Main MenuSite Search
NOTICE: We are continuing to post more present truth studies, both old and new, so please visit us again soon.
What's New?
That everyone who thirsteth for the truth may obtain it, these publications are, as a Christian service, provided without charge. They levy but one exaction: the soul's obligation to itself to prove all things and hold fast to that which is good. The only strings attached to this free proffer are the golden strands of Eden and the crimson cords of Calvary - the ties that bind.
|
 Jezreel Letters "Plead with your Mother, plead."- Hosea 2:2 JEZREEL
JEZREEL LETTERS 1997 Reprint of JEZREEL LETTERS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Jezreel Letter, No. 1, pgs. 1-12
Dear Fellow Believer in the Third Angel's Message: Since this is a very timely opportunity to pen a few friendly lines to you, and since there is no sweeter message than that which comes from God, I have chosen to greet you with it: Heaven's Voice to Laodicea, Inspiration declares, is of supreme consequence to every Laodicean (to all of us Seventh-day Adventists), and the duty of every one of us to heed it is no less supreme if we are to be spared from being spued out (Rev. 3:16). With this weighty fact inescapably in view, what grave responsibility is upon the one whom God has charged with taking Heaven's message to His people in Laodicea! Consequently what unforgiving sin would be his should he neglect to seek out every possible avenue for carrying the message to every home that would open its door. What carefulness, therefore, must he exercise to seek every possible opportunity to give all possible assistance to every soul, in steering a straight and steady course clear to "Canaan's Land." Hence this urgent effort in your behalf. For sometime now you have had the eleventh-hour publications (tracts and "Timely Greetings" -- postmarked Waco -- including a copy of the "1950 General Conference Special," and the "White-House Recruiter"), all bearing the light of God so direly needed at this climactic hour of time -- the long expected message of the sealing of the 144,000 (the purification of the church -- the judgment of the living in the "house of God": the message to the Laodiceans), the Loud Cry, and kindred events. I am confident, therefore, that in your desire to be a wide-awake, God-fearing Adventist, you cannot, in the very nature of the case, fail of being impressed
and stirred, by the tremendous truth which these publications bear for this time. And when you consider the wide and sober reception accorded to the "White-House Recruiter," as It entered thousands upon thousands of Adventist homes the world over, surely you cannot help but be still the more impressed. Indeed, never has any other Truth-laden publication to enter Adventists' homes been so widely and so soberly received. And incident to this singularly responsive reception is the significant fact, which may well be all-important to you, that many of those who for very good reasons are not yet openly declaring their stand, are already requesting us to make it possible for them privately to take the course which the "Recruiter" announces. I am therefore gratified to announce herewith that it is my happy lot to deploy the entire Eleventh-Hour staff to answer in person all such requests. Thus when one of us is in your vicinity, you will have golden opportunity to have him personally, privately, and in strict confidence open up to you the message in connection with the all-consequential events so soon to take place in our midst, events which Inspiration now for the first time brings into the noon-day light right before our eyes, and which the prophets forecast in the following words: "Behold, l will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me:...even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in... But who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' sope." Mal. 3:1, 2. "...the days of purification of the church are hastening on apace. God will have a people pure and true... The signs reveal that the time is near when the Lord will manifest that his fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor." -- "Testimonies," Vol. 5, p. 80.
"For by fire and by His sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many.... And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations,...to the isles afar off, that have not heard My fame, neither have seen My glory; and they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles. And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord out of all nations...to My holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord." Isa. 66:16,19, 20. Because the purification is now the Church's only hope, the Devil is doing all in his power, through the medium of idolized men (apparently no less pious than the priests who crucified the Lord), to suppress knowledge of it, and to create fear, prejudice hatred, and confusion against the Voice of God, and to blacken the character of His agencies. Moreover, the Enemy's exalted zealots, so well satisfied that they have need of nothing, are already in spite of Heaven's commands to the contrary, casting out of the churches anyone who investigates God's "Message to the Laodiceans," or who conforms to it. What, O, what has the Denomination degenerated into? What exceeding folly, too, for it to assume to dictate to its members whose writings they should read and whose they should not read, as if they had neither mind nor conscience of their own, and as if God either could not or would not convict then through their own intellects, but must depend on the intellects of the ministers who by such folly are unconsciously assuming to take God's place! Their very act of not only discouraging but even prohibiting the reading of the publications, is in itself a strong evidence that the publications contain the Truth for this time, and that the Enemy wants God's people to be ignorant of It. One can scarcely conceive of any other design so well calculated to make of God's people mental and spiritual
invalids and, in consequence, to keep them in submissive ignorance of the fact that the plan of salvation demands that they be enlightened Christians, able to see with their own eyes and to know with their own hearts what is what and who is who. Both high and low seem to forget that no sooner the messengers of God appeared in their respective time, Judaism, Romanism, and Protestantism, all unwittingly fell prey to this foolish scheme. Their failure to bind forever in darkness the free-minded in their day, though, should now be an eye opener to us all that our hostile brethren, too, will fail to bind in darkness forever the free-minded of this day, for the free-minded, sooner or later, discover that anyone who cannot for himself decide what is truth and what is error, is destitute of the Spirit of God, having no contact with Heaven and having no part in it. Those who have not yet discovered this inviolable law, stand face to face with the stark reality that it is high time that they discover it immediately, and that they fully realize that in violating it they are only making absolutely certain of missing eternity, and that even though Noah, Daniel, and Job be their neighbors, and they hold tight to all three of them, yet, unless they stop breaking this inviolable law, they are doomed, they are damned. Then too, all who with closed eyes and heart condemn the work of others, are blind to the disastrous fact that "He that answereth a matter before he heareth it" directly from its source, "it is folly and shame unto him." Prov. 18:13. In the face of these certainties, surely you cannot afford to turn a deaf ear to the Voice herein pleading that every one make a thorough investigation of the contents in these eleventh-hour publications which in profuse quantities are now being freely, "without money and without price," circulated throughout Laodicea. These publications, you note, unseal the Scriptures
which constitute this "additional message" (See "Early Writings," p. 277), all of which have heretofore been sealed, and thus enveloped in mystery, and surrounded by question marks, a fact which in itself is absolute proof that never before have more timely, more important publications entered Adventist homes. Perhaps you are fully aware of this. Should you, however, have questions which you would like to discuss in private, you need only request that one of us visit you while we are laboring in your vicinity. Also if you know of other open-minded, free-thinking, Truth-seeking brethren, I shall appreciate your mentioning how many, and If they wish you may send in their names and addresses either for our mailing list or for a private interview, or for both. You may address me: V. H. Jezreel, H. B. Every relevant Scriptural consideration dictates that there is only one safe, sane, and honorable course for any of us to pursue when prophetic revelation challenges consideration, especially at this most crucial hour in history. We must shun, as we would death, the spirit which controlled the Jews and the nominal churches, all of whom as a result rejected the Heaven-sent messages in their respective times. Our only salvation is to determine for ourselves at first hand, free from the influence of others, the certainty and authenticity of the Voice that is now crying aloud throughout Laodicea, because "the mind that depends upon the judgment of others is certain, sooner or later, to be misled." -- "Education," p. 231. Only the Spirit of God, working through our individual minds, can lead us into all Truth if we give ear to It. The Spirit of Prophecy further warns: "There is yet much precious truth to be revealed to the people in this time of peril and darkness,
