Vol. 29, No. 6 Straight and Narrow June 2020

Lady Justice is blindfolded representing impartialjustice for all. But is this the reality?

Photo courtesy of Emmanuel Huy-brechts

Liberty in the BalancesToday we are living in times when liberty is

in the balances. The earth is moving towards the fulfillment of biblical prophecy. Formerly, this movement was slow or in a leisurely creep, but the parade of events is now mov-ing at a galloping pace, with the speed of a revolution.

The agencies of evil are combining their forces and consolidating. They are strengthening for the last great crisis. Great changes are soon to take place in our world, and the final movements will be rapid ones. (Ellen White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9, p. 11.2)

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The last crisis involves worship—of God or of Satan— and Satan wants to use the na-tional governments to restrict the people of God from their worship of God.

Historically, God has called for the freedom of his people.

I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. (Exodus 20:2)

The reason God wanted his people to be free from Egyptian bondage was so they might freely serve him.

In the day of Isaiah, God called for liberty:

Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? (Isaiah 58:6)

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God certainly loves liberty and hates bondage. Part of Jesus Christ’s mission was to proclaim liberty:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, be-cause he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, (Luke 4:18)

While God’s people were not to be free from Roman oppression at this time, God pro-vided freedom from something worse—spiri-tual oppression and the bondage of sin. Those who sin are under the bondage of sin.

Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. (John 8:34)

The Greek word for servant, δοῦλος (dou-los), is the same word we use for slave. Jesus came to free the slaves of sin. It is said:

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And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21)

Jesus would come to save his people from their sins and and he alone, for he is the only way to true freedom. As Peter emphatically stated:

Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)

Jesus alone can make men free and when he emancipates humanity from freedom, they are free indeed.

If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. (John 8:36)

Civil governmentWe stated at the beginning of this study

that the last crisis involves worship and that

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the national governments would be used of Satan to restrict the people of God from their worship of God. What is the relationship that should exist between the Christian and the government under which he lives? Should the believer submit to government without any restrictions?

Let us begin by examining some texts from Romans 13:

Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. (Romans 13:1)

The Greek word translated powers is ἐξουσία (exousia), which is power as author-ity. Paul says that the civil authorities are or-dained of God and when we resist those au-thorities, we resist the authority of God. But notice that Paul speaks of the higher authori-ties. There is high, higher, and highest, and the civil governments are a higher authority,

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but God is the highest authority. Paul contin-ues:

Whosoever therefore resisteth the power (exousia), resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to them-selves damnation. (Romans 13:2)

Dr. Barnes comments, saying:

That is, they who rise up against govern-ment itself; who seek anarchy and confu-sion; and who oppose the regular execu-tion of the laws. It is implied, however, that those laws shall not be such as to vio-late the rights of conscience, or oppose the laws of God. (Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament: Romans, p. 286)

The government’s sphereAccording to Inspiration, civil governments

have a legitimate function:

For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not

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be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a re-venger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. (Romans 13:3, 4)

Here we find the realm within which civil government may rule. They are not to be a terror to good but to evil and to those who do evil. It is the unrighteous that are to fear and beware. Let us not miss this vital point—gov-ernment has not been ordained to restrict good or to bring wrath upon that which is good. It is for those who do evil that the civil government is to use even the sword to bring wrath upon them. As Paul notes, the law was made for the unrighteousness:

Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for

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sinners, for unholy and profane, for mur-derers of fathers and murderers of moth-ers, for manslayers, (1 Timothy 1:9)

Government and its laws are not to restrain the righteous but rather the wicked; so, for example, the gun ban of the 1,500 so-called assault weapons that Canadian Prime Minis-ter Justin Trudeau declared in May was to the wrong people! The ban works against the in-nocent who are and have been law-abiding citizens. The criminals do not obey such laws, and only the upright have their freedoms re-stricted.

God certainly admonishes us to respect proper civil authorities. Paul wrote:

I exhort therefore, that, first of all, sup-plications, prayers, intercessions, and giv-ing of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good

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and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; (1 Timothy 2:1–3)

God wants us to pray for those in authority. Why? He answers, “that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and hon-esty.” In Romans 13 he also notes:

For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending contin-ually upon this very thing. Render there-fore to all their dues: tribute to whom trib-ute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour. (Ro-mans 13:6, 7)

Respect is to be shown not only by praying, but also by paying appropriate tribute or taxes. There is certainly a question as to what is appropriate, for Jesus said:

Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s. (Matthew 22:21)

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The debate as to what is Caesar’s (the gov-ernment’s) and what is God’s may never be ended while on this earth, but positively something does belong to Caesar and if we refuse to pay any taxes, we are not obeying Jesus Christ. Certainly, however, our worship belongs only to God, and none belongs to Caesar. As Jesus proclaimed to Satan when he was tempted to worship Satan:

Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. (Matthew 4:10)

Jesus gave his disciples a command, which we call the great commission:

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. (Mark 16:15)

Jesus later gave the agenda to the disciples:

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But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jeruslem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. (Acts 1:8)

The disciples took this command and agenda and began to proclaim the gospel, first in Jerusalem. The Sanhedrin was greatly agitated about the disciples preaching and tried to stop them:

And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. (Acts 4:18)

This command was from the highest author-ity within the Jewish nation. Notice the disci-ples response:

But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. 20 For we cannot but speak

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the things which we have seen and heard. (Acts 4:19, 20)

After the Jewish rulers “further threatened them, they let them go” (Acts 4:21). But they were not done with the disciples.

The disciples continued to preach and were now healing people of physical ailments. Something must be done.

Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with in-dignation, And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison. (Acts 5:17, 18)

But the angel of the Lord from heaven let them go, with a command:

But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said, Go, stand and speak

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in the temple to the people all the words of this life. (Acts 5:19, 20)

So the apostles disobeyed the command of the Jews and obeyed the command of heaven, and what happened next? They were arrested again and brought before the Jewish leader-ship:

Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us. (Acts 5:28)

But Peter and the other apostles answered, “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). The disciples understood that their obligations to God were the highest and that requests of the authorities were sec-ondary.

Inspiration has left many examples of how believers are to relate to the government when unrighteous laws are enacted. I am not

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talking about speed limits you do not like. I am not talking about driver’s licenses. I am talking about our duty to the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

God had, through the prophet Jeremiah, de-clared that Nebuchadnezzar would be his ser-vant to chastise the people of God, and they were to obey him:

And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him. And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son’s son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him. And it shall come to pass, that the na-tion and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the LORD, with the sword,

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and with the famine, and with the pesti-lence, until I have consumed them by his hand. Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, say-ing, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: For they prophesy a lie unto you, to re-move you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish. (Jeremiah 27:6–10)

However, when King Nebuchadnezzar built the image of gold and commanded all to bow and worship it, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego refused. Maybe some of the other captives from Judah said, Remember what our prophet Jeremiah said. All nations are to serve Nebuchadnezzar! Maybe there were some loyal Babylonians who encouraged the Hebrews to bow, since whosoever resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to them-

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selves damnation, would not want anyone in the fiery furnace. But we know the story. When called to answer, the trio responded:

O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. (Daniel 3:16–18)

No matter what the outcome, the higher au-thority of Nebuchadnezzar did not overrule God’s authority and command, and they would not obey Nebuchadnezzar.

Other prophecies declared that Babylon would fall to the Medes and the Persians. (See Jeremiah 51:28; Isaiah 21:2; and Isaiah 45:1–4.) Yet, when the Medo-Persian empire took over and Daniel was prohibited by law

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from praying to any God save the king, he re-fused to obey the higher authority. Even though God had ordained the Medes and the Persians to overthrow Babylon, Daniel could not obey any of their decrees that violated God’s requirements. Because the laws of the Medes and Persians could not be changed, Darius was compelled to cast Daniel in the den of lions. Yet God protected his faithful servant who served the highest power. In the morning the king came to the den and called to Daniel, and Daniel replied:

O king, live for ever. My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. (Daniel 6:21, 22)

Daniel’s testimony in action and word is that if Christians have to disobey civil laws to obey God’s law, there is no hurt to the civil government.

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If believers were to obey every law, even unrighteous laws, then many martyrs died in an unrighteous cause. But the faithful mar-tyrs’ cause was right and true, and God ap-proved.

We are individually accountable to GodWhile Christians are a part of the body of

Christ and while most live within the geo-physical boundaries of some country, they are individually accountable to God. Paul notes:

So then every one of us shall give ac-count of himself to God. (Romans 14:12)

We must understand that salvation is an in-dividual matter between God and each per-son upon the face of the earth, but, according to biblical prophecy, that responsibility and accountability is going to be tested on a na-tional basis.

In Revelation 13 we see a composite beast rise up out of the sea:

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And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, hav-ing seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. 2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. (Revelation 13:1, 2)

The identifying characteristics of this beast are like those of the little horn of Daniel 7, which can only be identified as the Roman Church. They both have a mouth speaking blasphemies, both rule for 1,260 years, both persecute, they each make war against the saints, etc.

