishness.Such see nothing in the characterand attitude of Romanism that ishostile to our free institutions, orfind nothing portentous in itsgrowth.” Ibid., 564.

But as the writer goes on to say,“The pacific tone of Rome in theUnited States does not imply achange of heart. She is tolerantwhere she is helpless. Says BishopO ’Connor: ‘Religious liberty ismerely endured until the oppositecan be carried into effect withoutperil to the Catholic world.’ ” Ibid.,565.

H3$$% !#:#2&)"1$% 914#8$

&'#% K"B#News Item: “In Mexico, which

has the second-largest Catholicpopulation of any country, evan-gelical churches and other faithshave siphoned off as much as 10percent of Catholics in recent de-cades.” Washington Post, January24, 1999.

“The 78-year-old pontiff usedhis five-day Mexico visit to outlinechurch strategy throughout theAmericas for the start of the newmillennium.

“He signed a declaration con-taining that strategy.

“He urged Catholics to morevigorously defend their fai thagainst Protestant sects that havemade inroads in Lat inAmerica. . . .” The Associated Press,January 26, 1999.

“The document acknowledgedthe success Protestant evangelicalshave had in winning over convertsin the traditional Catholic bastionof Latin America, home to nearlyhalf the world’s 1 billion Catho-lics.

“ I t a lso cr i t ic ized theevangelicals’ proselytizing activity,suggest ing coercion was in-volved.” CCN, January 23, 1999.

Prophetic Perspective: Whenthe early Christian church wasspreading the truth of the gospel,they had to meet the same attitudeas was manifested by John Paul II.The rulers of the Jews counseledtogether and said regarding thegospel, “But that it spread no fur-ther among the people, let usstraitly threaten them, that theyspeak henceforth to no man in thisname. And they called them, andcommanded them not to speak atall nor teach in the name of Jesus.But Peter and John answered andsaid unto them, Whether it be rightin the sight of God to hearken untoyou more than unto God, judgeye. For we cannot but speak thethings which we have seen andheard.” Acts 4:17–20. (For furtherstudy read The Great Controversy,197–210.)

J83R)*)31%.088#12=%.8)$)$News Item: “If nothing else,

Brazil has shattered the soothingnotion that the world economy isslowly but surely on the mend.

)' Our Firm FOUNDATION March 1999

What happened last week (the sur-prise devaluation of Brazil’s cur-rency) suggests that the recentmonths of economic calm—whenthe U.S. stock market raced to newhighs—may resemble the ‘phonywar ’ of 1940: a period whenpeople falsely reassured them-selves that calamity would, some-how, be avoided. This is, to besure, a charged analogy; but theparallels are unsettling. . . .

“Nor is Brazil the only problem.Japan’s recession is still deepen-ing; Europe’s economy is weaken-ing; China’s outlook is murky. Un-til now, the U.S. economy hasseemed immune to the turmoil,and feverish buying by confidentAmerican consumers has cush-ioned the impact of the foreignslowdown. But the threats are mul-tiplying, and the immunity is notinfinite. Americans see this crisisas phony, when—even if wemuddle through—it is genuine andmenacing.” Newsweek, January 25,1999.

Prophetic Perspective:“There are not many, even amongeducators and statesmen, whocomprehend the causes that un-derlie the present state of society.Those who hold the reins of gov-ernment are not able to solve theproblem of moral corruption, pov-erty, pauperism, and increasingcrime. They are struggling in vainto place business operations on amore secure basis. If men wouldgive more heed to the teaching ofGod’s Word, they would find a so-lution of the problems that perplexthem.” Testimonies, vol. 9, 13.

9/#8)231%H"83*)&=%>1%?8)3*% )1

&'#%<#13&#News Item: “The impeachment

debate reveals the conservative vs.liberal struggle about our behav-ioral boundaries

Washington— “Anyone whothinks the impeachment trial is justabout William Jefferson Clintonshould think again. What actuallyis under way is one of the greatmorality plays of our century: acontest for the moral soul of theUnited States.” The Sunday Orego-nian, June 24, 1999.

“America Faces A Moral Test,The Pope Warns.

“Pope John Paul II urged Ameri-cans to choose a higher moralcourse.

St. Louis— “Ignoring the morallapses of President Clinton, PopeJohn Paul II flew into St. Louis onTuesday and addressed thebroader moral failings of the na-tion.” The News Tribune, Wednes-day, January 27,1999.

Prophetic Per-spective : Jesussaid: “But as thedays of Noe were,so shall also thecoming of the Sonof man be.” Mat-thew 24:37. “Law-lessness, dissipa-tion, and corruptionare sweeping inupon us l ike ano v e r w h e l m i n gtide. . . .

“Rulers are actu-ated by a desire forgain and love of sensual pleasure.”The Great Controversy, 585–586.All the while “the man of sin” as“an angel of light” is “speakinggreat things” calling this nation toa moral test. See 2 Thessalonians2:3; 2 Corinthians 11:14; and Rev-elation 13:5.

K8"06%L0$$)3%"1% )&$%F1##$News Item: “The question for

the country now is whether it cansurvive at all as a coherent state,still less as a civilized society. Thestatistics are staggering: At least 70percent of Russians live near or be-low the subsistence level. . . .

“Russia’s annual governmentrevenues are less than what theU.S. Treasury collects in a singleweek. . . .

“With runaway inflation and nojobs, great masses of Russians havelost everything, including faith.They boil with anger and cyni-cism—and not just because theyare poor. Their country has beenstolen from them. The small groupof men who have corruptly seizedthe assets of the state flaunt theirwealth as unthinkingly as any czar.These men are the oligarchs. . . .

“ ‘I’ve told them that if theydon’t work out an arrangement forfair shares with someone like me,there wi l l be an explos ion, ’Yavlinsky adds. ‘And sooner or

later they will loseeverything.’

“But nobodybelieves the oli-garchs and the bigcompanies wi l ltake heed.

“The forebod-ing in the air in thebadly demoralizedRussia today is acommonplace ofthe left, the right,and the center, butit was most dra-matically summedup for me by theu l t r a n a t i ona l i s t

Vladimir Zhirinovsky. ‘The condi-tions in Russia are now as ripe fora revolution,’ Zhirinovsky said, ‘asthey were in October 1917.’ ” U.S.News and World Report, February8, 1999.

Prophetic Perspective: Jesushas foretold the signs and eventsto precede His coming. He hassaid, “And when ye shall hear ofwars and rumours of wars, be yenot troubled.” Mark 13:7. Weshould realize that we are nearingthat great event—the Second Com-ing of Christ!

March 1999 Our Firm FOUNDATION )(

!!aul A. Gordon in his excellent book, The Sanctuary, 1844, and

the Pioneers, quotes the testimony of Brother Washington Morse

who participated in the early Advent movement. Brother Morse’s

testimony is very moving. It gives us a taste of the vision and consecra-

tion that he and his contemporaries experienced.

The message that stirred their soul was the sanctuary message. It was a

message about the judgment and the cleansing from sin. It was a message about

time, and by their reckoning October 22, 1844, was the day they believed Christ

would return to earth. As a result, they desired to be free from sin. They began

such a study and search of God’s Word as had not been seen since apostolic

days. They brought their lives into conformity to the truths they found and gave

their wholehearted obedience to Jesus. They waited for the Lord to return, and

in that most blessed waiting time they made themselves ready by the blood of

the Lamb and the grace of God.

!!"#$%$%"&'(!&"$)$*%+

!!%!,$%"&-./&#*%)!0/#'$*%

by Jeff Wehrby Jeff Wehrby Jeff Wehrby Jeff Wehrby Jeff Wehr

March 1999 Our Firm FOUNDATION )(

Jeff Wehr writesfrom Rice, Wash-ington. He is aco-editor of OurFirm Foundationand regularlyserves as an au-thor and speakerfor Hope Interna-tional.

!* Our Firm FOUNDATION March 1999

Let us now read his testimony:“ ‘And he said unto me, Unto two

thousand and three hundred days;then shall the sanctuary becleansed.’ Daniel 8:14

“Much ink has been spent incommenting on this text. Perhapsthere is not another verse in theBible that has been so widely dis-cussed as this one, and perhapsno other passage has proved, andwill prove, the downfall of somany nations who reject its plainteachings. The Saviour pro-nounced the most severe woeupon the Jews, because they knewnot the ‘time’ of their visitation.

“That time was the seventyweeks of Daniel 9:24, cut off fromthe two thousand three hundreddays, or years, and was the firstfour hundred and ninety years ofthat period. As we came down tothat generation where is seen theend of the longest prophetic pe-riod in the Bible, and the only onefor which we have a Bible date.God, through His servants, sentforth the message of Revelation14:6–7, announcing, ‘The hour ofhis judgment is come.’ The timewas the moving principle. It was asearching test to those living inthat generation.