but it is Satan's determined purpose to prevent the light of truth from shining into the hearts of men. If we would have the light that has been provided for us, we should show our desire for it by diligently searching the word of God. Precious truths that have long been in obscurity are to be revealed in a light that will make manifest their sacred worth; for God will glorify His word, that it may appear in a light in which we have never before beheld it." -- ''Counsels on Sabbath School Work," p. 25. "There is no excuse for anyone in taking the position that there is no more truth to be revealed, and that all our expositions of Scripture are without an error. The fact that certain doctrines have been held as truth for many years by our people, is not a proof that our ideas are infallible. Age will not make error into truth, and truth can afford to be fair. No true doctrine will lose anything by close investigation." -- "Counsels to Writers and Editors," p. 35. "Precious light is to shine forth from the word of God, and let no one presume to dictate what shall or what shall not be brought before the people in the messages of enlightenment that He shall send, and so quench the Spirit of God. Whatever may be his position of authority, no one has a right to shut away the light from the people." -- "Counsels on Sabbath School Work," p. 28. "...if a message comes that you do not understand, take pains that you may hear the reasons the messenger may give, comparing scripture with scripture, that you may know whether or not it is sustained by the word of God. If you believe that the positions taken have not the word of God for their foundation, if the position you hold on the subject cannot be controverted, then produce your strong reasons; for your position will not be shaken by coming in contact with error. There is no virtue
or manliness in keeping up a continual warfare in the dark, closing your eyes lest you may see, closing your ears lest you may hear, hardening your heart in ignorance and unbelief lest you may have to humble yourselves and acknowledge that you have received light on some points of truth." -- "Counsels on Sabbath School Work," p. 29. "When asked to hear the reasons of a doctrine that you do not understand, do not condemn the message until you have given it a thorough investigation, and know from the word of God that it is not tenable." -- "Counsels on Sabbath School Work," pp. 31, 32. "...when a view of Scripture is presented, many do not ask, Is it true, -- in harmony with God's word? but, By whom is it advocated? and unless it comes through the very channel that pleases them, they do not accept it. So thoroughly satisfied are they with their own ideas, that they will not examine the Scripture evidence, with a desire to learn, but refuse to be interested, merely because of their prejudices. "The Lord often works where we least expect Him; He surprises us by revealing His power through instruments of His own choice, while He passes by the men to whom we have looked as those through whom light should come. God desires us to receive the truth upon its own merits, -- because it is truth." -- "Testimonies to Ministers," p. 106. "...beware of rejecting that which is truth. The great danger with our people has been that of depending upon men, and making flesh their arm. Those who have not been in the habit of searching the Bible for themselves, or weighing evidence, have confidence in the leading men, and accept the decisions they make; and thus many will reject the very messages God sends to His people, if these leading brethren do not accept them." -- "Testimonies to Ministers," pp. 106, 107.
"Men, women, and youth, God requires you to possess moral courage, steadiness of purpose, fortitude and perseverance, minds that cannot take the assertions of another, but which will investigate for themselves before receiving or rejecting, that will study and weigh evidence, and take it to the Lord in prayer." -- "Testimonies," Vol. 2, p. 130. Astonishingly, though, the predominant voice within the Denomination boldly teaches its members the very contrary of what these Heaven-inspired passages aforequoted plainly declare. Conspicuously, therefore, do these passages expose It to be the voice of the Enemy in high places, quietly rocking all to sleep, and vigilantly watching that none ever awake them to their great need of God's Truth for the swiftly approaching time of the Judgment of the Living -- "the great and dreadful day of the Lord. " This shameless disregard of Inspiration's counsel now stands nakedly unmasked for what it actually is -- another of the Enemy's artful, inside efforts to keep God's people oblivious to their mounting peril, by keeping them drugged deeply asleep in lukewarm atmosphere (perfectly satisfied) and with minds fixed that they have need of nothing and that they are doing a great missionary work, although the Lord Himself declares that they are "wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked," and know it not. Rev. 3:17. Satan, moreover, could never have fired their minds with pride and prejudice and fear all calculated to make them hostily regard any purportedly fresh Heaven-sent revelation, and very mindful of the counsel which the enemies of God, while pretending to be friends of His people, pass on, so as to keep themselves forever lukewarm, in deadly peril of their lives. None of us could ever have fallen victims to this Laodicean malady had all of us as a people been studying for ourselves, and giving diligent heed to Inspiratlon's warning counsel in the following passage:
"The enemy is preparing for his last campaign against the church. He has so concealed himself from view that many can hardly believe that he exists, much less can they be convinced of his amazing activity and power. They have to a great extent forgotten his past record, and when he makes another advance move, they will not recognize him as their enemy, that old serpent, but they will consider him a friend, one who is doing a good work." -- "Testimonies," Vol. 5, p. 294. Only by giving ear to what Inspiration says, and by shunning all voices contrary to Its Voice, can any of us survive the Judgment and secure a place in the soon-coming Kingdom of God. "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good" (1 Thess. 5:21) is Heaven's admonition to all. Only thus can we make sure what God requires us to know and to do so that He will not have to spue us out of His mouth (Rev. 3:16), but rather that our names be "written in the Book" and we be delivered from the swift-coming "time of trouble, such as never was" (Dan. 12:1). So, if you are determined to know for yourself the only Heaven-appointed way of escape from being spued out at this most momentous hour in time, just hasten me a line, requesting that I, if possible, or otherwise a field worker, contact you and any others whose names and addresses you care to give us so that all of you may hear both sides. Then one of us shall visit you at the earliest opportunity, and shall be of all service possible to all concerned, without any obligation to anyone. Sincerely yours to forfeit no opportunity to "hear the reasons the messenger may give" ("Counsels on Sabbath School Work," p. 29), V. H. Jezreel, H. B. VHJ:ma
Dear Fellow Member: The only way for you to escape being taken by wolves in sheeps' clothing is if you ever remember the fact that the Judgment message, the last before Christ comes the second time, is what made us a people; that is, because the message had come, and because it has to be proclaimed, we S.D.A.'s came on the scene, and we certainly want to stay there until the work is finished. We must not become a back number as did the Protestant churches since they rejected the messages one after another. God forbid that we should be "spued out" and lose so late in the day. And what is the truth of the Judgment?-- The Judgment as you know is in two separate and distinct sections, one following the other -- the Judgment for the dead first, and the Judgment for the living last. This we know is so and we must not let subversive influences, even if they be in Seventh-day Adventist's garb, cause us to lose sight of this truth. Our part of the Judgment message since 1844 has been, as you know, to proclaim the Judgment for the dead, not for the living as yet. What is the Judgment for the dead?-- We have been taught by Inspiration that it is to separate the good from the bad, not bodily, but in books, because before the resurrection, the dead have no being, or "portion" "in anything that is done under the sun." -- Eccl. 9:5, 6. This judgment work is to enable the angels to know who is to come up in the first resurrection, in the resurrection of the holy ones (Rev. 20:4, 5, 11-14), and who is to come up in the second resurrection, in the resurrection of the unholy ones. To this end declares Daniel "the Judgment was set, and the books were opened." (Dan. 7:10.)