But this is not the only beast in Revelation 13. There is a second beast:

And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like

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a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. (Revelation 13:11, 12)

Who is this second beast?

One nation, and only one, meets the specifications of this prophecy; it points unmistakably to the United States of Amer-ica.

“And he had two horns like a lamb.” The lamblike horns indicate youth, innocence, and gentleness, fitly representing the char-acter of the United States when presented to the prophet as “coming up” in 1798. . . . Freedom of religious faith was also granted, every man being permitted to worship God according to the dictates of his conscience. Republicanism and Protes-tantism became the fundamental princi-

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ples of the nation. These principles are the secret of its power and prosperity. The op-pressed and downtrodden throughout Christendom have turned to this land with interest and hope. Millions have sought its shores, and the United States has risen to a place among the most powerful nations of the earth. (Ellen White, The Great Con-troversy, pp. 440.2, 441.1)

But the beast with lamblike horns spake as a dagon, and he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him:

And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And de-ceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; say-ing to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. (Revelation 13:13, 14)

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Further, those who will not worship the im-age of the beast must be killed.

Biblical students who have carefully studied these verses know that the issue which will be raised will be over the law of God, espe-cially the Sabbath commandment, which con-tains the seal of God, and that this will be the remnant’s great test of loyalty towards God.

The Bible presents a country that came up around 1798 with the principles of Republi-canism and Protestantism and that country, according to inspiration, will repudiate every principle upon which it was founded. Those principles and what is happening to them to-day is the subject of Part 2.

Part 2The Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson, begins:

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The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dis-solve the political bands which have con-nected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the sepa-rate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the sepa-ration.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—That to secure these rights, Govern-ments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of

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Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Gov-ernment, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

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Notice that Jefferson and all of those who signed this Declaration of Independence, as well as those who fought for it, believed that the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God must be taken into account, that God gave to each person certain rights, and that these rights

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were self-evident. You did not need to be a genius to know of these rights and that among them are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

This was the most radical new government ever formed. Had there been republics be-fore? Yes. Had there even been Protestant nations before? Yes. But in all prior attempts of government, it was the government which decreed what freedoms and rights the people had. Here was a nation which, instead, said: We grant the people these rights, and instead said, We acknowledge that God has given to all people certain rights. We do not have the authority to give these rights. We simply ac-knowledge that they exist and that this gov-ernment’s greatest responsibility is not to give these freedoms but to protect them!

“The framers of the Constitution recog-nized the eternal principle that man’s rela-tion with his God is above human legisla-tion, and his rights of conscience inalien-

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able. Reasoning was not necessary to es-tablish this truth; we are conscious of it in our own bosoms. It is this consciousness which, in defiance of human laws, has sus-tained so many martyrs in tortures and flames. They felt that their duty to God was superior to human enactments, and that man could exercise no authority over their consciences. It is an inborn principle which nothing can eradicate.”—Congres-sional documents (U.S.A.), serial No. 200, document No. 271. (White, The Great Con-troversy, p. 295.3)

After fighting the British for freedom, the thirteen original colonies became the United States of America and organized a govern-ment and wrote a constitution. This constitu-tion was good as far as establishing a govern-ment with separate branches of power and with checks and balances concerning it, but it did not clearly define the God-given rights of the people that were essential for the mainte-

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nance of such a nation. Therefore, amend-ments to the constitution were added, which became known as The Bill of Rights.

For the refreshing of our history and civics students, as well as for those who may never have read them before, we reproduce the Bill of Rights, with some brief comments.

The Bill of RightsAmendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a re-dress of grievances.

This new nation would have no national church. The government would not prohibit the free exercise of any religion, as long as the fulfillment of that religion did no harm to others. It promised a free press and freedom

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of speech to the people, which would allow them, among other things, to complain to the government about the government, without receiving retribution. This amendment was the first in order and importance, for these freedoms were considered the most impor-tant for the nation to succeed.

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Amendment IIA well regulated Militia, being necessary

to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

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This is the second most important amend-ment, for it is the one amendment that guar-antees the rights of the others.

Amendment IIINo Soldier shall, in time of peace be

quartered in any house, without the con-sent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

The government cannot use homes for bar-racks, unless in times of war and then only as law allowed.

Amendment IVThe right of the people to be secure in

their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no War-rants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and par-ticularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

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No search can be made of a person or their property, unless there is a reasonable cause for such a search, and then it must be sup-ported by an oath from a public official and it must be specific in what place is to be searched and what is to be seized.

Amendment VNo person shall be held to answer for a

capital, or otherwise infamous crime, un-less on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeop-ardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, lib-erty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

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This amendment prevented someone from being arrested and held indefinitely without cause and trial. A person must be indicted by a Grand Jury to be held and no person can be tried twice and be subjected to what is called double jeopardy in a capital offense. Also, and what most will notice from this amend-ment, no person can be forced to testify against himself in a civil trial.

Amendment VIIn all criminal prosecutions, the accused

shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the ac-cusation; to be confronted with the wit-nesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his fa-vor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

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All are to be given the right to a speedy and public trial. This does not mean that all trials must be speedy. Perhaps the defense needs much time to prepare its case. That is al-lowed, but a person cannot be held indefi-nitely, even if convicted by a Grand Jury, be-fore their civil trial begins. Further, the ac-cused has the right to an impartial jury and has a right to face his accusers when they testify.

Amendment VIIIn Suits at common law, where the value

in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be other-wise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

This amendment promises the right to a jury trial in certain civil cases and prevents the courts from overturning a jury’s findings of fact.

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Amendment VIIIExcessive bail shall not be required, nor

excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and un-usual punishments inflicted.

This is very simple. No excessive bail, though excessive is not defined, and no ex-cessive fines may be imposed. The part most well known part is that cruel and unusual punishments may not be inflicted.

Amendment IXThe enumeration in the Constitution, of

certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

This amendment’s purpose was to assert the principle that the enumerated rights of the Constitution are not exhaustive and final. Further, the listing of certain rights does not deny or disparage the existence of other rights.

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Amendment XThe powers not delegated to the United

States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

This amendment says that the powers of the federal government are specifically re-stricted to what is in the Constitution and all other powers are reserved to the states.

Violators of the ConstitutionWe should be alarmed by violations cur-

rently being perpetrated against our Consti-tution. We might be tempted to think that vio-lations of the Constitution are just now hap-pening. However, it was not long after the beginning of the nation that issues arose with the second president of the United States!

John AdamsPresident John Adams helped pass the Alien

and Sedition Acts of 1798. This was made up of three parts, “An Act Concerning Aliens,”

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“An Act Respecting Alien Enemies,” and “An Act in Addition to the Act, Entitled ‘An Act for the Punishment of Certain Crimes Against the United States.’”

The Alien and Sedition Acts involved in these laws restricted the activities of foreign residents in the country and limited freedom of speech and of the press even against citi-zens. The laws made it illegal for publications to publish what were described as “false, scandalous, and malicious writing against Congress or the president.” The Alien Ene-mies Act, remains in effect today which al-lows the president to imprison or deport alien male citizens of a hostile nation above the age of fourteen during times of war who are considered “dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States.”

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John Adams

Section 2 of “An Act for the Punishment of Certain Crimes Against the United States” states:

SEC. 2. And be it farther enacted, That if any person shall write, print, utter or pub-lish, or shall cause or procure to be writ-

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ten, printed, uttered or published, or shall knowingly and willingly assist or aid in writing, printing, uttering or publishing any false, scandalous and malicious writ-ing or writings against the government of the United States, or either house of the Congress of the United States, or the Pres-ident of the United States, with intent to defame the said government, or either house of the said Congress, or the said President, or to bring them, or either of them, into contempt or disrepute; or to ex-cite against them, or either or any of them, the hatred of the good people of the United States, or to stir up sedition within the United States, or to excite any unlaw-ful combinations therein, for opposing or resisting any law of the United States, or any act of the President of the United States, done in pursuance of any such law, or of the powers in him vested by the con-stitution of the United States, or to resist, oppose, or defeat any such law or act, or to

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aid, encourage or abet any hostile designs of any foreign nation against United States, their people or government, then such person, being thereof convicted be-fore any court of the United States having jurisdiction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars, and by imprisonment not exceeding two years. (https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=16&page=tran-script)

This is a clear violation of the First Amend-ment. How this could be done so soon after the acceptance of the Bill of Rights is difficult to understand. Two examples of people con-victed of violating this act are given below:

James Thomson Callender, a British sub-ject, had been expelled from Great Britain for his political writings. Living first in Philadelphia, then seeking refuge close by in Virginia, he wrote a book titled The Prospect Before Us (read and approved by

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Vice President Jefferson before publica-tion) in which he called the Adams admin-istration a “continual tempest of malignant passions” and the President a “repulsive pedant, a gross hypocrite and an unprinci-pled oppressor.” Callender, already resid-ing in Virginia and writing for the Rich-mond Examiner, was indicted in mid-1800 under the Sedition Act and convicted, fined $200, and sentenced to nine months in jail. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_and_Sedition_Acts)

Matthew Lyon was a Democratic-Repub-lican congressman from Vermont. He was the first individual to be placed on trial un-der the Alien and Sedition Acts. He was in-dicted in 1800 for an essay he had written in the Vermont Journal accusing the ad-ministration of “ridiculous pomp, foolish adulation, and selfish avarice.” While awaiting trial, Lyon commenced publica-tion of Lyon’s Republican Magazine, subti-

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tled “The Scourge of Aristocracy”. At trial, he was fined $1,000 and sentenced to four months in jail. After his release, he re-turned to Congress. (Ibid.)