“I was permitted to take part inthat blessed work from its begin-ning. In great power God set Hisseal to it by His Holy Spirit. Thedoors of the churches were thrownopen for Brother Miller and oth-ers to preach the coming of Christ;and thus when this truth waspreached, a great harvest of con-verts was added to the churches.This work continued until January1, 1844. At that time a change tookplace, as the majority believed thatthe prophetic periods all endedthere. From that time until spring,we had no freedom nor libertywith our former brethren in thechurches to which we belonged.But we unders tood that thetwenty-three hundred days did notend until the spring of 1844; andit was with great solemnity that wecame to that period.

“Some of our brethren couldnot go forward, and put in theircrops, while others did so reluc-tantly. We felt sure our reckoningwas correct, and that the Saviour

would come at that time. Whilestanding in that waiting position,the light of the second angel’smessage flashed upon us; and avoice came like a rushing mightywind, ‘Come out of her, mypeople.’ No one knew who raisedthe cry first; but as we heard fromour brethren north, south, east,and west, all had the same experi-ence, and immediately left their re-spective churches. Yes, and we allleft our creeds, or what had be-fore been our differences. Rightthere we formed the Philadelphianstate of the church—a church ofbrotherly love.

“Probably from sixty to onehundred thousand persons cameout from the Protestant churcheswithin a month; and O, how Godblessed this act! Right there we ranout of all our published time, prac-tically went to sleep on time, ac-cording to Matthew 25:5. This wesaw was the tarrying time. Weread, ‘Though it [the vision] tarry,wait for it.’ In this position we con-tinued until about the middle ofJuly, 1844. Here we discovered adiscrepancy in our reckoning, andfound that the decree ofArtaxerxes for the restoration ofJerusalem, which formed the start-ing point for the twenty-three hun-dred days, went into effect in theautumn of the year 457 B.C., andnot at the beginning of the year,as had been formerly believed.Reckoning from the autumn of457, the twenty-three hundredyears terminated inthe autumn of 1844.

“ A r g u m e n t sdrawn from the OldTestament types alsopointed to that au-tumn as the t imewhen the event rep-resented by thecleansing of thesanctuary must takeplace. Under the Mo-saic system thecleansing of thesanctuary, or thegreat day of atone-ment, occurred onthe tenth day of theJewish seventhmonth, when thehigh priest, having

made an atonement for all Israel,and thus removed their sins fromthe sanctuary, came forth andblessed the people. So it was be-lieved that Christ, our great HighPriest, would appear to purify theearth by the destruction of sin andsinners, and to bless His waitingpeople with immortality, on thetenth day of the seventh month,the great day of atonement—thetime of the cleansing of the sanc-tuary—which in the year 1844 fellon the 22nd of October.

“This was regarded as the timeof the Lord’s coming. This positionwas in harmony with the proofsalready presented that the twenty-three hundred days would termi-nate in the autumn, and the con-clusion seemed irresistible. In theparable of Matthew 25, the timeof waiting and slumber is followedby the coming of the bridegroom.This was in accordance with thearguments just presented, bothfrom prophecy and from the types.They carried strong conviction oftheir truthfulness, and the ‘mid-night cry’ was heralded by thou-sands of believers. It went fromcity to city, from village to village,and into remote country places.

“None knew where it started.It arose simultaneously. There wasfervent prayer and unreserved con-secration to God. At the call, ‘Be-hold, the Bridegroom cometh; goye out to meet him,’ we all aroseand trimmed our lamps. We stud-ied the Word of God with greater

interest than we everhad studied it. It wasnot the most ta l -ented, but the mosthumble and de-voted, who were tohear and obey thecal l . Farmers lef ttheir crops standingin the fields, me-chanics laid downtheir tools , mer-chants left their mer-chandise; and al lwent forth with tearsand rejoicing to givethe warning. Here iswhere the ‘midnightcry’ came in to givepower to the secondmessage. Those who

O,.0($(0'&';'$&%-$"#("/$%++$"#&*#<+,30'9(,7'1*&%6(,6%++5;'-($("3+''*$"-(,7'1%66"&9,-.$("P%((0';QRSR8$B0,3$;'3%;$;%3$(0'!"##$%&'!%()8

March 1999 Our Firm FOUNDATION !)

')*+%,-./01

had formerly ledout in the causewere among thelas t to give thewarning.

“As t ime wasthe moving prin-ciple, we did pro-claim, with all thatp o s i t i v e n e s sbrought to view inRevelation 10:5–6,that time should beno longer. We hadno ‘ifs’ in our faith:we believed God’sWord just as He de-signed we should. If we had seenthe third angel’s message then, wecould not have given the firstangel’s message. We gave up theworld, with all its pleasures andcharms—our property, our repu-tation, our all. No one whose faithwas geniune could do any otherway. The world saw that we be-lieved just what we preached. Wegave it all; yes, we consecrated allwe had and were, to God. We werethe happiest people that ever livedthis side of the apostolic days.” Re-view and Herald, March 7, 1899.

What a testimony! They werethe happiest people that ever livedsince the time of the twelve dis-ciples! They were happy becausethey had made themselves readyto see Jesus. They were so conse-

crated that for themthe world and thethings of this worldhad lost their allure-ment. They embraceda message thatchanged their wholel ives—a messageabout the cleansing ofthe soul temple—amessage about seeingJesus—a messageabout time—namely,October 22, 1844!

Here now are theconcluding wordswri t ten by Brother

Morse:“It is through the light upon the

sanctuary question that we knowand understand the work of thejudgment that has been going onin heaven since the end of thetwenty-three hundred years ofDaniel 8:14. And as we near thetime when the cases of the livingwill come up, there will be a cor-responding work going forwardupon earth. Hence this is a timeof supreme importance to everyliving soul. We do not know justwhen our names will be called.Now is the time for us to be freefrom sin, let Jesus have the wholeheart, make no reserve. We are tobe like ‘men that wait for their lord,when he will return from the wed-ding.’ Luke 12:36. No one can be

T"$"-'$6%-<'$3%,9$(";%,($#-(,+$0',3$&'%958T";$,3$(0'(,7'$(";%(601$+'3(6"7,-.$(""#&$6%3'33#99'-+51$>'/,-9$#3$-"(*&'*%&'98

said to wait until he is ready. Nowis the time to watch, lest comingto our cases suddenly, He find usnot prepared.”

The questions for us today are:Have we made the necessarypreparations for the Saviour’s re-turn? Do we believe that truth? Dowe believe that the judgment iscome? Do we believe that Jesus iscoming soon? Do we believe thatwe have a special message to pro-claim to the world—namely, thethree angels’ messages? Are wewilling to be used of God to takepart in the finishing work of thegospel? If we are, then it is timethat we go to work for the Saviourin His vineyard today.

Soon the great crisis will breakupon us! Satan will continue tocast a shadow over the three an-gels ’ messages, so that manypeople both inside and outside ofthe church will not clearly discerntheir import—their time and place.However, this threefold messagewill suddenly exert a powerful in-fluence upon millions of men andwomen around the world.

The time has come for us tomake sacrifices, We must do all thatwe can to help the work go forward.The investigative judgment will sooncome to a close. Each case will bedecided for eternal life or eternaldeath. Let us now go forth in faithknowing that victory is at hand. !

! " # $ % & " ' ( ) ! % & * ( ) + , - .! " # $ % & " ' ( ) ! % & * ( ) + , - .! " # $ % & " ' ( ) ! % & * ( ) + , - .! " # $ % & " ' ( ) ! % & * ( ) + , - .! " # $ % & " ' ( ) ! % & * ( ) + , - .

!"##$%&'($)*+,-(

by Clifford Goldstein

What significance, if any, does the year 1844 have for Christianstoday? Is there a way to make sense of the confusing maze of beasts, dates,and kingdoms in Daniel?

From a man who came unbearably close to denying the validity of theinvestigative judgment and leaving the church that taught it, comes the boldest,most simple explanation and ringing endorsement of this paramount Biblical teaching.

1844 Made Simple is destined to be one of the most important books you will everown. If you have wondered whether you—or someone you know—would ever get it allstraightened out, look no further. In this book you will find the keys to solving 1844’s mazeand becoming grounded in present truth

See page 2 for shipping and sales tax information.

!! Our Firm FOUNDATION March 1999

IIn the primitive Church transgressorswere condemned to long penances;they had to appear either in front ofthe house of God, or in a part of itspecially appropriated to the fallen,

for two, five, and ten years, begging theforgiveness ofthe Church, andsoliciting resto-rat ion to herc o m m u n i o n .This situationinf l ic ted thegreatest dis-grace, and con-tinued the mostgr ievous dis-tress of mind.The ecclesiasti-cal laws whichgoverned reli-gious delinquents were marked by sin-gular severity. But wiser and kindercounsels crept in, and penitents, whoshowed undoubted sorrow, were re-lieved of their penance earlier than old

usage demanded. This abridgment of thelong sentence of penance was called anindulgence, and really was the com-mencement of that system which reachedits scandalous maturity under Leo X, andin the preaching of the immortal Tetzel.