Thus it is that Inspiration calls the judgment work, "the cleansing or the sanctuary" (Dan. 8:14); that is, each professor of religion that ever died since the beginning of sin, is now judged and the case of each decided either to bring him up in the first resurrection or in the second; either to blot out from the records the name of each impenitent sinner, or to blot out for ever from the Book the sins of each penitent sinner. This has been Heaven's work since the year 1844, and every informed Seventh-day Adventist knows it. Now, since the message of the Judgment for the Living is of far greater importance than the message of the Judgment for the Dead, it is but expected that the Bible will have more to say about the latter than the former. This is so because the Judgment for the Living has to do with the living themselves, with the message bearers, rather than with the dead. In importance, therefore, there is no comparison between the two. How will we get the message of the Judgment for the Living?-- The answer is clear to all: We will get it in the same way we got the one in 1844. Since it then came through Inspiration and through God's own chosen instrumentality, it is certain that the additional message ("Early Writings," p. 277), too, is to come in the same way; that is, by inspiration through God's own chosen agency. Indeed Truth is never revealed in any other way but by Inspiration. See 2 Peter 1:20. As we had to hear the old message preached before we accepted it, we will have to hear the new message preached, and how shall we "hear without a preacher" (Rom. 10:14)? And as the old message was unpopular in its beginning, scoffed at, laughed at, ridiculed and scorned by men of station and influence, it is certainly expected that the new message and messengers, too, will be received and treated no better but even worse. Then it was strictly an
individual matter, no priest or prelate could meddle with the conscience of the other and so it must be now. Every soul is to make his own decision in his secret chamber with the aid of the Spirit of Truth. Is it possible for one to lose out when the message of the Judgment for the Living begins to sound, though he did not lose out when the message of the Judgment for the Dead sounded? -- The Spirit of Prophecy answers thus: "We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history." -- ''Life Sketches," p. 196. Yes, this is to be our only fear. Let us, therefore remember, and make positively sure that God is now to lead us in the same way as He did in 1844 and throughout the ages. Make doubly sure that you follow no other kind of leadership, that you let no man divert your attention from this straight path -- that you let no one lead you to believe that God is now leading through every Tom, Dick, and Harry. This we must not forget if we are to emulate and succeed the saints that have gone before us, and if we expect to be saved. If we forget this, then as sure as we stand, men will lead us away from God's message and turn us against His messengers even as the Jewish priests made their followers turn against Christ. God forbid that we should sin against the Holy Ghost by rejecting His message when It comes to us. Only by strictly following this Divine command can we be led right and survive the Judgment for the Living when it starts to "sever the wicked from among the just." Matt. 13:49. What is the Judgment for the Living? and what happens with the righteous, and what happens with the wicked, after they are judged? -- In His parables Christ illustrates that the righteous, as good fish, are put into vessels; as wheat, they are put into the barn; and as sheep, they go into life eternal -- they are placed in absolute security
sealed for eternity. But the wicked, as bad fish, are cast out, as tares, they are burned up; and as goats, they are sent into everlasting punishment. "So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." Matt. 13:49, 50. Here we see that the judgment work for the living is illustrated in several ways, and is variously called: "Judgment" (Dan. 7:10; Rev. 14:7; 1 Pet. 4:17); "Cleansing of the Sanctuary" (Dan. 8:14); "Purify His Temple" (Mal. 3:1-3); "Harvest" (Matt. 13:30); "Mighty sifting," "purification of the church," (5 T., p. 80). Concerning this judgment work, the Spirit of Prophecy has this to say: "...But the days of purification of the church are hastening on apace. God will have a people pure and true. In the mighty sifting soon to take place, we shall be better able to measure the strength of Israel. The signs reveal that the time is near when the Lord will manifest that his fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor.... They have not had the light which has been shining in a concentrated blaze upon you. But, it may be under a rough and uninviting exterior the pure brightness of a genuine Christian character will be revealed." - "Testimonies," Vol. 5, pp. 80, 81. The fact that the message of the Judgment for the Living is by far more widely treated by all the Bible prophets than is the Judgment for the Dead, is in itself proof positive that it is supremely important. I can, however, treat of it only very briefly in this letter -- only give the gist of it: As shown before, in the Judgment for the Dead the
sinners are separated from the righteous in books only, but in the Judgment for the Living the sinners and the righteous are bodily separated one from the other as Inspiration through the prophet Ezekiel explains: "And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer's inkhorn by his side; and the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem [the church], and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof [in the church]. And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity; slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which where before the house." Eze. 9:3-6. And through the prophet Malachi we are told that the Lord will beforehand send a messenger, and that after he prepares the way, the Lord will suddenly come to His temple (the church) for no reason other than to purify it, especially to purify the sons of Levi, the ministry. See Malachi 3:1-3. Then, says the Spirit of Prophecy, "Only those who have withstood temptation in the strength of the Mighty One will be permitted to act a part in proclaiming it [Third Angel's Message] when it shall have swelled into the Loud Cry." -- "The Review and Herald," Nov. 19, 1908. And to this "startling revelation" ("Testimonies to Ministers," p. 445) the prophet Isaiah adds: "For, behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with His chariots like a whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of
fire. For by fire and by His sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many. They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the Lord. For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues, and they shall come, and see My glory. And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the Isles afar off, that have not heard My fame, neither have seen My glory; and they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles. And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to My holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord." Isa. 66:15-20. Since the slaughter predicted by the prophet Isaiah takes place among those who profess to be sanctified and purified (falsely believe to have need of nothing more), and since those who escape from among them are sent to the Gentiles to preach the gospel, five distinct and supremely important points stand out plainly: (1) since the victims of the slaughter are those who against their God-given knowledge indulge in swine's flesh and other abominations, and since those who escape are versed in the gospel work enough to be sent to preach it to the Gentiles, the slaughter, therefore, is seen to take place in the church; (2) those who escape, according to Ezekiel, are those who sigh and cry against the abominations, and thus receive the mark of deliverance, (3) since they are sent to preach the gospel to the Gentiles after they escape the slaughter, they are "the remnant," those that are left, the future servants of God; (4) since they
are to gather from the Gentiles all their brethren, all that can possibly be saved, they are the ones who finish the gospel work in all the world, (5) since there are two separations -- one from the church (Israelites), and one from the Gentiles, -- those who escape and those who are gathered in -- then the former are the first fruits and the later the second fruits -- those of Revelation 7:4, 7-9, one from the tribes of Israel, and one from the Gentile nations. All these scriptures and many more, my friend, as you plainly see, refer to the purification of the church, to the great and dreadful day of the Lord (Mal. 4:5), to the Judgment for the Living and the gathering of the saints -- the "harvest" of which every prophet has written, some more and some less. Since this is so you certainly see that our elders are now doing what the priests in Christ's day were doing, and also what the religious leaders down through the Reformation were doing, and are no less determined to keep this message away from the laity, and to thereby deceive even the very elect, the 144,000, the very first fruits of the harvest, those who are to survive the Judgment "in the house of God" (1 Pet. 4:17), the future servants of God! If this is not the enemy's aim behind these hostile Elders' doings, and if this Truth can be refuted, they would not act like mad men, would not shun discussion with us, would not push us out of the churches in the hope that we cannot come in contact with the laity, would not advise you not to read but burn our literature, would not threaten to excommunicate you for studying this message, but would sit down and refute It if It is incorrect as they sit down with all others that disagree with them. Can't you see that the spirit which is now manifesting itself through these Truth-hating brethren is the very spirit which manifested itself through