In the first example we have a non-citizen, a British foreigner, who was convicted. In the second we have a member of Congress who was fined and imprisoned! If you thought that President Trump could be difficult with his accusations against the press of fake news, he does not hold a candle to John Adams. It should be noted that The Sedition Act of 1798 has never been repealed.

Abraham LincolnSecond to none among presidents in the

hearts of United States citizens is Abraham Lincoln, fondly remembered as Honest Abe. Yet, during the first year of the Civil War, while riots were occurring in border states, Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus.

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Habeas corpus is a centuries-old legal pro-cedure that protects against unlawful and in-definite imprisonment. Article I, Section 9, clause 2 of the Constitution states, “The Privi-lege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebel-lion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.” It should be noted that Article 1 of the Constitution explains the duties of Congress, not the executive office of the president, whose powers are enumerated in Article 2 of the Constitution. Congress was granted the ability to suspend habeas corpus in extreme situations, but this power was not granted to the president.

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Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln allowed the indefinite detention of “disloyal persons” without trial, restricting their access to courts, as a government man-date. Lincoln also ignored a Supreme Court justice’s decision to overturn his order and

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over the next few years, the Great Emancipa-tor, in one of the war’s starkest ironies, al-lowed this and other new restrictions, includ-ing imposing martial law in some volatile bor-der areas, and curbed freedom of speech and the press, to expand throughout the Northern states.

Woodrow WilsonDuring World War I the presidency of

Woodrow Wilson saw the passage of The Es-pionage Act, followed shortly by The Sedition Act. Under these acts no one could say any-thing “insulting or abusing the U.S. govern-ment, the flag, the Constitution or the mili-tary.”

Congress passed and Wilson signed an amendment to the Espionage Act with even more restrictive limits on speech and press in 1918. It was a crime to “utter, print, write, or publish any disloyal, pro-fane, scurrilous, or abusive language about the form of government of the United

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States, or the Constitution of the United States, or the military or naval forces of the United States ... or [to] willfully display the flag of any foreign enemy, or ... will-fully ... urge, incite, or advocate any cur-tailment of production ... or advocate, teach, defend, or suggest the doing of any of the acts or things in this section enu-merated and [to] by word or act support or favor the cause of any country with which the United States is at war or by word or act oppose the cause of the United States.” (https://billofrightsinstitute.org/wp-con-tent/uploads/2014/07/5-PC1-Wilson-Espi-onage.pdf)

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Woodrow Wilson

Charles Schenck was a socialist against the military draft. For distributing a tract urging recently drafted men to oppose the county’s conscription policy, he was arrested and found guilty under the Espionage Act . His case went to the Supreme Court.

In the landmark case Schenck v. United States (1919), the Supreme Court upheld the Espionage Act. In a unanimous ruling,

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the Court held that while such a limit on the First Amendment would not be consti-tutional in peacetime, the law was consti-tutional because the nation was at war. The government’s interest in fighting World War I outweighed individuals’ right to free speech. (Ibid.)

Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes in this case first made the oft-cited argument that the First Amendment does not protect “shouting fire in a [crowded] theatre,” though this anal-ogy does not truly fit the case.

Persons found guilty of violating this rule could receive a $10,000 fine and twenty years in prison.

Writing to defend the press against the Sedition Act, Adventist C. E. Holmes stated:

There is no question that the First Amendment was placed in our great Magna Charta for the very purpose of heading off just such legislation. But we

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are dependent upon our national legisla-tors to uphold this law. Should they fail at this time, it remains for the people to take up its defense in a more determined way. (Claude E. Holmes, “Freedom of the Press—Will Congress Abridge It?”, Liberty Mag-azine, October 1915, p. 156)

Holmes stated that the defense of the First Amendment must be taken up in a more de-termined way. Though he was not advocating revolution, remember that the Declaration of Independence stated:

That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, [Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness] it is the Right of the People to alter or to abol-ish it, and to institute new Government, . . . (Declaration of Indepen-dence)

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President Franklin RooseveltAfter the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Presi-

dent Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Or-der 9066, removing American citizens of Ja-panese heritage from their homes and taking them to internment camps. The United States Supreme Court in Korematsu v. United States (1944) upheld the lawfulness of the camps.

When Franklin Delano Roosevelt first proposed legislation that authorized the secretary of agriculture to engage in So-viet-style central planning — a program so rigid that it regulated how much wheat a homeowner could grow for his own fam-ily’s consumption -- he rejected arguments of unconstitutionality. He proclaimed that the Constitution was “quaint” and written in the “horse and buggy era,” and pre-dicted the public and the courts would agree with him. (Andrew Napolitano, “Most Presidents Ignore the Constitution,” The Wall Street Journal, October 29, 2008)

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Are these kind of Constitutional issues in the past?

George W. BushSome claim that President George W. Bush

used fighting the war on terrorism as justifi-cation for having people arrested who were believed to be enemies of The United States, without obtaining a warrant, without letting them hear the charges against them, and without following other safeguards against wrongful punishment guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.

Barack ObamaIlya Shapiro of the Cato Institute claims

that Barack Obama violated the United States Constitution in at least ten different ways. (See https://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/top-10-ways-obama-violated-constitution-during-presidency)

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Second Amendment issuesThe Second Amendment protects the right

of Americans to bear arms. Let me be very clear from the beginning—I am not encourag-ing anyone to buy a gun or ammunition by what I say. Gun control was a favorite theme of Adolf Hitler, Jospeh Stalin, Pol Pot, etc., and it is because history has demonstrated that when a nation is de-armed it is open to being taken over by totalitarian governments and it is because the abuse of the Second Amendment is relevant to end-time prophecy that I address the Second Amendment in par-ticular.

There is a major difference between those in the United States and those in the rest of the world, even in the European countries, from which most of our forefathers came. James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and our other founders knew the abuses that overea-ger governments imposed upon their citizens who could not fight back. James Madison,

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writing in the Federalist Papers, expressed scorn for the governments of Europe which were “afraid to trust the people with arms” (#46).

At the first of this year, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam encouraged a new liberal Vir-ginia legislature to pass new gun restriction laws of an unprecedented nature, perhaps only exceeded by the state of California or Massachusetts. In many places, while techni-cally possible to own a gun, it is very practi-cally impossible. Thousands of Second Amendment (2A) supporters descended upon Richmond to protest and certainly made a difference in the final outcome but not enough to keep the liberals from having part of their way.

West Virginia, where I live, is one of sixteen constitutional carry states that allow an adult of twenty-one years of age to own a firearm and to legally carry it concealed or openly in public areas, with few restrictions. That

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means that thirty-four states have multiple restrictions. In West Virginia almost 148,000 people among a population of 1.8 million peo-ple also have a concealed carry permit. Fac-toring out children, that is well over 1 in 8 people. (These statistics and the following others are from https://www.gunstocarry.-com/concealed-carry-statistics/)

In contrast to West Virginia, in Washington, D.C., among a population of 700,000, there are a total of 124 permits, and you have to wonder how many of those are for security agents. That is a ratio of 1 in 5,645. Of course, there are many criminals who have guns because they do not follow any of the laws. Laws restricting the Second Amend-ment only work against the honest people.

In New Jersey, with a population of 8.9 mil-lion, there are a total of 1,212 permits! That is 1 permit in 15,594 people.

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In the cities like New York and Chicago, where they have the most strict gun laws, there is also the most crime and murder. This is sure evidence that laws restricting the Sec-ond Amendment rights of the people do not help restrict violent crime or even crime in general.

In 1982 Kennesaw, Georgia became noted for its unique firearms legislation in response to a law in Morton Grove, Illinois mandating gun prohibition. In 1982 the city passed an ordinance which required gun ownership. Ex-ceptions included:

Exempt from the effect of this section are those heads of households who suffer a physical or mental disability which would prohibit them from using such a firearm. Further exempt from the effect of this sec-tion are those heads of households who are paupers or who conscientiously oppose maintaining firearms as a result of beliefs or religious doctrine, or persons convicted

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of a felony. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennesaw, Georgia)

After the city became armed, violent crime rates were about 60% below national and state rates, and property crime rates were 46–56% below national and state rates. But every time there is some kind of mass shoot-ing, we hear certain politicians calling for more gun control, stating that we must not let our children continue to die. More often than not these mass shootings are caused by criminals who obtained their guns illegally.