(All emphasissupplied by theauthor.) In thatage no Chris-tian knew any-thing of purga-tory, or thetreasury ofmerits acquiredby the saints,and dispensedby the pope; oreven of a su-preme bishopat Rome, with

authority over all the churches and clergyelsewhere. Pope Vigilius, writing to abishop about certain penitents, said,1 thatit was left to his judgment, and that ofthe other bishops throughout their dio-

by William Cathcartby William Cathcartby William Cathcartby William Cathcartby William Cathcart

S?'8"04'% )160*4#12#$T% &'#% :""*)$'%/31%":%P#3*&'% )$%G#&83=#6% )1&"%3% :3*$#%'"B#N% N% N% NU

!! Our Firm FOUNDATION March 1999

In a recent papalbull entitled“IncarnationisMysterium” (datedNov. 29, 1998),Pope John Paul IIdeclared thatindulgences arethe center of theGrand Jubilee2000 celebration.In light of thisdecree, we sensean urgent need toeducate ourreaders in regardto the history ofindulgences sothat we might beable to respond tothis unscripturaldoctrineintelligently.—THE EDITORS.

B0'$'66+'3,%3(,6%+$+%;3$;0,60."?'&-'9$&'+,.,"#3$9'+,-U#'-(3;'&'$7%&)'9$<5$3,-.#+%&3'?'&,(58$E#($;,3'&$%-9$),-9'&6"#-3'+3$6&'*($,-1$%-9$*'-,('-(31;0"$30";'9$#-9"#<('9$3"&&";1;'&'$&'+,'?'9$"/$(0',&$*'-%-6''%&+,'&$(0%-$"+9$#3%.'9'7%-9'98

This article wastaken frompages 270–279of the bookThe PapalSystem, byWilliamCathcart,published inPhiladelphia,1872.

March 1999 Our Firm FOUNDATION !"

ceses, if they approve the qualityand devotion of a penitent, togrant him the benefit of an indul-gence: that is, to remove him fromthe prostrators before the end ofthe time appointed in his sentence.

It would seem that among theArians, as early as the fifth cen-tury, their presbyters were accus-tomed to recommend fines forpenances; and instead of seekingfrom transgressors such tears asprocured pardon for Peter, theywere only anxious to levy a taxupon the delinquent.2

In England this practice, withsome additions and variations, wasvery common. The money was notgiven directly for an indulgence,but it was bestowed upon the pooras an atonement for iniquity; andalong with it psalms were re-peated, and forms of prayer; anda number of days was devoted tofasting personally, or by a hireddeputy, with a view to secure re-mission without any protractedpenance. In A.D. 747, a council ofbishops was held at Cloveshove inEngland; and a wealthy man ap-plied to this synod for the pardonof a heavy crime, on the groundthat he had given so much alms,and secured so many to singpsalms and fast for him, that hehad ample compensation for thesins of a hundred years, if his lifeshould be continued that long. Thecouncil decided that alms were notto be given as a license to commitsin; that they could relieve notransgressor from his appropriateecclesiastical penance, and that thesinging of psalms was withoutmeaning except as the expressionof the heart.

The same custom obtained inFrance, and had to be denouncedby the provincial council of thatcountry, meeting at Chalons, A.D.813. This synod condemned thefolly of those who expected tosecure freedom from Church pen-ances by charitable contributions.3

At first indulgences were lim-ited exclusively to church pen-ances, but in process of time theyembraced all the temporary pun-ishments due the soul on earth andin purgatory. Christ, it was said,had endured and removed the eter-nal penalties of sin; but the suf-

ferings, short of everlasting con-tinuance, must be borne in purga-tory or be removed by an indul-gence.

The earthly sufferings could beendured by deputy. Any amountof fasting, flagellation, or pilgrim-age work could be discharged bysubstitute, and throngs of monksin t imes of papaldarkness were com-petitors for the repul-sive service.4

5"8I$%":

<0B#8#8"43&)"1When a hired

man performs his al-lotted task for theday, he deserves ad-ditional reward orcredit for any fartherservices he may ren-der. Such labors arebeyond what hisagreement demands;they are works of su-pererogat ion. Sowhen a Chr is t ianleading a blamelesslife is persecuted,and killed; as his sinsdid not draw down his sufferings,these pains, it was argued, weremeritorious, they were higher thanthe measure of the man’s deserts:these were the works of superero-gation. It was supposed that mil-lions of saints in heaven had left alegacy of such meri ts to theChurch, and that in it she had atreasury of good deeds of immensevalue, incapable of exhaustion, nomatter how many drafts, throughindulgences, the Holy Mothermight make upon it. Then some-times it was said that one drop ofthe Saviour’s blood was sufficientfor the sins of the whole world,and that all the rest went into thistreasury, which the Church mightgive to souls in purgatory, or richmen on earth who had money tobuy it; or men not so wealthy whohad some means. This was thepaid-up capital of the bank ofindulgences.

It is commonly agreed that Tho-mas Aquinas, in the thirteenth cen-tury, was the inventor of this doc-trine. His description of it, from his

dist inguished posit ion in theCatholic Church, and from his re-markable talents, must be interest-ing:5 “Moreover the unity of themystical body is the reason whythey prevail, in which many, inworks of penitence, render morethan their debts, and many bearpatiently unjust tribulations also,

through which amultitude of punish-ments may be expi-ated, if such wereowed; of whose mer-its the supply is sogreat that it exceedsevery penal ty in-curred by those nowliving, and especiallyon account of themerit of Christ. . . .Thus the aforesaidmerits are the com-mon possession ofthe whole Church.”Such was the grandfoundation of thesystem of indul-gences: f i rs t andchiefly the meritori-ous sufferings of thesaints , in bear ingmore than was de-

manded by justice from them, andsecondly, the merits of Christ be-yond those which were needed tosave from the eternal punishment.

In A.D. 1343, Clement VI issueda bull beginning with the wordsUnigenitus Dei filius, in which heproclaimed a jubilee, which wasto commence in 1350; and whichwas to be celebrated every fiftiethyear. In this constitution the mer-its of all the elect, and of the Vir-gin Mary, are said to fill up a vasttreasure, which is increased by themerits of Christ not needed to re-move the eternal punishment ofsin.6 This wonderful aggregate ofsoul-riches Jesus gave to the popesfor distribution, a liberal disburse-ment of which is promised in thecoming jubilee.

In A.D. 1411, John XXIII issueda bull against Ladislaus, King ofNaples, in which after pronounc-ing the most hideous curses uponthe king, living and dead, he pro-claimed a crusade against him, of-fering the same indulgence tothose who enlisted to fight him,

:($/,&3(,-9#+.'-6'3;'&'$+,7,('9'J6+#3,?'+5$("60#&60*'-%-6'31$<#(,-$*&"6'33$"/(,7'$(0'5'7<&%6'9$%++(0'$!)(*+#"#$*#-,307'-(39#'$(0'$3"#+$"-'%&(0$%-9$,-*#&.%("&58

!# Our Firm FOUNDATION March 1999

as was given to the armed pilgrimswho assumed the cross, and wentto fight the infidels in Palestine.He promised heaven as the imme-diate reward of all who died fight-ing for Christ and his Church, with,of course, the full pardon of alltheir sins.7 This bull offered thesame indulgence to those whocontributed moneyequal to the sumthey would have ex-pended in onemonth’s campaign-ing.

John Huss de-nounced the bull, andespecially the indul-gence portion of it, andwas led by it to a thor-ough examination ofpriestly or papal pow-ers to pardon sin, andto a complete rejectionof all created authorityto absolve iniquitycommitted againstGod. He expatiatedwith honest indigna-tion against the indul-gence merchants, andespecially against thelanguage which theyused in conductingtheir traffic, of whichthe following is aspecimen: “By theapostolical power entrusted to me, Iabsolve thee from all the sins whichto God and me thou hast truly con-fessed; if thou art not able personallyto take part in this enterprise, but ifthou wilt furnish help according tothy ability, I bestow on thee the mostperfect forgiveness of all thy sins, bothfrom the guilt and punishment ofthem, in the name of the Father, Son,and Holy Ghost.” Said Huss: “Throughindulgences, the foolish man ofwealth is betrayed into a false hope;the law of God is set at nought; therude people give themselves up morefreely to sin; grievous iniquities arelightly thought of, and men arerobbed of their property.” A profoundsensation was created throughoutPrague by the eloquence and prin-ciples of Huss. Jerome fired the en-thusiasm of the students by the samesentiments. The people sympathizedwith righteousness, and hated the vilefrauds of Rome; and to express their

contempt for the indulgence iniquitya procession was formed, the papalbulls were suspended from the necksof certain lewd women, and, sur-rounded by a great throng of people,they were driven through the chiefstreets of Prague. The carriage occu-pied by the women was attended bymen with arms, shouting: “To the

stake with the letters ofa heretic and rogue.”The documents wereformally taken to alarge fire and publiclyburned.8

;#"%VT% ?#&R#*% 316

W160*4#12#$Leo X was a pope

of extravagant tastesand expensive habits.And in A. D. 1517 heissued a bull for thesale of indulgences.That act was the mosteventful one that hadhappened in a thou-sand years, or thatshould occur in thenext millennium. Itwas destined to bringProtestantism fromheaven to rouse up aslumbering world.That bull stirred upsaints and heroes to

shiver the tyrannical sceptre of “theman of sin;” to behold the adorableSaviour in His woes as the sole Re-deemer of the sons of men, whoseblood cleanses from all sin; to pur-sue the idolatries of saint and angelworship, prayers to dead men andliving seraphs, the filth of the con-fessional, the festering follies ofhuman merit, the wafer-worship ofthe mass, and the unclean systemof celibacy in convents andchurches over the nations and downthe ages. And these true crusad-ers will never stop in their effortsuntil they drive the paganism of thePapacy into the abyss where it wasborn. That bull, under God, was theinstrument in raising up men of ap-ostolic faith and zeal, who will neverrest till they overturn the ignorance,degradation, heathenism, and apos-tasy of mankind, and enthrone thelife-giving cross, with its healingblood, in the wounded souls of ourlost race.