the Jews, and through the enemies of Truth during the Protestant reformation, and also in the beginning of the 1844 movement? Do you not see that because they cannot attack this message on It's own merits, they get personal, attack the men in charge and resort to character defamation, to gossip and falsehood, to anything in the hope of turning you against the Message and the messenger. The Spirit of Prophecy predicted the crime in these words: "I saw that the very spirit of perjury, that would turn truth into falsehood, good into evil, and innocence into crime, is now active. Satan exults over the condition of God's professed people...." - "Testimonies for the Church," Vol. 5, pp. 94, 95. For the Elders to tell the laity what to read and what not to read, who to talk to and who not to talk to, who to let in their homes and who not to, is to make dolts, automatons, and spiritual invalids of them. The Elders should be told that they are taking even heavier burdens upon themselves than did the Jews or the ministers in our former churches while many of us where studying the Advent message. They can be helped if the laity tell them that this is a matter to be decided between the laity and their God; that if any one is to get into the Kingdom he must get there on his own God-given ability. Show them what the Spirit of God says in the following: "Precious light is to shine forth from the word of God, and let no one presume to dictate what shall or what shall not be brought before the people in the messages of enlightenment that He shall send, and so quench the Spirit of God. Whatever may be his position of authority, no one has a right to shut away the light from the people. When a message comes in the name of the Lord to His people, no one may excuse himself from an investigation of its claims. No one can afford to stand
back in an attitude of indifference and self-confidence, and say: 'I know what is truth. I am satisfied with my position. I have set my stakes, and I will not be moved away from my position, whatever may come. I will not listen to the message of this messenger; for I know that it cannot be truth.' It was from pursuing this very course that the popular churches were left in partial darkness, and that is why the messages of heaven have not reached them." -- "Counsels on Sabbath School Work," p. 28. This is what the phrase "religious liberty" means, my friend. Is this not the proper, honest, and honorable way to deal with the situation? Are you to follow men's sayings, or are you to follow Christ and His Truth? Tell those hostile Elders that their fight is not against "The Shepherd's Rod" but against God and against their own souls. ''...Those who train the mind to seize upon everything which they can use as a peg to hang a doubt upon," says the Spirit of Prophecy, "and suggest these thoughts to other minds, will always find occasion to doubt. They will question and criticize everything that arises in the unfolding of truth, criticize the work and position of others, criticize every branch of the work in which they have not themselves a part. They will feed upon the errors and mistakes and faults of others, 'until,' said the angel, 'the Lord Jesus shall rise up from his mediatorial work in the heavenly sanctuary, and shall clothe himself with the garments of vengeance, and surprise them at their unholy feast; and they will find themselves unprepared for the marriage supper of the Lamb.' Their tastes has been so perverted that they would be inclined to criticize even the table of the Lord in his kingdom." - "Testimonies for the Church," Vol. 5, p. 690. "...The separation," continues the Spirit of Truth, "causes pain and bitterness to both parties.
It is the variance which Christ declares that he came to bring. But the converted will feel a continual longing desire that their friends shall forsake all for Christ, knowing that unless they do, there will be a final and eternal separation. The true Christian cannot while with unbelieving friends, be light, and trifling. The value of the souls for whom Christ died, is too great." -- "Testimonies for the Church," Vol. 5, p. 83. Believe me, my friend, that if the message of the Judgment for the Living had not been Divinely revealed to us, if it was less serious than it is, if it had not been as clear as crystal, and if we were not commanded to bring it to you, we would not be hunting God's misled people in the rocks and in the mountains (Jer. 16:16) as it were -- we would not have been put under such a heavy burden and expense by going from door to door throughout the Adventist world in order to rescue them from the Laodicean self-deception; neither could we with our human power so nicely take the insults that are thrown at us almost hourly by men and women who profess to be serving God! "...In this time," says the Spirit of God, "the gold will be separated from the dross in the church. True godliness will be clearly distinguished from the appearance and tinsel of it. Many a star that we have admired for its brilliancy, will then go out in darkness. Chaff like a cloud will be borne away on the wind, even from places where we see only floors of rich wheat. All who assume the ornaments of the sanctuary, but are not clothed with Christ's righteousness, will appear in the shame of their own nakedness.... Those who have been timid and self-distrustful will declare themselves openly for Christ and his truth. The most weak and hesitating m the church, will be as David -- willing to do and dare.... Then will the church of Christ appear 'fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners.'" -- "Testimonies for the Church," Vol. 5, pp. 81, 82.
These Davids whom God is now disclosing to view will soon be calling on you to lay down God's plans for you. Please receive these servants of God in this layman's movement with the same courtesy with which you would expect them to receive you. We come to you with the pure Word of God and all we request of you is to give us an unbiased and unprejudiced hearing when we call on You in your home. Since you see that this letter contains the plain untarnished Truth, then if you hear any one talking against it you can help him by asking him to give you something better on these scriptures if he has it, and if not, to let you alone. If you are to help the enemies of Truth, tell them their drilling the laity that they have all the Truth, that they need no more, that they have the last message, that the Spirit of Prophecy says so although It says on the contrary, is plain falsehood. Tell them, not the Judgment for the Dead, but the Judgment for the Living is the last message, and they do not have it, and instead of looking for it, they are fighting against it. Tell them that the bible either proves these things so, or It does not; if It does not, then make them tell you where It does not. The mark of God (Ezekiel 9:4) and the mark of the beast (Rev. 13:16) are here seen to be two opposites as are the two women of Revelation twelve and seventeen -- the true and the counterfeit. The beast we are told is a man (Rev. 13:18). The demand to worship, obey the beast's command, therefore, is a demand to worship (obey) man in place of God. Both marks are for no other purpose but for to define who is who -- who is for God and who is for the beast. Those who obey God's Judgment message rather than the beast's decree, receive God's mark. And those who obey the beast's decree rather than God's message receive the beast's mark. These two
different marks, you see, separate the worshipers of God from the worshipers of men. And since Jesus declares that the separation takes place during harvest, and as you now see that the 'harvest" and the "Judgment" for the living are synonymous terms, then the conclusion is that as the mark of God is urged upon the believers of His Judgment message in the church, and as the mark of the beast is urged upon the worshipers of the beast during the Judgment in the world, the subject becomes clear: The enemies of the Judgment message in the church, and the enemies of the Judgment message in the world are both imbued with the spirit of the beast -- both doing the same kind of work against God's people, first in the church then in the world. The only difference between the two is that in the world the mark of the beast is enforced by civil law, whereas the church it is not, though the enemies against the Judgment message already have done everything in their power to secure the arm of the law against us. It is now left up to every individual member of the church to either take heed to God's Judgment message and receive His mark of deliverance, or to give heed to men's vain talk and die under the slaughter weapons of the angels. Sincerely yours for gathering the first fruits first, V.H. Jezreel, H.B.