If you have followed any of the news con-cerning gun control, what is the one weapon that you hear the most about? What is the one weapon that is discussed as if it is as evil as Satan himself? It is the AR-15 rifle. “AR” does not stand for assault rifle but for Ar-maLite rifle, named after an American small arms engineering company. It is not an auto-matic weapon, but it is the best selling rifle in the United States because it is easy to oper-

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ate, effective, and considered by many gun experts to be one of the best, if not the best, defense weapon a person can have.

Many are surprised to learn that hunting guns like this Rem-ington Model 7400 Semi Automatic 30-06 (bottom) has more

file power than the AR-15 (top) and supplies one bullet for ev-ery trigger pull, just like the AR-15.

These rifles look like military weapons be-cause they have pistol grips, large capacity magazines, and usually flash suppressors. To many people they look scary, but the truth is

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that 61% of the gun deaths in the United States are suicide. The number of murders committed with rifles is 4%. That includes AR-15s and all other rifles. Actually, about seventeen people per year over the last sev-enteen years have been killed with AR-15 ri-fles. That is less than 1/10 of 1% of total deaths. You are more likely to be killed with a hammer or someone’s bare hands and much more likely to be killed with a knife than with an AR-15.

The truth is that many more people’s lives are saved by citizens having AR-15s and other similar platforms to use in self defense than are ever murdered with such guns. Two cases in point:

A Lithia [Florida] family of three were at home when two armed and hooded men broke in, assaulted the man of the house and demanded money. When the home-owner assured them that he had none, the invaders proceeded to pistol-whip him and

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kick him in the head. When the victim’s eight-months-pregnant wife heard the commotion and looked out a bedroom door, one of the assailants shot at her. She retreated to the bedroom, took up an AR-15 rifle and engaged the invaders, fatally shooting one and putting the other to flight.

Spectrum Bay News 9, St. Petersburg, Florida (Concealed Carry Magazine, April 2020, p. 22)

A Rockdale County man was at home when three armed and masked men con-fronted and demanded money from three of his neighbors. When one of the robbers fired on the group, a resident retrieved an AR-15 and fired on the trio of robbers, killing one outright and fatally wounding the other two.

WXIN-TV Channel 59, Indianapolis, Indi-ana (Concealed Carry Magazine, February/March 2020, p. 22)

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Yet, after the shooting in Canada in April of this year, we heard this:

“As of today, the market for assault weapons in Canada is closed,” Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said. “Enough is enough. Banning these firearms will save Canadian lives.” (https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-gun-control-mea-sures-ban-1.5552131)

The facts are that as many as 1.5 million lives are saved and protected each year in the United States by persons who are exer-cising their 2A rights, far more than all the murders by all means combined.

But the AR-15 platform, because of its po-tential effectiveness, is feared the most by the powers that be and that is why they want those rifles taken away first. Then all the other guns come next. When the Second Amendment is gutted, the one Amendment

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that guarantees the other Amendments, then freedom of religion will go quickly away, too.

If you did not hear what happened in Canada, here is a brief recap. A deranged person, Gabriel Wortman, a denture maker, dressed in a police officer’s uniform and drove a mock police car. It was reported that he used “hand guns” and “long guns” to kill twenty-two people, but officials have not com-mented on the specific type of guns he used. One report stated that two handguns and two rifles were recovered from a stolen vehicle Wortman was driving. One of the rifles was said to be a military-style assault rifle, but de-tails were lacking. Perhaps time will reveal the details, but it seems very logical with all the hatred of the AR-15 that if he had had an AR-15, it would have been reported. All Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) carry Smith & Wesson 5946 semi-automatic 9mm pistols. The 5946 has a fifteen-round maga-zine. As Wortman went on his killing spree,

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he would go to houses and knock on doors. When the people saw what they thought was a police officer, some would certainly not have their guard up. When they answered the door, they were shot. One detail we know is that one of Wortman’s victims was RCMP Of-ficer Heidi Stevenson and that after killing her, he took her gun and ammunition before continuing on his killing spree.

Red Flag LawsIn the United States, a red flag law is a gun

control law that permits police or family members to petition a state court to order the temporary removal of firearms from a person who may present a danger to others or to themselves. Sounds reasonable, right?

The problem is that this can be done against someone without due process. Any-one who has a complaint against another can falsely petition the court and if they are con-vincing, that person’s Second Amendment rights can be taken away without proof and

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without due process. Think about this—do you know of any other right we have under which this would be allowed? Would we allow someone’s First Amendment, Fourth Amend-ment, or Fifth Amendment rights be re-moved, even with due process?

States with Red Flag Laws (marked red)

Eighteen states and Washington, D. C., have some sort of ERPO (Extreme Risk Pro-tection Order) law on the books. At least four-teen more states are considering them.

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Are there people with mental or emotional disorders who are not safe with guns? Of course, and they need help, but it is a danger-ously slippery slope to remove people’s con-stitutional rights to try to accomplish safety, especially when other means can be used.

Jesus said:

My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be de-livered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. (John 18:36)

The apostle Paul noted:

For our conversation [Greek: citizen-ship] is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: (Philippians 3:20)

These events are signs of the times in which we live.

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COVID 19We certainly should think about the official

restrictions that have been made concerning COVID 19. Though the restrictions are being lifted in some parts of the country as of this writing, some areas are still in tight lockdown and if the virus were to resurge, it could be-came a nationwide lockdown again.

The response this spring has been very dif-ferent in many parts of the country. All the states issued at least minimal restrictions and restrictions on gatherings of people, but the

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issue at stake is the principle. Big or small, do the people have a right to peacefully as-semble? According to the Constitution, they do.

Congress shall make no law . . . prohibit-ing . . . the right of the people peaceably to assemble, . . . .

Churches in most places were either shut down or asked to temporarily close to the public. We closed our public services at Smyrna before we were asked to out of what we considered reasonable health issues. But in some areas, like Greenville Mississippi, some pastors, such as Charle Hamilton Jr., Pastor of the King James Bible Baptist Church, held parking lot services, where their congregations could drive to the church parking lots, stay in their cars with the win-dows rolled up, and listen to the minister speaking from a PA system outside the church. Some of these believers were given fines of up to $500, while in the same town,

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people were legally allowed to visit drive-in restaurants and eat from their cars.

Thankfully, the United States Attorney Gen-eral’s office became involved in their behalf, and the fines were dropped.

The Temple Baptist Church in Greenville, Mississippi, also had parking lot services, with the pastor staying inside the church and preaching to the congregation in the parking lot by means of a radio broadcast. On the church’s Facebook page, one woman posted a comment. After quoting Romans 13:1, 2, she stated:

As you stand up for your rights of Chris-tians, remember to embrace the entire Bible and not just what is agreeable to you.

Then commenting on the fact that police had given $500 tickets to people who were attending “drive in services where they were sitting in their cars, she wrote:

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The police were just doing their job - and yes, I wish they would do their jobs more often and ticket true offenders, but I have to side with them on this one, whether I agree with it or not.

People certainly need to read the whole Bible! If this woman had continued to read in Romans 13 and in the whole Bible, she would have known better than to write such a com-ment, but, like the Gestapo in Nazi Germany, the police in Greenville were only doing their job.

On March 23, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam issued Executive Order 53, which prohibits “all public and private in person gatherings of 10 or more individuals.”

The Democratic governor followed with Ex-ecutive Order 55, which specifically prohib-ited “religious, or other social events, whether they occur indoor or outdoor.” This ban is in effect until at least June 10. As a re-

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sult, one hundred seventy-two pastors peti-tioned the Virginia governor to allow weekly church services.

There has been a stay-at-home order in Los Angeles which, according to Barbara Ferrer, the Los Angeles County Public Health Direc-tor, will likely be extended for the next three months. Without widespread testing or rapid home-testing kits, it is unlikely that stay-at-home orders and social distancing will ease in that time frame, the Los Angeles Times has reported. The county has not yet officially ex-tended the order.

As we mentioned weeks ago at the begin-ning of the COVID 19 crisis, we noted that in ancient Israel, people who had leprosy, which was a contagious disease, were banned from the rest of society (Numbers 5:1–4). Even when these people with leprosy were out, if clean people came near to them, they had to cry out “unclean, unclean,” so others could be alerted (Leviticus 13:45–50). BUT, and this is

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a big but, healthy people were never forced to quarantine like people in California, who have been told that they will have to even leave their own homes if there are people with COVID 19 living in them and if the state determines that there is not enough room to safely shelter in that home.

The vaccineOh, the vaccine! Are all vaccines evil? Be-

fore we discuss this, let us back up in history some. Before vaccines, diseases like small

pox, tuberculous, and typhoid fever were deadly killers. Polio was a great disabler. Vaccines have virtually eliminated these dis-eases and many others. To say that all vac-cines are wrong and evil in nature is to either not know or to have forgotten how terrible smallpox was.