X"'1%?#&R#*This man belonged to the Do-

minican Friars. When he began thebusiness of peddling indulgencesfor Leo, he was over sixty years ofage; he had a voice of great strength;in his way he was a man of movingeloquence; his tact and facility formeeting all objections were neversurpassed; he had been predesti-nated by the Prince of Darkness forthe indulgence trade, and had givenall diligence to make his calling andelection, and success sure; he lackedno qualification for his position. Itneeded a man without shame, andTetzel had no such impediment; itrequired a man destitute of truth,and John regarded falsehood as adaily pastime; it demanded a manwithout fear, and the agent of Leowas no coward; it was indispens-able that the preacher of indul-gences should have no heart, andJohn Tetzel had no pity, and no loveexcept for himself. John Howespeaks of the human soul being thetemple of God in ruins:9 his ideaprompts the thought that all overthe soul there are fragments of col-umns, cornices, and sculpture ofrare beauty—that is to say, that thereare good thoughts, desires, affec-tions, and purposes—broken anddefective, strewed all over the soul.Cromwell’s chaplain, with the mostcharitable inclination, and after themost careful and protracted scrutiny,could discover none of these beau-tiful and broken remains in the heartof Tetzel. He was a monk and anadulterer, a sot and a preacher; aman without any tinge of decency,and without one worthy quality.Such was Leo’s indulgence commis-sioner.

Y)$%H"6#%":%."1602&)14

J0$)1#$$He and his companions ap-

peared in a gorgeous carriage, fol-lowed by attendants finelyequipped, before a city; immediatelythe magistrates were informed that,The grace of God and of St. Peterwas at their gates. Forthwith thewhole population, of all ages, sexes,and ranks, with lighted tapers, wentout to meet the monk; and such awelcome greeted him as few menhave ever received. Soon John was

/%01%2(.(.(.(0%9<''-*&'9'3(,-%('9<5$(0'$N&,-6'$"/V%&)-'33$/"&(0'$,-9#+.'-6'(&%9'1$%-9$0%9.,?'-$%++9,+,.'-6'$("7%)'$0,36%++,-.$%-9'+'6(,"-1$%-93#66'33$3#&'W0'$+%6)'9$-"U#%+,/,6%(,"-/"&$0,3$*"3,(,"-8

March 1999 Our Firm FOUNDATION !$

installed in the principal church; thepope’s bull was spread out on a vel-vet cushion, a great red cross waserected near the altar, above whichthe papal arms were hung; John as-cended the pulpit and began: “In-dulgences are the most precious andsublime gift of God; this red crosshas the very same efficacy as theactual cross of Christ; come and Iwill give you letters under seal, bywhich the sins which you may de-sire to commit in the future shall beforgiven you; I would not exchangemy privileges for those of St. Peterin heaven, for I have saved moresouls by my indulgences than heconverted by his sermons; there isno sin too great for indulgence toremit. If it were possible for any oneto have committed an outrage onthe mother of God, let him pay, lethim pay well, and it will be forgivenhim; indulgences not only save theliving, they save thedead also; priest,noble, merchant,wife, young girls,young men, hearyour departed parentsand your friends cry-ing to you from thebottom of the abyss:‘We are enduring hor-rible torments! a littlealms would deliver us;you can give themand yet you will not!’At the very instant thepiece of moneychinks on the bottomof the strong box, thesoul comes out ofpurgatory, and fliesupward into heaven.Oh, imbecile andbrutish people, whoperceive not the gracethat is so richly of-fered to you. . . . Nowheaven is everywhereopen; now you canransom so manysouls! Hard-heartedand thoughtless man,with twelve penceyou can ransom your father out ofpurgatory, and you are ungratefulenough not to save him. I declareto you that though you had only asingle coat, you would be boundto take it off and sell it, in order to

obtain this grace. The Lord God isno longer God; he has committedall power to the pope.”

Kings, queens, princes, and bish-ops, had to pay twenty-five ducatsfor an ordinary indulgence. Abbotspaid ten. All with an income of fivehundred florins, paid six. Thosewho had two hundred florins a year,paid one; others only a half. A stillsmaller sum might be taken frompoorer persons.

There was a tax for particularsins. Polygamy paid six ducats;theft in a church and perjury nineducats; murder eight ducats, andmagic two ducats . For thir tycrowns Tetzel sold a Saxon gentle-man an indulgence giving him par-don for a nameless sin which hewas about to commit. The Saxonflogged and robbed him, and wasdischarged by Duke George with-out penalty when he showed his

indulgence.

?'#%7"8/%":%31

W160*4#12#“May our Lord

Jesus Christ have pityon thee, N. N., andabsolve thee by themerit of his most holypassion. And I, in vir-tue of the apostolicpower entrusted tome, absolve thee fromall ecclesiastical cen-sures, judgments, andpenalties which thoumayst have deserved;moreover, from all theexcesses, sins, andcrimes, which thoumayst have commit-ted, how great andenormous soever theymay have been, andfor whatsoever cause.I efface all the marksof disability, and allthe notes of infamywhich thou maysthave incurred on thisoccasion. I remit the

pain which thou shouldst have toendure in purgatory. I render theeanew a partaker of the sacramentsof the Church. I again incorporatethee into the communion of saints,and re-establish thee in the inno-

cence and purity in which thou wertat the hour of thy baptism; so thatat the moment of thy death, the gateof entrance to the place of pains andtorments will be shut to thee, and,on the contrary, the gate which leadsto the heavenly paradise, will beopened to thee. If thou art not todie soon, this grace will remain un-impaired till thy last hour arrive. Inthe name of the Father, and of theSon, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“Friar John Tetzel, commissary,has signed it with his own hand.” 10

Tetzel was alone among mortals.As a man he was beneath anyknown priest or human being; Ju-das would have shrunk, howevergreat the bribe, from signing a docu-ment so full of falsehood and soul-murder. A more wicked instrumentnever was written by human hands.And yet, such were the indulgencessent forth by Leo X, through Tetzel,Samson, and others.

This infamous traffic broughtmoney in heaps to Leo, to Cibo, hisbrother-in-law, and to the Arch-bishop of Mentz. And if it rebuilt St.Peter’s, it erected, under God, thegreat temple of Protestant Christian-ity, in which fervent piety glows,and from which science, liberty, lit-erature, and prosperity have goneforth, in the grandest earthly exhi-bitions, to bless the nations of theworld.

One of the most popular mod-ern historians of Germany says: “Thesale of indulgences was let out forentire provinces, to the highest bid-ders or farmers-general, and theseagain appointed several sub-farm-ers, who, for the sake of gain, com-mitted the most shameful abuses.They selected men of eloquenceand impudence to excite the mindsof the people, and induce them topurchase by wholesale. They soldindulgences for the heaviest crimescommitted; for pillage of churches,perjury and murder; nay, the prom-ise of indulgence could even beobtained before the commission ofthe contemplated crime.” 11

And such was the universal out-cry against indulgences all over Eu-rope that the Council of Trent, whileapproving of the practice, had torecommend restraints upon their is-sue, and prohibit the receipt of allevil gains from them.