Dear Elders and Laity: Because the hour is late, and because you Elders continue to spurn God's urgent plea that you fill your empty vessels with the golden oil (Matt. 25:1-13) now flowing from the golden bowl (Zech. 4) so that your path be lightened; and that you anoint your eyes with "eyesalve" so that you be no longer blind, Inspiration has this concluding counsel for you: Now is your final chance to obtain the badly needed oil for your lamps, and the badly needed salve for your eyes, Elders, (Rev. 3:18). If you fail now, you fail forever. I am sorry that in this, as in previous letters to you, the Spirit of Truth has no alternative but to continue to uncover your shame (Rev. 3:18). You can yet save the day if you turn away from the "Abominations" that are being fostered and cherished in your midst, even in the house of God. Here we shall mention but a few: Truth challenges you, Elders, to point out wherein the Bible teaches either by word or by example that the Sabbath and the church were made for raising goals, for auctioning, for selling literature and for taking subscriptions. The Bible does not teach or recommend even a plate collection (a custom which Rome originated) in Sabbath services, much less merchandising in the presence of God. All the Bible recommends is a container for free will offering placed somewhere in the church premises. It was into such "a treasury" that the widow, while entering the temple, placed her two mites. Your answer that the things which you merchandise "are in the interest of the Lord's work, is no excuse
at all. In fact, you condemn yourself the more by making it appear that the Lord Himself transgresses the Sabbath which He hallowed and Himself set the example of observing it by resting from all His works (Gen. 2:2). The wares which you Elders display and dispose of on the Sabbath in the house of God are not, you must know, more sacred or more important than were the sacrifices (lambs, oxen, and pigeons, etc.) which the Jews sold in the temple, and for which purchase the money changers were there. Can you not see that as the Lord angrily drove them out with the whip, He will with even greater fury drive out not only you Elders but also the laity who continue to participate in your "unholy feasts." Yes, He will deal with you even more severely than He dealt with the Jews, because you are desecrating both the temple of God and the holy Sabbath. Elders, do not longer presume that the Lord has "forsaken the earth," His people, or His church. He died to save them and He has not given them up. Nor will He let you run away with them. Forsake your wicked works, Elders, for why should you perish for filthy lucre? The Spirit of Prophecy long ago condemned your unholy practice but you continue on and on. Since you have now reached your limits, and since God's patience is exhausted, this is the Spirit's last call for you to give heed to His instruction: "A great mistake has been made by some who profess present truth, by introducing merchandise in the course of a series of meetings, and by their traffic diverting minds from the object of the meetings. If Christ were now upon earth, He would drive out these peddlers and traffickers, whether they be ministers or people, with a scourge of small cords, as when he entered the temple anciently, 'and cast out all them that sold and
bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money changers, and the seats of them that sold doves. And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer but ye have made it a den of thieves.' These traffickers might have pleaded as an excuse that the articles they held for sale were for sacrificial offerings. But their object was to get gain, to obtain means, to accumulate." -- Testimonies, Vol. 1, pp. 471, 472. As to your boast about the multiple millions of dollars raised annually by the Denomination, Inspiration has this to say: The patience and generosity of the laity (not their blindness) does deserve praise, but what about your works, Elders? Since the Bible does not teach any plate gatherings, but only freewill offerings (and not for your own use either), then by high pressuring the laity with your speeches, your pleas, and plate-passing all in the name of Christ, you make Him an extortioner of the worst kind. And by your harvest ingathering and other such campaigns to get money from the Gentiles, you make Him also a begger of the worst kind. Your repeated plate collection, which in some instances number as many as ten or more in one Sabbath morning, is blasphemy and robbery, not a blessing and freewill offering. You sell the Sabbath School quarterlies at a profit and then after studying the lessons you put the pressure upon the school members by which to squeeze every penny they may have with them. Following this they are again pressured into subscribing for magazines, periodicals, and then called upon to pay for church and school upkeep. Your high pressure and the laity's willingness to give, finally puts them in debt and makes them unable to pay their current bills! Thus you cause them to lose all the credit which a Christian, for Christ's sake, deserves to have in the business world! And still worse, though the Denomination takes
away from the laity everything possible, she does nothing for them in time of need! But for you Elders she does everything that is to be done, although it is the laity who by hardship and sacrifice provide the means! Yes, you spend your last days in respect comfort, and luxury, but when the laity get old and sick, or die empty-handed, you commit their cases to the world's charity institutions! What selfishness! What hardness of heart! What inequality and reproach against Christ! By taking their living away from them, and by doing nothing for them in time of need, you have thus forced them to take life insurance and thus to sin against God! It is high time, Elders, for you to know that there is to be a stop to this robbery and that there is to be a reckoning, too, that there is a just God that taketh vengeance upon the unjust. Let us now turn to the more sure word of prophecy and see what it has to say on the subject: "Son of man, prophecy against the shepherds of Israel, prophecy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds: Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. Therefore will I save My flock, and they shall no more be a prey, and I will judge between cattle and cattle. And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even My servant Davld; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the Lord will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them: I the Lord have spoken it. Ezek. 34:2-4, 22-24.