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D. E. Robinson came from the famous Ad-ventist family, the Farnsworths, through mar-riage. When he was about seven, he went out on his own initiative and sold copies of The Signs of the Times. He worked as a mission-ary and performed many duties in the pub-lishing work. He worked as one of Sister White’s secretaries and married her eldest granddaughter, Ella White. He wrote the book The History of Our Health Message in 1943. I say this because of a testimony he bears that I want to share with you. Should

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we have reason to disbelieve his testimony? Based on the history of what we know about him, there would be no reasonable motive to assume he was anything but a faithful and honest worker. We find this testimony in Se-lected Messages, book 2, page 303.

Vaccination—[Vaccination for Smallpox: D. E. Robinson, one of Mrs. White’s secre-taries, under date of June 12, 1931, wrote as follows concerning Mrs. White’s atti-tude toward vaccination:

“You ask for definite and concise infor-mation regarding what Sister White wrote about vaccination and serum.

“This question can be answered very briefly for so far as we have any record, she did not refer to them in any of her writings.

“You will be interested to know, how-ever, that at a time when there was an epi-demic of smallpox in the vicinity, she her-

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self was vaccinated and urged her helpers, those connected with her, to be vacci-nated. In taking this step Sister White rec-ognized the fact that it has been proven that vaccination either renders one im-mune from smallpox or greatly lightens its effects if one does come down with it. She also recognized the danger of their expos-ing others if they failed to take this precau-tion. “[Signed] D. E. Robinson.”] (Ellen White, Selected Messages, bk. 2, p. 303.6)

We know that vaccines have helped save many people from smallpox and from other tragic diseases. Can they be harmful? Yes, at times they have been, and vaccines are some-thing that must be evaluated on an individual basis. Some vaccines may contain heavy met-als and ingredients that are not wise to have in our bodies. I have heard, and you may have, too, how the vaccine for COVID 19 will be terrible and will either outright kill people or dumb them down. Before we continue, I

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want to bring a statement of Jesus to your at-tention. Speaking to Nicodemus, Jesus said:

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. (John 3:11)

This could also be translated, we speak of what we know.

In this important time we do not have time or place for guesswork and supposition. To say I do not know, but I think has no place in our work. While no vaccine has been released yet, there is currently testing on a vaccine. Will it be safe? I do not know, and others do not know at this time. So, I will not say now that we should all be vaccinated, if such a vaccine is produced. Nor will I say that we should not be vaccinated, if such a vaccine is produced. The reason I say this is because we do not know yet, or have information to

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prove, that such a vaccine will either be help-ful or harmful.

Concerning the origin of COVID 19, it has been published that COVID 19 came from bats in China, from a lab in Saudi Arabia, from a lab in Canada, and from within the United States. Some have said that the coron-avirus was not engineered in a lab and offer their scientific proof. We may never know, but, for sure, we should not be making claims that cannot be proven.

Some claim COVID 19 is caused by 5G net-works, even though many people have be-come sick who did not live near any 5G net-works.

Now, what if there is a vaccine produced and a law makes vaccination mandatory for everyone? This would be wrong, even if it is a good vaccine! Force for good is not a princi-ple of God. One thing for sure is that a vac-cine is not the mark of the beast. Social dis-

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tancing is not the mark of the beast, and even if the people have to give up their firearms, that is not the mark of the beast.

The courts have said there are no absolute rights. As Justice Holmes said, you cannot cry fire in a crowded theater. Neither can you have an atomic weapon.

So what are we seeing? We have just touched upon a few things currently happen-ing here. Are we seeing a frog representing us, being put into a pan of warm water with the fire, representing the tearing down of the Constitution, slowly being increased until the water boils, killing and cooking the frog, rep-resenting all of our freedoms being removed and totalitarianism reigning? Possibly. As we have noted, there have been several constitu-tional crises before and the end did not come. However, we are living in the end of the times of the Gentiles now. Other similar crises were not at the end of the world, though the people believed so. Those who

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lived during either of the World Wars might have thought the end was upon them, with the laws enacted during those times. How-ever, we are at the end of prophecies that have been fulfilled after those wars that had to happen, and we are now at the very edge of the end of time.

We have seen some portions of our Consti-tution trampled upon in the past, but the fu-ture holds total devastation to our Constitu-tion.

By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protes-tantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant

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and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of pa-pal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the mar-velous working of Satan and that the end is near.

As the approach of the Roman armies was a sign to the disciples of the impend-ing destruction of Jerusalem, so may this apostasy be a sign to us that the limit of God’s forbearance is reached, that the measure of our nation’s iniquity is full, and that the angel of mercy is about to take her flight, never to return. The people of God will then be plunged into those scenes of affliction and distress which prophets have described as the time of Jacob’s trou-ble. The cries of the faithful, persecuted ones ascend to heaven. And as the blood of Abel cried from the ground, there are voices also crying to God from martyrs’ graves, from the sepulchers of the sea,

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from mountain caverns, from convent vaults: “ How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” (Ellen White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 451)

While we may wish to voluntarily choose to observe social distancing for health concerns, while we may choose to get rid of any firearms we have for personal reasons, and while we may choose to take a vaccine or some medicine because we believe it will help us, there is a line that is crossed when we are told that we must not congregate to-gether, even when we are healthy. There is a line crossed when our right to bears arms is removed. There is a line crossed when we are forced to put something into our bodies. There are clear lines that the Christian must use to mark his or her position and to stand

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on the proper side of truth, and the Christian must never cross or straddle those lines.

What if you are not living in the United States? Remember that the United States is where the mark of the beast begins, beloved. From there it will become universal and spread to the whole world. The rest of the world may not at this time appreciate the Constitution of the United States and its Bill of Rights. Those safeguards have in the past helped to keep America free and, by them, much of the rest of the world. When America repudiates every principle of its Constitution, the rest of the world should tremble.

In 1898, it could be said:

Everything in the world is in agitation. The signs of the times are ominous. Com-ing events cast their shadows before. . .

The crisis is stealing gradually upon us. The sun shines in the heavens, passing over its usual round, and the heavens still

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declare the glory of God. Men are still eat-ing and drinking, planting and building, marrying, and giving in marriage. Mer-chants are still buying and selling. Men are jostling one against another, contend-ing for the highest place. Pleasure lovers are still crowding to theaters, horse races, gambling hells. The highest excitement prevails, yet probation’s hour is fast clos-ing, and every case is about to be eternally decided. Satan sees that his time is short. He has set all his agencies at work that men may be deceived, deluded, occupied and entranced, until the day of probation shall be ended, and the door of mercy be forever shut. (Ellen White, The Desire of Ages, p. 636)

If the crisis was stealing gradually upon them in 1898, what would the prophet say to-day?

May the God of all wisdom give his people wisdom to know what to do. May the Is-

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sachars of today stand up, men who in the time of David “had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do” (1 Chronicles 12:32).

The final crisis is upon us, and we need valiant men and women who will stand true to duty.

The greatest want of the world is the want of men—men who will not be bought or sold, men who in their inmost souls are true and honest, men who do not fear to call sin by its right name, men whose con-science is as true to duty as the needle to the pole, men who will stand for the right though the heavens fall.

But such a character is not the result of accident; it is not due to special favors or endowments of Providence. A noble char-acter is the result of self-discipline, of the subjection of the lower to the higher na-ture—the surrender of self for the service

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of love to God and man. (Ellen White, Edu-cation, p. 57)

Will you be one of those men or women who will stand true to duty and upon freedom? Will you subject the lower to the higher na-ture and surrender self for the service of love to God and man?

Allen Stump

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Those Whom He HonorsIt was just the third month since Israel had

left Egypt and its bondage behind. They had come into the wilderness of Sinai, and God told the people to prepare themselves for a special meeting with him. He was coming down to proclaim the Ten Commandments.

And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. After speakingThe people were terrified: (Exodus 19:18)

Beside the smoke and fire, there were thun-derings and lightnings. To the people it was a terrifying event, and they were afraid of God.

And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and

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stood afar off. 19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die. (Exodus 20:18, 19)

Moses told the people:

Fear not: for God is come to prove [He-brew: nasah: to test] you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not. (Exodus 20:20)

Then:

And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was. (Exodus 20:21)

Notice the contrast in the reaction of Moses and that of the people. As the people with-drew, Moses drew near to God. The Israelites were afraid and pulled back, while the the one who would speak with God, mouth to mouth in the boldness of faith and consecra-tion, was attracted to the Lord. Moses

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wanted to be with God. Because of his sin, the sinner is repelled by the divine presence; but the righteous are bold as a lion because of their upright heart, and they find their highest satisfaction in fellowship with their Maker.

God then gave Moses the information for what would become known as the book of the covenant. Moses would read it before the people, and they famously repeated the words they had uttered in Exodus 19:8:

And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient. (Exodus 24:7)

Very shortly after this, Moses was called up to the mount with Joshua to receive instruc-tion on the tabernacle and and the truly first hard copy of the Ten Commandments. Exo-dus 25–31 contain the detailed instruction and ends by saying:

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Speak thou also unto the children of Is-rael, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you. Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that de-fileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his peo-ple. Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sab-bath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed. And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of com-

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muning with him upon mount Sinai, two ta-bles of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God. (Exodus 31:13–18)

Of all the commandments that God gave to man, the Sabbath would stand out as the one that which would be a special sign, demon-strating that they were his people. The Sab-bath was a day that even God himself was re-freshed upon and was to be especially re-membered.