X"&$(0,&(56&";-3$B'(Y'+3"+9$%$4%J"-.'-(+'7%-$%-,-9#+.'-6'.,?,-.$0,7*%&9"-$/"&$%-%7'+'33$3,-;0,60$0'$;%3%<"#($("6"77,(8$B0'4%J"-$/+"..'9%-9$&"<<'90,7$ZB'(Y'+[1%-9$;%39,360%&.'9$<5V#)'$A'"&.';,(0"#($*'-%+(5;0'-$0'30";'9$0,3,-9#+.'-6'8

!% Our Firm FOUNDATION March 1999

?'#%!#28##%":% &'#%."012)*“Since the power of conferring

indulgences was given by Christto the Church, and she has usedthe said power, divinely grantedto her, even in the earliest times,the sacred and holy synod teachesand commands that the use of in-dulgences, most salutary to Chris-tian people, and approved by theauthority of sacred councils, bekept in the Church; and it con-demns with anathema those whoassert that they are useless, or denythat the Church has the power ofgranting them. Yet, in grantingthem, it desires that moderation beobserved according to the ancientand approved custom of theChurch, lest by too great facilityecclesiastical discipline be weak-ened; and desiring that the abusesbe amended and corrected whichhave crept into them, and by theoccurrence of which the excellentname of indulgences is blas-phemed by heretics; it appointsgenerally by this decree, that allevil gains for procuring them bealtogether abolished, from whicha very fruitful cause of the abusesamong Christian people has beenderived. . . .”12

Indulgences in some form ex-ist still, the pitiable, decrepid skel-eton of the burly, insolent demonthat flourished everywhere in thefourteenth and fifteenth centuries,and excited abhorrence and indig-nation in the sixteenth. !

REFERENCES:! ./0/12$342$'';3$-5$31#6("#)/673$/%+;$''';" M*%&)*#3$''';$EJI;$C".,"&3$ENOP;# Q7');3$EJNREJP;$ S".-*'23$TOU3$&",*;$V"&)"&3$ENUN;% ''';3$/8$964412$HT3$%;$EW$X0",*)$:-0#8;-<"=$''3

IY& Z::'",,[.$,#1/8#-(/*8$ *+$ >*7-8/'73$ JYP;

V"&)"&3$ENTE;' C"4*#[.$:/'(*)&$*+$ ("#$?*4#'3$\":;$ '''3$EIU;

A-':%)%;3$ENUT;( M*%&)*#3$\":;$\;3$JNJ3$U3$O;$C".,"&3$ENOP;) @"4*[.$@/A/80$ !#741#=$ +%#,$ ';$ /-%+;$ '3$ P;

V"&)"&3$ENUU!* >[$L07'G&*[.$:/'(*)&$*+$>#+*)7-(/*83$\":;$';3

ENE3$H3$J3$O;$]:%.G"43$ENUO;!! ^"-:#%0./-[.$:/'(2$ *+$B#)7-8&=$ HTU;$M;_;3

ENIY;!" =%&"&*.$*,$>*/#*,%3$.*..;$DD\;3$>*/#;$)*$Q&)0:G;3

HYU;$V'+.'`3$ENOJ;

!"#$%&'("#)*+,%)-./0$)-$''$%1

!"#$%"$&'($)(#$*('%+,(-%$./((0$1%234$563'

by Walter Jerry ClarkAt last—the world’s simplest guide to New Testament

Greek. With this book you can share the riches of theGreek New Testament—even if you have not studiedGreek!

In this remarkably clear and readable book,Walter Clark explains how people with little or noknowledge of Greek can use the many fine aidsavailable today to explore and enjoy the nuances ofthe original words of the New Testament:

!!!!! Translations and Study Bibles!!!!! Different types of concordances!!!!! Various kinds of word studies!!!!! Clues to the language itself

These and other topics are explained capably and clearly in a way that willguide you step-by-step into the true treasures of God’s Inspired Word.

1%/"-78'$9:;+2'%6<($="->"/3+->($"?$%;(@6AB(

First published in the 1890s, Strong’s Concordancehas been acclaimed as an indispensable referencework for Bible students and scholars ever since. Thisnewly revised edition of Strong’s Concordance pro-vides a complete, easy-to-read, conveniently sizedvolume. Each of Strong’s classic sections remains,

with special prefaces explaining the use of each sec-tion.

Features include:!!!!! Smaller, easier-to-use size!!!!! Every word of Jesus in bold type!!!!! Completely reset in easy-to-read format!!!!! More than 12,800 people, places, and topics!!!!! Hebrew/Chaldee and Greek Lexicons (Dictionaries)

*;($C-3('%/2>%6AB($@""0

by Ken ConnollyIn this book Ken Connolly traces thehistory of the Scriptures, from the givingof the law to Moses at Sinai through the New Testa-ment, on to the translations of Jerome, Wycliffe, andTyndale, the persecution by “Bloody [Queen] Mary,”and the efforts of the Puritans to find freedom to worship according totheir consciences. Profusely illustrated with color photographs andpaintings. Book: Only $19.95** (regularly $35).

Once you see these videos, you’ll never take your Biblefor granted again! This first-rate documentary reveals themiracles and sacrifices that put God’s Word in your hands.Bible historian Ken Connolly is your guidethrough history—from Mt. Sinai to PlymouthRock. Filmed on location in Israel, Europe,Britain, and the United States.

*Please note: the items in this advertisement are from non-Adventist publishers.**See page 2 for shipping and sales tax information.

$24.95 ea.**

$9.99 ea.**

Book:$19.95 ea.**

4-hr. Video set:$29.95 ea.**

March 1999 Our Firm FOUNDATION !&

KevinPaulson, afreelancewriter, residesin Redlands,California. Heis the Editorof Quo Vadis,a bi-monthlymagazine forSeventh-dayAdventistyoungpeople.

!"#$%&'()'*%+#%&,#-!!"#$%&./0'1,2&$",)3'45&$)%206

Art: Joe M

aniscalco

:-$%((%6)$0%3$<''-7%9'$"-$(0'9"6(&,-'$"/$(0'0'%?'-+53%-6(#%&58$\3$(0'&''-"#.0$'?,9'-6',-$(0'$E,<+'$("3#**"&($3#60$%<'+,'/]

IIn our previous articles we examined the core argument of arecent book by one Dale Ratzlaff, entitled The Cultic Doctrine ofSeventh-day Adventists.1 This book represents yet another attackby one who has left the faith, against the Adventist doctrine of the

sanctuary and the investigative judgment. His argument, reviewed in ourlast article, is that the investigative judgment as taught by Seventh-dayAdventists, is contrary to what Ratzlaff calls the “new covenant gospel ofgrace.”2 Our last article concluded, based on the Biblical evidence, that itis Ratzlaff’s own theology—not that of historic Adventism—which con-tradicts the gospel of grace found in the Bible.

The present article will examine Ratzlaff’s arguments against the sanctuary doctrine asthey relate to the book of Daniel. We state again that while the arguments in Ratzlaff’s bookare neither new nor likely to cease any time soon, we believe that it is essential that faithfulAdventists provide answers for those with honest questions about these issues.

W$$0#$% )1% &'#%J""I%":%!31)#*As with the “gospel” arguments examined in our last article, Ratzlaff’s assertions

regarding the book of Daniel follow closely the Desmond Ford script.3 Like Ford, Ratzlafflevels a series of challenges to what Adventists have historically found in Daniel regard-ing the heavenly sanctuary. He insists:

“The SDA doctrine of the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary and the investigativejudgment cannot be found or proved logically anywhere in Scripture. It is dependent upona proof-text, context-denying, reading-into-Scripture-what-is-not-there method of interpre-

by KEVIN Pby KEVIN Pby KEVIN Pby KEVIN Pby KEVIN PAULSONAULSONAULSONAULSONAULSON

!' Our Firm FOUNDATION March 1999

tation which uses a tenuous string ofassumptions, most of which are con-trary to the biblical evidence.” 4

For those not familiar with the evi-dence of Scripture and history,Ratzlaff’s assertions can sound intimi-dating. The fact is that what Ratzlaffcalls the “proof-text” method of Biblestudy is really the Bible’s own self-interpretive method, which—as ourlast article demonstrated—is foundedon three Biblical assumptions:

1. All Scripture is inspired by Godand IS profitable for doctrine. See2 Timothy 3:16.

2. Scripture consists of the speechof holy men of God moved by theHoly Spirit. See 2 Peter 1:20–21.

3. What the Holy Spirit inspiresis to be spiritually discerned, by“comparing spiritual things withspiritual.” 1 Corinthians 2:12–14; seealso 1 Thessalonians 2:13.

Our study will demonstrate, incontrast with the above claim byRatzlaff, that the use of Bible versesto prove the Adventist sanctuary doc-trine true, is in perfect accord withthe context of the verses used. Wewill also demonstrate that the basicproblem with Ratzlaff’s views, likethose of other evangelicals, is his fail-ure to permit the consensus of Scrip-ture to determine what he believeson the doctrinal points in question.

We will now address the majorchallenges voiced by Ratzlaff againstwhat Adventists have historicallyfound in the book of Daniel:

91&)"2'0$%+B)B'31#$Ratzlaff maintains, as do others, that

the little horn of Daniel 8 refers toAntiochus IV Epiphanes, the Seleucidmonarch who persecuted the Jews inthe second century B.C.5 Ratzlaff claimsthat “evidence that this has referenceto Antiochus is overwhelming.”6

In fact, the evidence is quite over-whelming that this prophecy has noth-ing whatsoever to do with Antiochus!