Here you note, Elders, that this scripture is not condemning your wicked deeds by way of example. It directly condemns the deeds of the shepherds of the Israel of today. This fact you find in verse 22 to 24, which declare that after the unfaithful and selfish shepherds are done away with, then it is that the one shepherd, antitypical David, takes over and he alone thereafter very carefully prepares and distributes the feed to the flock of God. Clothing yourselves with the wool, and feeding on the fat from God's sheep, but doing nothing for them in time of need is the awful charge against you Elders, and who can in truth deny your guilt? Moreover, since this scripture promises peace and security such as have never been since sin came in, and since it predicts the reformation now taking place among the laity throughout Laodicea, these are sure signs that this scriptures is now being fulfilled right before your eyes; that God has dismissed you Elders as much as He dismissed king Saul of old for taking what he had plainly been told not to take; that antitypical David and the perfect peace are at hand, that "those who have proved themselves unfaithful will not then be entrusted with the flock" (Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 80); that now "in the shaking testing time" the hidden faithful servants (the faithful laity) are being "disclosed to view"; that "few great men will be engaged" in this solemn work; that now "the gold will be separated from the dross." -- Testimonies, Vol. 5, pp. 80, 81. Inspiration thus plainly reveals that Ezekiel 34 points to this very time, and that it is a Heaven-sent message especially for you, Elders. God forbid that you should overtook this freshly revealed truth, or neglect to take heed to it and to reform. It is only because God yearns to save you that He in Isaiah's latter-day prophecies again expose your incredible wickedness:
"O My people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths. The Lord standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people. The Lord will enter into judgment with the ancients of His people, and the princes thereof: for ye have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses. What mean ye that ye beat My people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord God of hosts." Isa. 3:1215. This scripture itself, you note, points out that it is speaking to the people at the commencement of the judgment of the living. The charge is that ye have misled the people, that ye have "eaten up the vineyard," that "the spoil of the poor is in your houses." The rest of the chapter goes on to say that in some instances you have taken the living of the poor and have bestowed it upon your daughters, the which they lavish and wickedly display upon themselves. Since it is obvious that you will not much longer be allowed to "grind the faces of the poor," why not repent now? Why keep on with your wickedness, and why perish in it? There are thousands of cases such as Brother A. L. Friis' from whom the conference took thousands of dollars for their annuity fund, but did nothing for his care and for his medical bills in his old age. And when a suggestion was sent to them by mail, pleading that they should at least pay part of his funeral expenses, they denied him this, too, by complete silence. God has ordained that the ministry be supported by the tithe, but you elders are consuming everything -- tithe, freewill offerings, plate collections, harvest ingathering, legacies and what not! And though the Spirit of Prophecy instructed you years ago to pay the ministerial college teachers from the tithe (Testimonies, Vol. 6, p. 215), you still continue to pay them by collecting tuition and entrance fees from the students! You thus
cheat the students in order to use on yourselves their rightful part of the tithe! The Sabbath and the church you have turned Into institutions of gain instead of rest, prayer, praise, and study. All this you do to feed yourselves and still you do not have enough. What a bottomless pit your stomachs must be! Do you still deny that you have eaten up the vineyard? If your literature is any good at all, it should not be sold at such high prices, but instead it should be given away free of charge and thus be scattered everywhere as the leaves of autumn. On the contrary, though, books that should be sold for $1 per copy you are selling for $2 or $3. If the literature is given away free, and if it is convincing, it should bring added multitudes of souls and thus yield more in tithes and offerings than its purchase price now brings. Your love of money, though, makes you afraid to take that chance. If there is any literature ever given away, the laity are called upon to pay for it, too. All these plain facts taken together, Elders, prove that the sons of Eli had nothing on you. Did they? Your hoarding the spoil of the poor, misinterpreting the Scriptures, undermining confidence in the prophets, and keeping God's people in darkness concerning the judgment for the living ("great and dreadful day of the Lord') are wickedness such as never was! If you are doing these wicked things blindly then why not now confess to the Lord that He is correct in saying that you are "wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked" -- in need of everything instead of in need of nothing (Rev. 3:17). Repent of your unbelief and be forgiven. To back up what we have said about your boasting of Denominational prosperity, we present the following figures:
According to the Denomination's 1952 Year Book, the tithes and offerings for missionary work in the twelve-year period, from 1938 to 1950, amounted to $313,732,091.49 and the gain in membership was 286,761. These figures show that the laity from 1938 to 1950 have paid to you Elders exactly $1,094.05 for every member you have added to the church. The picture becomes still worse when we take into consideration that the children that are raised in Seventh-day Adventist homes over the same period exceed the gain in church membership. It has been estimated by actual figures that a church of a hundred members in twelve years (the age at which a child may join the church) would raise at least 84 children to that age. According to this ratio 469,951 church members -- the membership in 1938 -- would have by 1950 yielded 394,758 church members raised in Seventh-day Adventist homes if all of them stayed in the church. Here you see that the children that were raised in Seventh-day Adventist homes in the past 12 years out number the gain of church members by 107,957 souls over the same period of time. The actual facts stand out thus: If the entire increase in membership has come from the Gentiles, then the laity have lost all their own children, 394,758 strong, and for $313,732,091.49 they have brought 394,758 Gentiles! And if they had saved all their own children, then the increase without even one Gentile would have been 394,758 instead of 286,761, and the laity's $313,732,091.49 hard-earned money would have been in their own pockets instead of yours, Elders. Is this anything to boast about? Prosperity? What kind? What has driven the S.D.A. children into the world instead of into the church? And what keeps the laity from bringing their neighbors and friends to the church? Also what drives out through the
church's back door almost as many newly made converts as are brought in through the front door? -- The answer is obvious: your constant goal raising and plate passing all through the services, and your starving them by the absence of pure, wholesome spiritual food. We hope you will never again accuse us of stepping off the "platform," but instead you yourselves, Elders, hastily get back on it. Too, we would have you know that the laity is not so blind as you think they are to your falsely boasting of a soul-gathering prosperity which you never back up by absolute facts. Such success never takes place here in the homeland, but always in far-away lands, lands where no one of us has a way to check up on you. Why not do something here? Are the heathen closer to your hearts than we of the homeland? Your constantly accusing us of saying that you practice "priest craft," is not doing away with this truth, Elders, and the sooner you know it the better for you. A system of priest craft is entirely different from a system of robbing the poor. Moreover, we are not accusing you of anything, we merely call your attention to what Inspiration Itself says; we merely comply with what It commands us to do. Here follows our commission: "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.... 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? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from shine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and shine health shall spring forth
speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward." Isa. 58:1, 6-8. Your gossip that you have squelched the Rod, that it is dying out, is another false statement. No, not the Rod. Do not forget that graft like yours is what nailed the thesis to the doors of the Wittenberg cathedral. The thesis you see are now being nailed on the doors of every one who sponsors and supports these outrageous crimes of robbing the laity and of keeping them in darkness of God's Truth for this time. We are sure that you now plainly see what caused the beast's deadly wound to be healed (Rev. 13:3). We are also sure that you are now aware of the fact that the Devil's taking the church captive is what made the whole world wonder after the beast (cannot be the whole world without the church). It is certain that if you are to escape alive from the vengeance of God, these facts you Elders now dare not deny, neither dare you refuse to arise and as loud as you possibly can proclaim revival and reformation throughout the breadth and length of Laodicea. No, these are not vain words, Elders. Hear what the ensuing paragraphs say: "What greater deception can come upon human minds than a confidence that they are right, when they are all wrong! The message of the True Witness finds the people of God in a sad deception, yet honest in that deception. They know not that their condition is deplorable in the sight of God. While those addressed are flattering themselves that they are in an exalted spiritual condition, the message of the True Witness breaks their security by the startling denunciation of their true condition of spiritual blindness, poverty, and wretchedness. The testimony, so cutting and severe, cannot be a mistake, for it is the True Witness who speaks, and