This brings us to chapter 32. Do you re-member what famous event happened in Exo-dus 32? That’s right, the golden calf experi-ence!

We are not told the exact length of time that Moses and Joshua were in the mount. Ellen White calls it a “few days” (Ellen White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 317.3), but to the people it seemed too long. Moses and Joshua were delayed more than the people’s pa-tience could endure. These neophytes did not

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believe that Moses and Joshua would ever re-turn. Their faith failed and with their faith, their pledge of obedience evaporated in the desert heat.

As when any people forget God, rebellion began, and they enrolled Aaron in their apos-tasy, to the point that after making the golden calf, Aaron could point to it and pro-claim a feast to Jehovah (Exodus 32:5)! This was bad enough, but then the people began to have a wild party, with eating, drinking, and playing, and it was not a baseball game, either, but a sensual orgy!

As Moses and Joshua descended, Joshua mistook the noise in the camp for the noise of war, but the trained ear of Moses knew it was not war that he heard:

And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp. 18 And he said, It is not the voice of

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them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being over-come: but the noise of them that sing do I hear. (Exodus 32:17, 18)

Moses first confronted Aaron and then the people. What he saw horrified him:

And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their ene-mies:) (Exodus 32:25)

The people were naked, wild with passion and without restraint. The text says that the people were “naked unto their shame among their enemies.” It is possible that some of the Amalekites were still in the area and had wit-nessed this lawless event and its depraved in-decencies.

What a lesson for you, dear reader. You must never forget that people are watching you very closely to see if you will obey God and be true to your pledges or not. When you

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fail, you bring shame to God among the un-godly.

Aaron had failed to stop this vile demon-stration. Moses, though, was a man of action, and he quickly realized that something must be done. Moses stationed himself at “the gate of the camp” and summoned those who would do so to join him in quelling the distur-bance. In the warfare between good and evil there is no such thing as neutrality. We are either on God’s side or on Satan’s. There is no middle ground!

Those who had not joined in the apos-tasy were to take their position at the right of Moses; those who were guilty but repen-tant, at the left. The command was obeyed. It was found that the tribe of Levi had taken no part in the idolatrous worship. (White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 324.1)

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What did Moses demand be done to stop the rebellion? The strongest measures possi-ble:

Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD’S side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. And he said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his com-panion, and every man his neighbour. And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men. (Exo-dus 32:26–28)

Moses drew, as it were, a line in the sand and wanted to know who would stand with him. The Levities and the others who had not defiled themself came to the right side of Moses, and those who had sinned but re-

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pented stood on the left side of Moses. There were three thousand, however, too shameless and defiled to align themselves with Moses and righteousness, and they must be de-stroyed. Inspiration states:

Of all the sins that God will punish, none are more grievous in His sight than those that encourage others to do evil. God would have His servants prove their loy-alty by faithfully rebuking transgression, however painful the act may be. Those who are honored with a divine commission are not to be weak, pliant time-servers. They are not to aim at self-exaltation, or to shun disagreeable duties, but to perform God’s work with unswerving fidelity. (White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 323.3)

Though the task seemed terrible and hard, honor and loyalty to God dictated their ac-tions, instead of squeamish feelings.

We are told:

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Those who performed this terrible work of judgment were acting by divine author-ity, executing the sentence of the King of heaven. Men are to beware how they, in their human blindness, judge and condemn their fellow men; but when God commands them to execute His sentence upon iniq-uity, He is to be obeyed. Those who per-formed this painful act, thus manifested their abhorrence of rebellion and idolatry, and consecrated themselves more fully to the service of the true God. The Lord hon-ored their faithfulness by bestowing spe-cial distinction upon the tribe of Levi. (Ibid., p. 324.2)

As written in Samuel, we find a principle that God has promised to those who will serve him with unswerving fidelity:

. . . for them that honour me I will hon-our, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. (1 Samuel 2:30)

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We who claim to be God’s people living at the end of time have a duty to honor God in every aspect of our lives and as we do, God will honor his people.

The Hebrew word translated honor in 1 Samuel 2:30 is �בד It can also mean .(kabad) כglorify and is so translated in Psalm 22:23:

Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify (kabad) him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel. (Psalm 22:23)

The Greek word used in the LXX to replace kabad is doxa. A form of doxa, doxan, is, of interest, found in Revelation 14:7:

Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory [doxan: honor] to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. (Revela-tion 14:7)

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God had a people, the Levities, who hon-ored him at Sinai, and God has a people at the end of time who will honor him, giving glory to him especially as they worship him as the creator.

What is the context of our scripture from 1 Samuel? It deals with the high priest, Eli, and the corruption of his very wicked sons, Hophni and Phinehas, and the warnings that God sent to Eli.

Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD. And the priests’ custom with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest’s ser-vant came, while the flesh was in seething, with a fleshhook of three teeth in his hand; And he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh unto all the Israelites that came thither. Also before they burnt the fat, the priest’s servant came, and said

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to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he will not have sodden flesh of thee, but raw. And if any man said unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would answer him, Nay; but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force. Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD: for men ab-horred the offering of the LORD. (1 Samuel 2:12–17)

Here we see great offenses by the priests and their helpers. Neither blood nor fat was to be eaten (Leviticus 3:17). The fat, repre-senting sin, was to be burned as a “sweet savour before the LORD” (Exodus 29:25). But these wicked sons of Eli were eating the fat and even raw flesh, which would have con-tained much blood in it. But this is not all they did.

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Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. (1 Samuel 2:22)

Not only did Eli’s sons pervert the sacrifices but they were involved in terrible violations of the seventh commandment. Verse 22 states that Eil heard of the sins of his sons. What they did was not hidden from the peo-ple, and the widespread knowledge of their wickedness brought reproach against God. Eli rebuked his sons in words that might sound strong to read, but were given in such meekness that they had no effect upon his sons.

And he [Eli] said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil deal-ings by all this people. Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make the LORD’S people to transgress. If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him:

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but if a man sin against the LORD, who shall intreat for him? (1 Samuel 2:23–25a)

The proof that this rebuke had no affect upon Hophni and Phinehas can be seen clearly in the rest of verse 25:

Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the LORD would slay them. (1 Samuel 2:25b)

Eli had a clear duty. He should have brought his sons before the elders and had them stoned (Deuteronomy 21:18–21)! But he failed to honor God before his sons; yet, due to God’s mercifulness, he gave Eli two more chances. First, he sent a prophet, a man of God, to warn him:

And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy fa-ther, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh’s house? And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to

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offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offer-ings made by fire of the children of Israel? Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people? Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. (1 Samuel 2:27–30)

God plainly warned Eli. He would honor those who would honor him, but those who would not honor him would be lightly es-teemed. At this point Eli still did nothing to stop the sins of his sons. God would now send the sentence of judgment to Eli through

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Samuel. Speaking to Samuel, God said con-cerning Eli:

For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made them-selves vile, and he restrained them not. (1 Samuel 3:13)

After Samuel told Eli of God’s pronounce-ment, Eli said,

And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the LORD: let him do what seemeth him good. (1 Samuel 3:18)

Did Eli take this chance to now repent and honor God with obedience? No, sadly not.

Yet Eli did not manifest the fruits of true repentance. He confessed his guilt, but failed to renounce the sin. Year after year the Lord delayed His threatened judg-ments. Much might have been done in

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those years to redeem the failures of the past, but the aged priest took no effective measures to correct the evils that were polluting the sanctuary of the Lord and leading thousands in Israel to ruin. (White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 582.3)

Imagine this. Eli had a chance to keep thou-sands from ruin, but his failure would allow the final destruction of thousands! When we are given a calling as a Christian to stand up and serve the Lord and then fail to honor him, he cannot honor us. Disgrace is our lot. The expression, shall be lightly esteemed in 1 Samuel 2:30 is from the Hebrew word: ק�לל (qalal). It is used over eighty times in the Old Testament and most often it is translated curse, curseth, or cursed. For example”

For every one that curseth (qalal) his fa-ther or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed (qalal) his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him. (Leviticus 20:9)

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We do not want to be cursed; we want to be blessed. Jesus taught us to pray:

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10)

How is God’s will done in heaven?

And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, The four and twenty elders fall down be-fore him that sat on the throne, and wor-ship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, say-ing, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure

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they are and were created. (Revelation 4:8–11)

In heaven they give glory and honor and thanks to God. Should we not do the same here and not only in word but in deed also?

Let us now notice a few ways we can honor God upon this earth:

We honor God in our bodies by holy living.

What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s. (1 Corinthians 6:19, 20)

Often we use these texts in connection with health reform. That is fine and certainly is a part of God’s program, but the context of verses 19 and 20 is found in verses 15–18,

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where both physical and spiritual fornication is the issue. In all we do we are told that:

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)

Peter tells us:

But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversa-tion; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. (1 Peter 1:15, 16)

We honor God through obedience to all his commandment.