The little-horn power of Daniel 8 isdescribed as one that “waxed exceed-ing great, toward the south, and towardthe east, and toward the pleasant land.”Verse 9.7 Far from waxing “exceedinggreat,” Antiochus Epiphanes met withconsistent failure when he advancedin each of the above directions! WhenAntiochus marched into Egypt in 169B.C., the Roman consul Gaius PopiliusLaenus demanded that he leave Egypt

at once, which he did.8Laenus next went toCyprus, then occupiedby Antiochus’ army,where he again orderedthem to leave, whichthey did.9 Antiochus’efforts to subject theJews to the Hellenisticreligion were also re-buffed, sparking theMaccabean revolt,which in three yearsended Antiochus’ rulein Palestine. LaterAntiochus led a failedexpedition eastward, inthe midst of which hedied.

The angel Gabriel,interpreting the visionof Daniel 8 to theprophet, declares that the little horn“shall destroy wonderfully, and shallprosper.” Daniel 8:24. Far from destroy-ing “wonderfully,” the historical recordindicates that Antiochus was little morethan a short-term nuisance to his neigh-bors, and that he enjoyed precious fewmoments of prosperity in any line.

Rome, by contrast, waxed “exceed-ing great” in every direction, as de-scribed in Daniel 8:9. Rome did indeed“destroy wonderfully,” and prosperedfor centuries. Verse 23 of Daniel 8 statesthat the little horn would arise “in thelatter time” of the Hellenistic kingdomswhich succeeded Alexander the Great.When Antiochus Epiphanes ascendedto the Seleucid throne in 175 B.C., theperiod of Hellenistic rule was not evenhalf over. Rome, by contrast, did rise toprominence during the latter time ofthese kingdoms. Moreover, verse 23also states that the little horn would arise“when the transgressors are come tothe full.” The following chapter is clearthat this was to happen at the close ofthe seventy-week prophecy, which ex-tends to the time of the Messiah, JesusChrist. See Daniel 9:24–25. While it istrue that the last Hellenistic kingdomfell sixty years before the close of thisprophecy, the general time frame ofDaniel 8:23 still places the little horn’srise far later than the period in whichAntiochus Epiphanes lived.

The parallel between the sweepof empires in Daniel 7 and that ofDaniel 8 is obvious even to the ca-sual reader. The bear in chapter 7,who “raised up itself on one side”

(verse 5), parallels thetwo-horned ram inchapter 8, of whom“one (horn) washigher than the other”(verse 3). The leopardwith the four wingsand four heads inchapter 7, verse 6, isparallel to the goatwith the four horns inchapter 8, verse 8.Chapter 8 specificallyidentifies the ram as“the kings of Mediaand Persia” (verse20), and the goat as“the king of Grecia”(verse 21). Ratzlaffhimself acknowl-edges that Adventistsand evangelicals are

in agreement in their understand-ing of this part of Daniel 8. 10

The evidence is plain that the littlehorn of chapter 7 is the same as theone in chapter 8. AntiochusEpiphanes was part of the Greek king-dom, symbolized by the leopard withfour heads in chapter 7 and the goatwith four horns in chapter 8. Verse 23of chapter 7 states that “the fourthbeast [after Greece] shall be the fourthkingdom upon earth, which shall bediverse from all kingdoms, and shalldevour the whole earth.” This fourthkingdom was followed by the tenhorns, representing the ten barbariankingdoms which succeeded paganRome. The little horn comes to powerafter both the fourth kingdom (pa-gan Rome) and the ten barbarian king-doms. The sequence of history inchapter 7, and its parallel with chap-ter 8, makes it obvious that the littlehorn in both chapters symbolizesRome (both pagan and papal in chap-ter 8), and cannot possibly refer toAntiochus Epiphanes.

Ratzlaff claims: “It is also true thatChrist, in Matthew 24:15, and Paul, in2 Thessalonians 2:1–12, see Antiochusas a type of the coming antichrist.”11

But neither Jesus nor Paul say oneword about Antiochus, nor do theyoffer the slightest hint that he is thesubject of these passages. Rather,these verses offer powerful evidencethat the “abomination of desolation”described by Daniel was yet futureeven in Jesus’ time, and had nothingwhatsoever to do with the Jewish

^#&$3(#95;,++9'7"-3(&%('8$8$8$(0%($(0'#3'$"/$E,<+'?'&3'3$("*&"?'$(0':9?'-(,3(3%-6(#%&59"6(&,-'$(&#'1,3$,-$*'&/'6(%66"&9$;,(0(0'$6"-('J("/$(0'$?'&3'3#3'98

March 1999 Our Firm FOUNDATION !(

Maccabean experience. (All empha-sis by author unless otherwise noted.)

A most serious threat to Ratzlaff’sunderstanding is his own referenceto the account of Antiochus’ desecra-tion of the Jewish temple in the apoc-ryphal books of Maccabees. 12 As thefirst “link” in what he calls the “bro-ken chain” of the Adventist sanctuarymessage, Ratzlaff suggests that the2300 days of Daniel 8:14 are really2300 individual morning and eveningsacrifices, totaling instead 1150 days.13Yet, if we read First Maccabees, towhich Ratzlaff refers us, we find apassage which expressly contradictsRatzlaff’s claim that this 1150-day pe-riod belongs in the reign of Antiochus:

“Then, early on the twenty-fifthday of the ninth month, the monthKislev, in the year 148 [164 B.C.], sac-rifice was offered as the law com-mands on the newly made altar ofburnt-offering. On the anniversaryof the day when the Gentiles hadprofaned it, on that very day, it wasrededicated, with hymns of thanks-giving, to the music of harps andlutes and cymbals.” 1 Maccabees4:52–54, NEB, emphasis supplied.

In First Maccabees 1:54, 59, weread that pagan sacrifices began in theJewish temple on the twenty-fifth dayof Kislev in 167 B.C. In other words,the defilement of the temple byAntiochus lasted exactly three years,to the day. By contrast, 1150 daysequals three years and two months—to say nothing of 2300 days!14 It isdoubtful that Jewish record-keeping,which was known to be very exact,would have missed two months inrecording an event of this magnitude.

But the strongest evidence thatthe little horn cannot be AntiochusEpiphanes is found in the latter partof Daniel 7:

“But the judgment shall sit, andthey shall take away his [the littlehorn’s] dominion, to consume and todestroy it unto the end. And the king-dom and dominion, and the greatnessof the kingdom under the wholeheaven, shall be given to the peopleof the saints of the most High, whosekingdom is an everlasting kingdom,and all dominions shall serve andobey him.” Verses 26–27.

These verses, together with the de-liverance of the saints described inDaniel 12:1, are thus clearly placed inan end-time setting. In explaining to

Daniel the vision of chapter 8, the an-gel Gabriel declared, “Understand, Oson of man: for the time of the endshall be the vision.” Daniel 8:17. Inother words, the events foretold bythe vision of Daniel 8 extend to theend of time, the final event of whichis the cleansing of the sanctuary. Thisobviously cannot be the sanctuarypolluted by Antiochus, since that sanc-tuary ceased to exist two thousandyears ago, and has no relevance what-ever to the end of time.

In short, the little horn is a powerthat will exist at the close of humanhistory, when its dominion will be takenaway, the saints will possess the earth,and all nations will serve the Lord. Thedominion of Antiochus Epiphanes(which was not much) vanished over2,000 years ago, and thus cannot beremoved at the end of time. The Ro-man Papacy, by contrast, is very muchalive in today’s world, with ever-increas-ing power and global prominence. Nordid Antiochus’ defeat in Palestine re-sult in the saints’ possessing an “ever-lasting kingdom,” with all nations serv-ing the Lord thereafter. See Daniel 7:27.Without question this is end-time lan-guage, and the little horn is an end-time power.

Now that we can safely concludethat the evidence of both Scriptureand history rules out any fulfillmentof Daniel’s little-horn prophecy bythe Seleucid king Antiochus IVEpiphanes, let us examine the issueof whether the 2300 days in Daniel8 can rightfully be divided by half,as the critics often claim.

S+(#1)14$%316%H"81)14$URatzlaff describes what he calls

a “chain” of “twenty-two assump-tions” regarding the Adventist sanc-tuary doctrine, each of which hetries to demolish.15 The first of theseis as follows:

“1. That Daniel 8:14 speaks of2300 days. (While Daniel 12 repeat-edly uses the Hebrew word for days,it is not to be found in 8:14. Instead,we have the ambiguous ‘evening-morning’ which most apply to theevening and morning burnt offer-ings. Thus instead of 2300 days, ifthese exegetes are correct, only 1150days are in view).” 16

Ratzlaff seems to forget that thevision of Daniel 8:14 was deliberatelywithheld from Daniel’s understand-

ing, causing a wonderment which fora time made him feel sick. See verses26–27. It is therefore understandablewhy the heavenly beings describedin this vision (see verse 13) woulduse cryptic language.