his testimony must be correct." -- Testimonies, Vol. 3, pp. 252, "God has not changed toward His faithful servants who are keeping their garments spotless. But many are crying, 'Peace and safety,' while sudden destruction is coming upon them. Unless there is thorough repentance, unless men humble their hearts by confession, and receive the truth as it is in Jesus, they will never enter heaven. When purifications shall take place in our ranks, we shall no longer rest at ease, boasting of being rich and increased with goods, in need of nothing. "Who can truthfully say, 'Our gold is tried in the fire, our garments are unspotted by the world'? I saw our instructor pointing to the garments of so-called righteousness. Stripping them off, He laid bare the defilement beneath. Then He said to me: 'Can you not see how they have pretentiously covered up their defilement and rottenness of character? "How is the faithful city become an harlot?" My Father's house is made a house of merchandise, a place whence the divine presence and glory have departed! For this cause there is weakness, and strength is lacking.'" -- Testimonies, Vol. 8, p. 250. What more "cutting and severe" testimony than this do you Elders expect? This, Elders and laity, is indeed the voice of prophecy, and, therefore, now there is no question in your minds as to why we are working strictly within the church rather than for the world. Now is seen who uses the Testimonies out of their setting. Now there is no doubt of the laity's rising with one accord, and tearing off the shackles that bind the poor and that keep back the progress of the gospel. Now to summarize the matter, we in Truth and in the name of Christ say to you Elders and laity: Shall you not praise God that for your lives' sake,
Truth in three consecutive letters, including this one, has unveiled to all of you that in his blindness, self-deception and lukewarmness, the angel of the church of the Laodiceans has of the house of God made a den of thieves, by the gospel of Christ has he made merchandise of His people, and by twisting the Scriptures he has attempted to undermine confidence in the prophets. Review our former letters to you. Your marvelous ingenuity to cover up all this rottenness of character and make it appear as a garden of roses under a clear sky, is something! And the cause of your stubbornly keeping the laity from coming in contact with the Rod literature and with its adherents is now to all perfectly understandable. There is now only one thing to do if you are to save face and regain favor and respect with God and men, and that is for you to take your stand on Truth's side, then put your wonderful ability into action throughout Laodicea for a complete return to God. I hope that I have not become your enemy, Elders, for telling you the plain truth in the fear of God and for your own eternal good. Rather deal with the issues involved, and do what you can to escape the overflowing scourge that is now at your door, and at the door of every one who fails to sigh and cry for the abominations that are in your midst (Ezek. 9 and Testimonies, Vol. 5, pp. 80, 81). This, you note, is not Brother Houteff but the layman's movement, imbued with
the Spirit and at
work. Sincerely yours for immediate action and for complete revival and reformation, VHJ:cc
Dear Sabbath Keeper, God-remembered Saint: Because the hour so decrees, we are saluting you by your Heaven-born title instead of your earthly name. You will be glad to know that a group of us field workers are still in your vicinity with plans to interview every member of our Seventh-day Adventist Denomination. We are therefore mailing this forerunner to you because we understand that you are a zeal-filled S.D.A. in good and regular standing, hungering and thirsting after Truth and righteousness by which to advance the Kingdom of God. Did you get our other three letters that were sent to you? As authorized representatives of the Layman's Movement, we are in a position to answer all your questions such as how and when the movement came into being, what it stands for, what it does, etc. Then, too, we like to lay before you the predictions of it as found in the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy and of how it came to us so that you be well equipped to help as many as possible. Since this movement's activities in prophecy are now as clear as day, and as fresh as the morning dew, brought to view by Divine revelation through the Scriptures which heretofore were to all of us only mysteries, especially the writings of minor prophets so-called, you will therefore so much the more want to know all about it. You are aware, we are sure, that even common sense itself teaches that those prophecies of the Bible are not there for ornaments but rather because of their most important latter-day messages, "meat in due season" (Matt. 24:45), planned to be unsealed and brought to our attention at the time appointed. God's Own command now is:
"Hear ye the rod, and Who hath appointed it." Mic. 6:9. "Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of shine heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel." Mic. 7:14. "Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off." Nah. 1:15. "Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion, put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean." Isa. 52:1. For this very reason we are happy and ready to serve you by bringing to your attention our God-given work for this time and by sharing its blessings with you. We, moreover, assure you that there is no fanaticism and no round-the-bush or double talk connected with what we have to say. Just plain facts and unquestionable freshly revealed Bible Truth, and that is all. You will then for certainty know the possibilities that are yours, also the possibilities of God's work on earth now getting quickly finished, and of Christ's imminent coming to gather the precious harvest of the earth. We shall venture here to tell you of a few items that God has now provided for quickly finishing His work and for cutting it short in righteousness. He has armed us with all the necessary Heaven-born credentials and helps and supplies so that, aside from the Devil's hell-bound wrath, though greatly restricted, there is nothing in our way to cause any hindrance or to limit this movement's success. Here follow some of the helps which, as you will
see, are absolutely unique to this particular time and never before dispensed as freely as they are now: Everyone who endeavors to do whatever he or she can do, be it little or much, be it part or full time, is now provided with free literature of unlimited amount, with free transportation, be the trip a mile or a thousand miles long, and whatever expenses one may incur by his busying himself in this great and grand work, are all paid by this Layman's Movement. Why is the call of action so urgent? Because Inspiration definitely reveals that the time of the Judgment for the Dead is about to pass away and the time for the Judgment for the Living about to begin. And since there was a special message for the Judgment concerning the Dead, it is even more important that there should be a special message concerning the Judgment for the Living, the announcement of which is already here. The Spirit of Prophecy speaks of the message in the following words: "I saw angels hurrying to and fro in heaven, descending to the earth and again ascending to heaven, preparing for the fulfillment of some important event. Then I saw another mighty angel commissioned to descend to the earth, to unite his voice with the third angel, and give power and force to his message.... This message seemed to be an addition to the third message, joining it as the midnight cry joined the second angel's message in 1844...." -- Early Writings, p. 277. "...The work of God in this earth," Inspiration continues "can never be finished until men and women comprising our church membership rally to work, and unite their efforts with those of ministers and church officers." -- Gospel Workers, p. 352. You start your work right at home and expand as far as you care to. You can work in our Seventh-day
Adventist communities either part or full time. Ministerial students, too, are now given full free training course, in perfect harmony with the following Divine command: "Our conferences look to the schools for educated and well-trained laborers, and they should give the schools a most hearty and intelligent support. Light has been plainly given that those who minister in our schools, teaching the word of God, explaining the Scriptures, educating the students in the things of God should be supported by the tithe money (not by tuition). This instruction was given long ago, and more recently it has been repeated again and again." -- Testimonies, Vol. 6, p. 215. Ministerial students now need not pay either tuition or entrance fees. Now, our Seventh-day Adventist slogan, "Every Seventh-day Adventist a missionary and every missionary a preacher," is becoming a reality and is daily increasing in intensity. This is now actually taking place throughout the Adventist world. We are sure that you will not want to miss such a God-given opportunity. Now is the Scripture fulfilled: "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy, and eat, yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." Isa. 55:1. Now commands the Lord: "Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee he is utterly cut off." Nah. 1:15. Since every necessity in connection with this "latter day" work, including plans, are now furnished free of charge to any able-bodied and willing worker, there is nothing that could possibly hinder you from engaging in it. All that is required of you is your energy, talent, and ability as God gives them to you. It is a real pleasure to