When Israel came out of Egypt, Amalek came out to fight against Israel and became a thorn in their flesh. Finally, their cup became full, and God decreed that they must be de-stroyed. God, through Samuel, gave King Saul the command:

Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remem-ber that which Amalek did to Israel, how

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he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. (1 Samuel 15:2, 3)

The command was clear and unambiguous. No person, animal or child was to be spared. Even the children were so corrupted that they could not be saved. All must be de-stroyed. Saul had a chance to honor God by obeying his command, but, instead, Saul saved the king and some of what was consid-ered the best of the sheep and oxen.

But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly de-stroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly. (1 Samuel 15:9)

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God informed Samuel that Saul had not obeyed his commandment. Samuel was so hurt that he grieved all night and cried unto the Lord. In the morning Samuel went out to meet Saul and as they were coming together, Saul presumptively said:

Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have per-formed the commandment of the LORD. (1Samuel 15:13)

But Samuel knew this to be a lie, and he asked Saul:

And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? (1Samuel 15:14)

Saul went on to try to explain that they had brought back the best to put upon the altar for God. This was a lie. They knew if they used these animals which God had slated for destruction as offerings and sacrifices, they would not have to offer their own animals,

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thus saving themselves a great deal of ex-pense through their sinful avarice. But the re-ply of Saul rings down to us with force be-yond most sayings and one-liners.

And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacri-fices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. (1Samuel 15:22)

Lest you think this approach is legalist and lacking in love, please consider the world’s version of love against that of the Bible. We see bumper stickers that say, “Honk if you love Jesus,” and “Wave if you love Jesus.” But Jesus said, ‘If ye love me, keep my command-ments” (John 14:15). The true acid test of love is obedience, and the one test that is used in the end to reveal the true people of God is the Sabbath commandment.

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Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sab-bath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sab-bath day, and hallowed it. (Exodus 20:8–11)

Of all the commandments, it is the fourth which contains the seal of God, giving us the name of God, his title as Creator, and his ter-ritory, that of heaven and earth. The Sabbath is the sign between God and his people, but just an outward observance of the Sabbath conforming to rules and regulations, such as hotzaah, without a heart of love to God is meaningless to us and worthless to God.

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We honor God by showing kindness to oth-ers, especially the poor, because we acknowl-edge others as part of God’s creation:

He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth (kabad) him hath mercy on the poor. (Proverbs 14:31)

We honor God by giving tithes and offerings to him:

Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine. (Proverbs 3:9, 10)

Beloved, God requires sincerity from those who honor him. Outward observance of the Sabbath or of any commandment is not honorable to God.

In an effort to ensure there would not be another Babylonian captivity, the Jews made

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countless rules and regulations for outward observance without dealing with the greater issues of the heart. One such regulation was a ceremonial washing of hands. Jesus re-buked this practice.

Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands? He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophe-sied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. (Mark 7:5–7)

Here Jesus was making reference to the writings of Isaiah:

Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me,

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and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: (Isaiah 29:13)

If our worship of God is only an outward form, he cannot accept it. Many of the Jewish people today and some Seventh-day Adven-tists keep the Sabbath, wash their hands, and perform many other outward exercises but these actions, without the heart-filled recep-tion of his Son, is not acceptable to God.

One day soon God’s universe will be clean, and all who inhabit that universe will bring honor and glory to God:

Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and hon-our, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth

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upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. (Revelation 5:12, 13)

I want to be one of that group that com-prises every creature, don’t you? Before we will be allowed to bring honor to God in heaven, however, we must first do so on earth.

On January 16, 1902, Eric Liddell was born to Scottish missionary parents working in China. As he grew up he loved to run and be-came very fast at it. Eric became known as the “Flying Scotsman,” due to his great run-ning speed. Liddell would even run in the Olympics for Great Briton.

Liddell was the fastest man in Scotland and would later be known as one of the fastest men in the world but above all of his running prowess, Eric was a devout Christian.

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Eric Liddell

In 1924 the Summer Olympic Games were held in Paris, and Liddell refused to run in a heat held on Sunday for the 100-meter race because he mistakenly believed it was the Sabbath. He was, therefore, forced to with-draw from his best event; instead, Liddell ran the 400-meter race held on a weekday. Be-fore the race Liddell was handed a folded piece of paper by one of the team masseurs. It said:

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In the old book it says: “He that honours me I will honour.” Wishing you the best of success always.

Liddell won the race, breaking the world record. He believed that God had honored him, and should he not have so believed? With all of his heart he was serving God the best way he knew how, and I remind you God has said, that:

Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression. (Romans 4:15)

As a footnote, if you please, we account Martin Luther as a champion of God. Inspira-tion called him “. . . the man for his time; . . .” (Ellen White, The Great Controversy, p. 120.1); yet, Luther not only failed to keep the Sabbath he even persecuted those who wished to keep the seventh-day Sabbath.

The year after running in the Olympics, Lid-dell returned to China as a missionary. He

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would work most of the rest of his life there. During World War II the Japanese invaded the area of China where Liddell was working. Eric was put in an internment camp, where he became the glue that held the people to-gether. He died shortly before the end of the war from a brain tumor. Liddell’s last words were “it’s complete surrender,” in reference to how he had given his life to God.

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Monument to Eric Liddell on the grounds of the former Weih-sien Internment Camp

In 1981 a movie was made that partly re-volved around the Olympic portion of Lid-dell’s life, entitled “Chariots of Fire.”

“It’s complete surrender” is the theological equivalent in the spiritual equation for honor-ing God!

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In the heart of Christ, where reigned perfect harmony with God, there was per-fect peace. He was never elated by ap-plause, nor dejected by censure or disap-pointment. Amid the greatest opposition and the most cruel treatment, He was still of good courage. But many who profess to be His followers have an anxious, troubled heart, because they are afraid to trust themselves with God. They do not make a complete surrender to Him; for they shrink from the consequences that such a surren-der may involve. Unless they do make this surrender, they cannot find peace. (Ellen White, The Desire of Ages, p. 330.3)

Allen Stump

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2020 West Virginia Camp Meeting

Before the pandemic of COVID–19, we scheduled the West Virginia camp meeting for June 16–20, and then later we hoped that the pandemic might be over by June. While the infections and death toll are on the de-cline and while the states are starting to open up, we cannot see it to be prudent to have a large gathering of camp meeting size, com-posed of people coming from many distant ar-eas, at Smyrna valley. Our meeting area is not large enough to allow proper social dis-tancing. So, we have decided to move the camp meeting to a virtual format. The meet-ings, in most cases, will be broadcasted from each speaker’s location, and individuals and families can listen to the meetings by phone or can listen and view the meetings in the web meeting room. See smyrna.org for view-ing and listening details. For the best viewing

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experience, we recommend that you have your software updated.

The theme of the meetings is “Under the Shadow of the Almighty.” We believe that during these times such a theme is very ap-propriate, and we expect some very valuable meetings. Besides the spiritual sessions, Dr. Glenn Waite will share with us healthful in-formation that will guide us on dealing with COVID–19.

To help make the experience more per-sonal, whenever possible, we will have the speaker stay online after their presentation for questions and comments from the virtual congregation.

We realize that there are many restrictions with such an arrangement, but, on the other hand, God is able to give his people the inge-nuity needed to make such a project success-ful. The consideration of a virtual camp meet-ing has already implanted in us ideas of how

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we can make our physical camp meeting more practical and helpful to those who can-not attend physically but who want to partici-pate virtually.

The schedule for this year is below and pro-vides the names of the speakers and the times they are scheduled. It is possible we may still need to adjust the schedule, but it is pretty close. All times listed are for EDT.

We hope that as many as possible will take advantage of the upcoming meetings. We will be broadcasting on our new web conference channel: https://join.onstreammedia.com/live/smyrna/go. You may also listen via the phone by dialing 1–805–744–6450 and then dialing in the pin 73407721, followed by the pound (#) sign.

Editors

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Viruses(Editors’ Note: Every Tuesday evening at

7:00 Smyrna Gospel Ministries (SGM) presents an online study on various elements of the natural world. The following is an ex-pansion of the May 27 and the June 2 presen-tations. You are invited to join us and to join any other presentations of SGM during the week. See smyrna.org for days and times.)

In order to understand our bodies and to understand health and disease, it is needful to understand viruses. We live and (usually) prosper in a cloud of viruses. Viruses infect all living things.1 We regularly eat and breathe billions of virus particles, and viral genomes are part of our own genetic mate-rial. The number of viruses on earth is stag-gering. One estimate suggests that the mass of bacterial virus particles alone (not human, animal, insect, and plant viruses) is equiva-lent to the mass of approximately one million

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blue whales. Another estimate states this mass exceeds the mass of all the elephants on earth by more than a thousand-fold. Just in the oceans alone there are more than 1030

virus bacteriophages. (Bacteriophages are vi-ral particles that infect bacteria.) If you could line these extremely small bacteriophages up, that line would stretch one hundred million light years (another source says two hundred million light years) into space, farther than the nearest galaxy. Earth is simply blanketed in virus particles.