But if we let the Bible interpretitself, this language can be easily de-ciphered. The expression “evening-morning” calls our minds to Genesis1, where this expression is repeatedlyused to describe twenty-four-hourdays (see verses 5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31;see also Exodus 20:11). The idea thatthis phrase refers to the morning andevening sacrifices offered in thetemple is utterly without support. Inthe first place, the morning andevening sacrifice is consistently de-scribed in both the Old Testament andthe post-Biblical Jewish literature as asingle daily offering, not as one of-fering brought in the morning andanother brought in the evening.17

Also, the morning and evening sacri-fice is consistently described in thesequence of “morning and evening,”never as “evening and morning.” Noexception to this rule can be found,either in Scripture or the extra-Bibli-cal Jewish documents.18 The phrase“evening-morning” cannot, therefore,refer to daily sacrifices but to a mea-sure of time, as Genesis 1 makes clear.

S.*#31$#6URatzlaff echoes Ford’s insistence

that the word “cleansed” in the KingJames Version of Daniel 8:14 is a mis-translation,19 and states that “the con-text of the ‘cleansing’ of Daniel 8:14. . . deals with the restoration of thetemple services after AntiochusEpiphanes had desecrated them.”20

While we will not further belaborthe issue of Antiochus Epiphanes, theevidence of Scripture is clear that theword “cleansed” is not at all a mis-translation in Daniel 8:14. The wordtranslated “cleansed” in this verse isnisdaq, a form of the Hebrew wordsadaq which means “to justify.” In anumber of poetic Old Testament pas-sages, where rhyme is one of com-mon meaning rather than sound, theword sadaq is used synonymouslywith taher, the word for “cleanse”used in describing the cleansing ofthe earthly sanctuary in Leviticus 16.See also Job 4:17; 17:9; Psalm 19:9;Ecclestiastes 9:2.21 This point is clari-fied further by the Greek Old Testa-

"* Our Firm FOUNDATION March 1999

ment, the Septuagint, which uses thesame Greek word for cleanse inDaniel 8:14 and Leviticus 16 as is usedin Hebrews 9:23, which speaks of theheavenly sanctuary being “purified[cleansed] with better sacrifices.”22

?'#%D#38Z!3=%K8)12)B*#The second “link” in what Ratzlaff

alleges to be a “chain of error” is thefollowing:

“2. That these 2300 ‘days’ equal2300 years. (Though it is quite impos-sible to prove that the year-day prin-ciple is a Biblical datum, and even ifwe could, ‘days’ are not mentionedin either 8:14 or 9:24, so there is nobasis to apply the principle in theseinstances.)”23

However, not only is the year-dayprinciple clearly sustained by Scrip-ture, but it also has broader supportthan even some of its defenders real-ize. Most Adventist prophetic studentscan recall the two key texts—Num-bers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:6—on whichthis principle is founded. Yet the re-lationship of these verses to the timeprophecies of Daniel and Revelationis not often appreciated.

Numbers 14:34 speaks of a timeduring which God’s people experi-enced exile in the wilderness and per-secution by their enemies, only toemerge victorious over their enemieswhen the forty years were over andIsrael entered the Promised Land.Ezekiel 4:6 describes another periodof oppression and foreign conquestin Israel’s history—symbolized by thedays in which Ezekiel lay on hisside—at the end of which Israel re-turned to Palestine and rebuilt Jerusa-lem. During both of these periodsGod’s church was seen by the worldas going into eclipse and defeat. How-ever, at the end, it emerged trium-phant!

Each of the great time propheciesof Scripture moves in a direction simi-lar to the time periods described inNumbers and Ezekiel. This is true ofthe 2300 days, the 1260 days, the sev-enty weeks, the 1290 days, and the1335 days, and the “ten-day” proph-ecy of Revelation 2:10, which historyindicates was fulfilled in the ten-yearpersecution of the Christian churchby the Roman emperor Diocletian.24During each of these periods God’speople experienced either apostasy

or persecution, but they emerged (orwill emerge) victorious at the end. Ineach of these cases the world viewedthe church as undergoing the worstof times; yet the resulting purity andcharacter development of God’speople made, and will make, their fi-nal triumph all the greater.

?'#%<#(#1&=%5##I$Perhaps the strongest evidence for

the year-day principle is the seventy-week prophecy of Daniel 9:24–27.Ratzlaff’s claim that Daniel 9:24 doesnot mention days, and cannot there-fore be used to support the year-dayprinciple,25 is simply wrong. The wordtranslated “weeks” in Daniel 9:24–27is repeatedly used in the Old Testa-ment to refer to a seven-day period.See Genesis 29:27–28; Exodus 34:22;Numbers 28:26; Deuteronomy 16:9–10, 16; 2 Chronicles 8:13; Jeremiah5:24; Ezekiel 45:21; Daniel 10:2. Thus,while the precise word “days” maynot be found in Daniel 9:24–27, theuse of the word “weeks” makes it clearthat days are being used to symbol-ize years.

Ratzlaff tries very hard to debunkthe key dates for this prophecy—mostimportantly 457 B.C. as the prophecy’sstarting date, A.D. 27 as the date ofChrist’s baptism, A.D. 31 as the dateof the crucifixion, and A.D. 34 as thedate for the stoning of Stephen.26 ButRatzlaff and his fellow critics face twoinsurmountable challenges. First, onlyif this time period begins with the de-cree of Artaxerxes in 457 B.C. does itfinish anywhere near the time of Jesus,to which Daniel 9:25 clearly extendsit. If one starts the prophecy with ei-ther the decree of Cyrus or Darius,more than half a century earlier, onecannot possibly trace the prophecyto Jesus’ time. Second, only if the“weeks” in this passage are under-stood as seven-year periods can theprophecy be extended to the time ofChrist. No one could possibly claimthat sixty-nine or seventy literal weeksextend from any of the decrees re-storing Jerusalem until the time ofChrist. The year-day explanation forthis passage is thus the only one thatmakes any sense.

Once the date 457 B.C. is estab-lished—as evidenced by the referencein Ezra 6:14 to the authority of thecombined decrees of Cyrus, Darius,

and Artaxerxes—we have no prob-lem establishing the other dates forthis prophecy. To haggle over exactproof for each of these dates is be-side the point once we acknowledgethat no date but 457, and no methodbut the year-day principle, has anyhope of connecting this prophecy tothe time of the Messiah as stated inDaniel 9:25. !

In our next article, we will examinethe questions, Do the seventy weeksand the 2300 days begin together?Who is the focus of the judgment?And what are the books of judgment?

REFERENCES:! >%:*$9%,a:%113$!"#$C61(/<$,*<()/8#$*+$9#A#8("D

5-&$E5A#8(/'('F$E8$3A-80#1/<-1$>#'*6)<#GE8

E44#-1$(*$9,E$@#-5#)'"/4$b<*)"&%3$Lcd$V'1*

L..0#%&/*$S'&'.,#'*.3$EPPOe;" Q7');3$HEY3$HET3$JEP3$JHT3$JJJ3$JUY3$JUT3$JTH3

JTJ;# Q7');3$HI3$EOIRENE;$ Q7');3$EIT;% Q7');3$OT3$NP3$EOPREIH;& Q7');3$EIY;' K&:*..$",-*#4'.*$&",*)3$%::$C'7:*$,*D,.$%#*$1#"2

,-*$̂ '&G$f%2*.$F*#.'"&;( S'/-%*:$]#%&,3$H)*7$E1#I-85#)$(*$C1#*4-()-F

!"#$:#11#8/'(/<$J*)15$ bM*4$_"#gd$=-%#:*.

</-#'7&*#[.$<"&.3$EPNHe3$EYH3$HIP;) ="::**&$S/=0::"0G-3$!"#$H/)'($%-8$/8$>*7#

bM*4$_"#gd$h'::'%2$S"##"4$%&)$=";3$EPPYe3

JYURJYI;$b!"#$%$2"#*$/":"#10:3$8*,$-'.,"#'/%::8

%//0#%,*$%//"0&,$"1$,-*.*$*\*&,.3$."2*$2'G-,

4'.-$,"$#*%)$,-'.$7""g3$'&$4-'/-$,-*$*&/"0&,*#

7*,4**&$V%*&0.$%&)$L&,'"/-0.$'.$)*./#'7*)$'&

)*,%':;e!* 9%,a:%113$C61(/<$,*<()/8#3$EOP;!! Q7');3$OT3$EOP;!" Q7');3$OT3$EIEREIH;!# Q7');3$EIO;!$ <**$]*#-%#)$!;$@%.*:3$5i-*$V',,:*$@"#&3$,-*

<%'&,.3$%&)$,-*$<%&/,0%#8$'&$>%&'*:$N36$!"#

9-8<(6-)&$-85$ ("#$E(*8#7#8($ bh%.-'&G,"&3

>;=;d$9*\'*4$%&)$@*#%:)$A07:'.-'&G$L..&;3

EPNEe3$EPO;!% 9%,a:%113$C61(/<$,*<()/8#3$$EITRENE;!& Q7');3$EIO;!' <**$@%.*:3$!"#$9-8<(6-)&$-85$("#$E(*8#7#8(3

EPT;!( Q7');!) 9%,a:%113$C61(/<$,*<()/8#3$NNRNP;"* Q7');3$NP;"! <**$ @%.*:3$ 5C")/'(K'$ E(*8/80$%/8/'()&$ /8

:#-A#826$HIY;"" @%.*:3$!"#$9-8<(6-)&$-85$("#$E(*8#7#8(3$HHI;"# 9%,a:%113$C61(/<$,*<()/8#$EIOREII;"$ <,*+-*&$h'::'%2.3$,/*<1#(/-8$-85$("#$>*7-8

>#<*A#)&$ bM*4$_"#gd$S*,-0*&$ Q&/3$ EPNTe3

EIT3$HYJRHYU;"% 9%,a:%113$C61(/<$,*<()/8#3$EIOREII;"& Q7');3$EIIREIN;

( ! $ $ ! & +1 2 % 1 3 4 % 4 5 6 1 2 7

March 1999 Our Firm FOUNDATION ")

I have been in prisonfor almost 8 years now.My main joy is readingGod’s Word, and truth-filled books! A friendshared with me somecopies of your excellentmagazine—Our FirmFoundation. I love thatmagazine! Your magazinedoes not give thewarnings an uncertainsound. The Bible says“Preach the Word”—evenif at times it shakespeople up!