Consider the effect whales have on the number of viruses in our environment. They are commonly infected with a family of viruses called Caliciviridae. These are related to viruses that can cause gastroenteritis and the accompanying vomiting and diarrhea in humans. Infected whales excrete more than 1013 calicivirus particles every day in their fe-ces. That is a lot of virus particles going into the oceans.

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Viruses infect every living thing on the planet. Nothing escapes viruses. They are pervasive, they are everywhere, and their ex-tent is remarkable. A teaspoon of seawater, for example, contains two million virus parti-cles, but they are harmless to us. “The aver-age human body contains approximately 1013 cells, but these are outnumbered 10-fold by bacteria and as much as 100-fold by virus particles.”2

Every one of us is infected with viruses. For example, many have a herpes virus—herpes simplex virus, varicella zoster virus (chicken pox virus), Epstein-Barr virus, viruses known as herpes 6, herpes 7, and herpes 8, or an-other herpes virus. In the United States, over 80% of the population has at least one of these viruses. Once they infect you, you can-not get rid of them. You have them for life, according to Dr. Racaniello, a virologist and professor at Columbia University. Viruses can infect every part of the body. RNA and DNA

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viruses are found in the skin, hair, and nails; in the digestive tract; in the blood; in the ner-vous system; in the respiratory system; and in the urogenital tract. Even in health, we have viruses in these systems. All of us. There are many viruses in and around us. The air we are breathing right now is full of them, and we are fine. We rarely get sick. Why is this?

Most viruses just pass through us. We in-gest many non-animal viruses regularly with foods. For example, cabbages from five differ-ent supermarkets in Washington, D. C. were tested for viruses. Each serving of cabbage contained up to 108 particles of a virus present in the cabbage looper. When we eat coleslaw, we are probably eating this virus also, but most of the viruses we eat cannot reproduce in our cells because they cannot attach to our cells; instead, they pass through us. It is also true that most of the viruses we inhale or that land on our skin cannot attach

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to our cells. The other reason that most of us are well is that we have a good immune sys-tem which generally works well. Most of the viruses that could grow in us when we inhale them, for example, will not grow, if we have a really good immune system. If our immune system is compromised, however, which hap-pens in people with organ transplants and in people who have diseases such as AIDS and cancer, then the simplest virus infection can be lethal.

God has given our bodies protection against viruses. “Our bodies fight back with a triple firewall strategy to fend off viral attackers. The first is our set of barrier defenses. The outermost part of our skin is composed of fif-teen or more layers of dead cells bonded to-gether with a fatty cement. A new layer forms every day as dead cells are sloughed off, so the entire layer is completely replaced about every two weeks. Since viruses can only re-produce in live functional cells and the top

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layers of skin are dead, our intact skin repre-sents a significant barrier to any viral infec-tion.

“But the respiratory tract has no such pro-tection. Not only is our respiratory tract lined with living tissue, it represents a primary point of contact with the external world. We only have about two square yards of skin, but the surface area within the convoluted inner passageways of our lungs exceeds that of a tennis court. And every day we inhale more than five thousand gallons of air. For a virus, especially one not adapted to survive stom-ach acid, the lungs are the easy way in.

“. . . It’s not enough for a virus to be in-haled—it must be able to physically infect a live cell. This is where mucus comes in. Our airways are covered with a layer of mucus that keeps viruses at arm’s length from our cells. And many of the cells themselves are equipped with tiny sweeping hairs that brush the contaminated mucus up to the throat to

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be coughed up or swallowed into the killing acid of the stomach” (Michael Greger, M.D., How to Survive a Pandemic, Kindle Edition, sections 797–809). In addition, during a pos-sible infection, secretions can also increase in the nasal passages to block invaders.

But what is a virus? It is an infectious, obli-gate intracellular parasite comprised of ge-netic material (DNA or RNA), often sur-rounded by a protein coat or, less frequently, by a membrane. Infectious means the virus can go from host to host and from cell to cell. Obligate means the virus has to get into a cell in order to reproduce. The virus particle can-not reproduce in the air or on the skin. It has to get inside a cell. Parasite means it takes something from the cell and causes damage. Sometimes a virus does not seem to harm us, but just taking nutrients from the cell is dam-aging.

And is a virus alive? This question contin-ues to inspire debate. Dr. Racaniello answers

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the question by explaining that a virus has two phases—the particle, which is also known as the virion, phase and the infected cell phase. The virion by itself is not living in any way, he explains. It is a shell with some nu-cleic acid inside. If the virus particle is on a table or on a door knob, it will sit there and do nothing, for it cannot do anything. It can-not move; it cannot reproduce. It is not alive, but this changes when the viral particle finds entrance into the cell, involving a compli-cated process.

John Coffin, professor and virology re-searcher at the Tufts School of Medicine, an-swers the question this way: “Viruses are completely different from bacteria. A bac-terium is a living thing—most of them have all of the components they need for their own survival, for making more of themselves, and so on.

“A virus is just a piece of information. A virus puts its information into a cell—a bacte-

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rial cell, a human cell, or animal cell, for ex-ample. It contains instructions that tell a cell to make more of the virus itself, in the same way a computer virus getting into a computer tells the computer to make more of itself. Viruses are not living things . . . they can’t carry out on their own any of the functions that we consider to be connected with life. They don’t contain the ability to replicate themselves without being inside a cell. They have the information, but the information is dependent on having a cell to translate that information into the components that then become part of the virus particle (virion) that carries the information from one cell to the next.”3

Once the virus particle is inside the cell, it takes over. It siphons nutrients for itself, and its only focus is to replicate itself over and over. New viral particles make their way out through the cell wall to randomly connect with new cells. This connection occurs when

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a virus particle and a cell collide, a process that is governed by chance. While inside the cell, as the the viral genome in the cell is be-ing read to create new copies, a wrong letter, a wrong base, a wrong nucleotide is occa-sionally inserted. This is what causes muta-tions in the virus and is analogous to a typo-graphical error. It usually does not happen frequently, maybe one time in a thousand or one in ten thousand but since replication is exponential, these mutations add up.

Virus particles do not infect every cell they encounter. They can’t, for most particles do not have the correct component to allow at-tachment to a surface receptor of a particular cell. Surface receptors normally help the cells function properly and efficiently. They are not meant to interact with viruses, but some viruses are able to hijack the receptor and enter the cell. Then the cell’s molecular machinery is pirated, and the cell spews out vast numbers of viral progeny. As the viral

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load of the host increases, the virus is able to be transmitted to other hosts.

Viruses “also infect pets, food animals, plants, insects, and wildlife throughout the world. They infect microbes such as algae, fungi, and bacteria, and some even interfere with the reproduction of other viruses. Viral infection of agricultural plants and animals can have enormous economic and societal im-pact. Outbreaks of infection by foot-and-mouth disease and avian influenza viruses have led to the destruction of millions of cat-tle, sheep, and poultry to prevent further spread. . . . Viruses that infect crops such as potatoes and fruit trees are common and can lead to serious food shortages” (Flint et al.), but not all viruses are bad. Benefit can be seen “in marine ecology, where virus parti-cles are the most abundant biological enti-ties. . . . Viral infections in the ocean kill 20 to 40% of marine microbes daily, converting these living organisms into particulate mat-

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ter, and in so doing release essential nutri-ents that supply phytoplankton at the bottom of the ocean’s food chain, as well as carbon dioxide and other gases that affect the cli-mate of the earth” (Ibid.).

We hope this short synopsis has helped you gain understanding of what happens when you are exposed to viruses and how impor-tant it is to maintain a healthy immune sys-tem. Incorporating into the lifestyle the true remedies of pure air, sunlight, abstemious-ness, rest, exercise, proper diet, the use of water, and trust in divine power will strengthen every aspect of the immune sys-tem. We, indeed, are fearfully and wonder-fully made (Psalm 139:14).

Onycha Holt1. Some of the information in this article is

gleaned from lectures on virology by Dr. Vin-cent Racaniello on YouTube. See https://www.y-outube.com/watch?v=lj3NhPgOoX4&t=350s for the first lecture.

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2. Jane Flint, Vincent R. Racaniello, Glenn F. Rall, Anna Marie Skalka, with Lynn W. Enquist, Prin-ciples of Virology, vol. 1, chapter 1

3. John Coffin at https://medicine.tufts.edu/news/2020/04/what-are-viruses-and-how-do-they-work

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Publisher InformationOld Paths is a free monthly newsletter/study-paper published monthly by Smyrna Gospel Ministries, 750 Smyrna Road, Welch WV 24801-9606. U.S.A. It is sent free upon re-quest. The paper is dedicated to the propaga-tion and restoration of the principles of truth that God gave to the early Seventh-day Ad-ventist pioneers. Duplication is not only per-mitted, but strongly encouraged. This issue, with other gospel literature we publish, can be found at our web site. The url is: http://www.smyrna.org. Phone: (304) 732-9204. Fax: (304) 732-7322.

Editor: ...................................... Allen Stump

Associate Editor: ...................... Onycha Holt

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