My request is that Imight receive a giftsubscription to thisenlightening magazine.Also, could you send mea list of your books andtapes? I especially likebooks by the pioneers ofour church. Why arethese books not found inthe Adventist BookCenter catalog?

MB, Tennessee

I received the tapesyou sent me—“Forum2000”—regarding theY2K problems. After Iheard the tapes, Irealized how far I amfrom the path of ourLord Jesus Christ. Notonly am I not ready, butneither is my family.

My Lord has beencalling me back. I canfeel Him and I can hearHim. My disobediencefrightens me. I ask youto please pray for myfamily and for me.

LN, Florida

Your entire magazineis much appreciated andread in this householdmonth after month, andhas been since it firstbegan. May God blessyou as you continue topublish until there is no

longer a need. I believe itcannot be very muchlonger now until Christreturns—that is, if each ofGod’s “elect” rises to thelevels to which He hascalled us. We must notrepeat the follies of 1888!

VB, Virginia

I am a student andhave great interest in theWord of God and in myschool and in my church.(My future aim is topreach the gospel, if it isthe will of God.)

I am teaching mybrothers and sisters asmuch as possible, but wehave one problem: Wedon’t have much spiritualbooks, especially theSpirit of Prophecy, soplease, would you sendme books of the Spirit ofProphecy. I think if weget these books we cango more and succeed.Dear brothers and sisters,though you can’t cometo our region, you canpreach the Word of Godthrough this way. Also,remember us in yourprayers.

TA, Ethiopia

Our working hasbeen fruitful, though welack a lot of things. Thefirst need is for books torefer to. So I thereforewrite to seek your help ifpossible to send us somespiritual books. This willenhance our workingand make it successful.

Sometimes weventure into areas wherethe Word has not beenpreached. Hence, peoplein those areas arethirsting for truth. Otherpeople need booklets toread, but we lack them.

Therefore I am kindly

appealing to you to tryyour level best to assistus in this field. May Godcrown your work withsuccess, and may Hepour His benedictions onyour efforts as youprepare to assist us.

KD, Kenya

Hello once again! Ihope this letter finds youin good health and finespirits. We have justcompleted an evangelisticcampaign about 50kilometers down the road.We invited a retired SDApastor to do the preachingin the Fijian language. Itresulted in six baptisms!We are now preparing forour next project, which isa one-month campaign onthe other side of thisisland. I will take over ateam of street-preachersand door-knockers for theoutreach.

The movement isgrowing stronger here inFiji, with more peoplewaking up to the urgencyof the hour. I noticed thesame thing in Papua-NewGuinea and the Solomonswhen I visited them twomonths ago.

Thank you for thegood work in the FirmFoundation. The articleshave been very helpfulto my faith.

GS, Fiji

I am a Fijian bynationality and am amember of the UnitedNations Interim Force inLebanon. I have beensearching for the truelight. Having read BeholdHe Cometh, I would bemost grateful if you couldsend me a more completestudy of these subjects.

MT, Lebanon

Thank you once againfor the parcel which hadthe ever-reviving andinspiring material. It ishelping me reach out tosouls without the foldwith the everlastingGospel and awakeningthe souls within the foldto the realities of our time.It is a regrettable fact thatthe burden of the closingwork in terms of time,labor and materialresources is still beingborne by a few people.With this realization, I amin partnership with somebrethren intending toorganize an outreachgroup. The group’s mainfocus is twofold in nature:

(1) Presenting therevival and reformationmessages—“presenttruth”—to starved soulswithin the fold; and (2)reaching out to soulswithout the fold with anunadulterated everlastingGospel as contained inRevelation 14 and 18.

This, we believe is amatter of graveimportance in this agewhere heresies and halftruths have becomefashionable. Though wedo not have the materialresources, we have timeand labor which webelieve can be expendedto the advancement ofthe kingdom. I wishtherefore, to ask you toassist us with anyrelevant material in thisrespect.

Finally, I pray thatour mighty Father mayabundantly bless andkeep you in Hiseverlasting love andpeace.

FP, Zambia

!"#$%"&'()*%+,

!"#"$%&'()*+

%),-

-.("#/'0012)3

4

51%6'()!",)7

!"#$%&'($)'*(+"'*,

-./.%0"1%234

5*("'6+,,$7%8

9%2:;<:

89.#+1):1%/';1)<1=>1?(1@

/'0%1,'2) "#*) 232%,'2) "'0&#*

%1,) $0&#%'() 1"4,) 1"*) %1,3'

56,,%) 210*) 73%1) %1,

.',."'"%30#) 06) %1,) 802.,-) 06

.,"$,9) "2) %1,() 1"4,

*32%'3:&%,*) %1,) #,7) %'"$%;

'"($)*+$,% -.+/"0% 1"2<

7'3%%,#) :() =,66) >,1'?

@#*343*&"-2) "#*) $1&'$1

8'0&.2) 1"4,) 3#2,'%,*) %1,A

3#) -0$"-) #,72.".,'2) "#*

210..,'2?) B#,) 8'0&.

$04,',*) ") $0&#%() #,72.".,'

73%1) ") $3'$&-"%30#) 06) CD<EEE?

F#0%1,') 8'0&.) 3#2,'%,*) %1,A

3#) %1,3') $3%() #,72.".,') 73%1

") $3'$&-"%30#) 06) GH<EEE?

!0A,) .,0.-,) 1"4,) 80#,

*00'I%0I*00') *32%'3:&%3#8

%1,A) 73%1) 0%1,') -3%,'"%&',?

'"($)*+$,% -.+/"0% 1"2) 32) ") 4,'() 23A.-,) :&%) "%%'"$%34,) %'"$%;210'%) ,#0&81) 60'

.,0.-,) %0) ',"*) "#*) 3#%,',2%3#8) ,#0&81) %0) J,,.) %1,3') "%%,#%30#K) L132) 4,'(

3A.0'%"#%) %'"$%) 21072) $-,"'-() %1"%) %1,) M1&'$1) 06) N0A,) "*A3%2) %1"%) !&#*"() 32

#0%) %1,)/3:-3$"-)*"()06) ',2%?) @%)"-20),#$0&'"8,2).,0.-,) %0)O&,2%30#<) @2)!&#*"(

',2%) /3:-3$"-<) "#*) 32) ") !&#*"() -"7) $0#2%3%&%30#"-P) @%) .'043*,2) %1,A) 73%1) %70

0..0'%&#3%3,2) %0) ',2.0#*?) L1,() $"#) 0'*,')34$%56$"(%78+(689$6:0) 0');8<$=:

74"))$+#$>) 0') %1,() $"#) 4323%) 0&') 7,:23%,<) 71,',) %1,() $"#) ',"*) %1,) ,#%3',) %,Q%) 06

34$%56$"(%78+(689$6:0?

>13-,) %1,',) 32) 2%3--) 0..0'%&#3%(<) 71() #0%) $0#23*,') *32%'3:&%3#8) 20A,)'"($)*+$,

-.+/"0% 1"2) %'"$%2) 3#) (0&'

"',"?

RRRRR0&) A"() 0'*,') %1,2,) %'"$%20&) A"() 0'*,') %1,2,) %'"$%20&) A"() 0'*,') %1,2,) %'"$%20&) A"() 0'*,') %1,2,) %'"$%20&) A"() 0'*,') %1,2,) %'"$%2

6'0A) +0.,) @#%,'#"%30#"-?6'0A) +0.,) @#%,'#"%30#"-?6'0A) +0.,) @#%,'#"%30#"-?6'0A) +0.,) @#%,'#"%30#"-?6'0A) +0.,) @#%,'#"%30#"-?

!"#$%&'$()*'+",-."/

K8)2#$[Small quantities: 15¢ each1–4 cases*: 5¢ each ($190 per case)5 or more cases: 4.5¢ each ($171 per case)*3800 tracts per case