work for the Lord, for His kingdom and for His people, as well as for our own eternal home. Our organizing the work in your vicinity and in this section of the state will soon close. It is, therefore, important that you immediately contact us by mailing the inclosed self-addressed post card or by calling thus making an appointment to meet you at your own home and at your own opportune time, confidentially to lay down to you the light and plans of this Heaven-born "revival and reformation" of which Sister White was given a vision and of which she wrote at length in Testimonies, Vol. 9, p. 126. Read it, you will not want to miss what she says there. Now fill out the inclosed post card and mail it today, but watch your steps and expect to meet the Devil, if he has not even ahead of time already talked to you, for thus instructs the Spirit of God: We need never expect that when the Lord has light for His people, Satan will stand calmly by, and make no effort to prevent them from receiving it." -- Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 728. Remember, however, that Satan will not appear to you as one having horns and hoofs, but as an angel of light, as a friend and a servant of God, even endeavoring to impersonate Christ's own attributes if possible. There is, therefore, safety in nothing but in the Word of God Itself, speaking to you personally, not through a medium. "Beloved," counsels Inspiration, "believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1) trailing after the true, for if there is no true there can be no false. Then, instructs the Spirit of God: "Precious light is to shine forth from the Word of God, and let no one presume to dictate what
shall or what shall not be brought before the people in the messages of enlightenment that He shall send, and so quench the Spirit of God. Whatever may be his position of authority, no one has a right to shut away the light from the people. When a message comes in the name of the Lord to His people, no one may excuse himself from an investigation of its claims. No one can afford to stand back in an attitude of indifference and self-confidence, and say: 'I know what is truth. I am satisfied with my position. I have set my stakes, and I will not be moved away from my position, whatever may come. I will not listen to the message of this messenger; for I know that it can not be truth.' It was from pursuing this very course that the popular churches were left in partial darkness, and that is why the messages of heaven have not reached them." -- Testimonies on Sabbath School Work, p. 65. "But beware of rejecting that which is truth. The great danger with our people has been that of depending upon men, and making flesh their arm. Those who have not been in the habit of searching the Bible for themselves, or weighing evidence, have confidence in the leading men, and accept the decisions they make; and thus many will reject the very messages God sends to His people, if these leading brethren do not accept them." -- Testimonies to Ministers, pp. 106, 107. Do not let any peace-and-safety, need-of-nothing crier befuddle and confuse you. Be a hero for God by doing nothing but what Inspiraton says. Do not forget to mail the card right now. Very sincerely yours,
Dear Elders and Laity: The burden of this letter is especially for you Elders who seem to think that you and the booklet entitled "A Reply to The Shepherd's Rod" have refuted the doctrines which are taught in "The Shepherd's Rod" publications. You are certainly beguiled by the booklet's so-called great men, supposedly "men of experience." We would have you to know that they have refuted nothing, and here follow the plain naked facts: Since the Brethren's whole burden is to refute the "Rod" doctrines on the subjects of the harvest and of the 144,000, we shall now deal strictly with these two subjects. "A Reply To The Shepherd's Rod," page 16, quotes the following from "Christ's Object Lessons": "The tares and the wheat are to grow together until the harvest; and the harvest is the end of probationary time." -- "Christ's Object Lessons," p. 72. By this quotation the Elders try to make us believe that the harvest takes place after the close of probation! But they certainly must know that "probationary time" does not end after the close of probation, but before; and that thus the quotation places the harvest before probation closes, that the "end of probationary time" causes probation to close. Since you Elders are well versed in the English language, we are constrained to say that your trying to make yourself believe that the quotation says what it does not say, cannot be charged to ignorance or to oversight but rather to deliberate side-stepping, attempting to falsely refute the "Rod" and thus to cheat the laity of Its special message for these trying times. Yes, "men of experience," but what kind?
One can go through the whole booklet and find every quotation thus twisted and distorted! If they could not have correctly seen what "Christ's Object Lessons" says, they most certainly have not failed to see that their error is corrected by the following inspired statement: "I then saw the third angel. Said my accompanying angel, 'Fearful is his work. Awful is his mission. He is the angel that is to select the wheat from the tares, and seal, or bind, the wheat for the heavenly garner. These things should engross the whole mind, the whole attention.'" -- "Early Writings," p. 118. This quotation, too, Brother, Sister, needs no interpretation. It, too, plainly tells that the harvest precedes the close of probation, that the Third Angel's Message is both to seal and "select the wheat from the tares." Every Seventh-day Adventist knows that this work of the angel is probationary (during the time of salvation). Here you see that the cleansing of the sanctuary (Dan. 8:14) is the Judgment for the Living, "the purification of the church" (5 T 80), which is accomplished by destroying the "tares" and sparing the "wheat." Then the Loud Cry begins with a pure ministry imbued with the Spirit of God. This is plainly seen from the following excerpts: "Only those who have withstood and overcome temptation in the strength of the Mighty One will be permitted to act a part in proclaiming it [Third Angel's Message] when it shall have swelled into the Loud Cry. -- "Review and Herald," Nov. 19, 1908. "Clad in the armor of Christ's righteousness, the church is to enter upon her final conflict. 'Fair as the moon, clear as the sun and terrible as an army with banners,' she is to go forth into all the world, conquering and to conquer." -- "Prophets and Kings," p. 725.
No plainer language can be employed by which to declare that the Loud Cry is proclaimed by a pure ministry and that after this separation or purification ("Testimonies," Vol. 5, pp. 80, 82) takes place, then it is that the work is finished in all the world, that then are the saints truly called out of Babylon into a sinless place -- into the church purified, the ark for today, the only place where the plagues do not fall. Our prayerful hope, Brethren, is that you will sit down to business and study the additional Truth ("Early Writings," p. 277) so that you be not led to bitterly cry out: "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." Jer. 8:20. The harvest you again see, takes place during the time of salvation. Brethren, do not lightly pass over this important Truth. Definitely take your stand for It and completely denounce Its enemies if you are to escape the fast approaching scourge, the "Judgment in the house of God" (1 Pet. 4:17). The situation demands action to the end that a revival and reformation be immediately effected, lest we all perish in our Laodicean self-deception ("Testimonies," Vol. 9, p. 126). By twistings of Divine revelations as these lines point out, you Elders may convince a surface reader that you have refuted the Rod of God, but as far as we know you have never yet so convinced any normal minded Davidian, or any S.D.A. thinker. Anyone with normal reasoning powers can go through the whole book, "A Reply To The Shepherd's Rod," and there find that "a reply" is all it is. It is now plainly seen that not Brother Houteff, but you Elders are misinterpreting the Word of God and misleading the laity. We shall now take up the Denomination's theology on the subject of the 144,000. You Elders proudly
tell us that the Denomination now numbers nearly a million members, and that she has set her goal to double the membership. On one hand you brag about Its rapid growth and on the other hand you try to refute "The Shepherd's Rod" teaching that the great multitude of Revelation 7:9 are the second fruits of the harvest. By your positively holding that the living saints are to be only a few in number, and by your bragging about the Denomination's rapid growth and of her multiple hundreds of thousands already in the church, you are thus creating a paradox for yourselves and for all your sympathizers. Besides this, you admit that the greatest part of the work is yet to be done -- that there are millions upon millions even in the United States itself who have not as yet heard so much as the name Seventh-day Adventist, much less "the everlasting gospel." Plain it is, therefore, Brethren, that at the present ratio of growth, when the work is finished and Jesus comes to take His church to glory-land, the Denomination by then will have grown to several millions strong. Notwithstanding this background that you Elders have yourselves built up, yet contrary to it all, you teach that when Jesus comes, there will be only 144,000 living saints, no more! Are you Elders not confused and confusing? If you really believe your theory of the 144,000, then will you in the Spirit of Christ and at least for your own soul's sake, take paper and pencil and accordingly figure the percentage of saints and the percentage of devils, or tares, that even now constitute the membership of our churches? Since the membership already numbers no less than 800,000, and if there be only 144,000 saints in it, then according to this ratio a congregation of 100 members would consist of about 18 saints and 82 devils! And since the officers who run the churches are elected by majority vote, do you see who elected them, who is in office, and who is in control of the churches? Do you wonder then why things are running as they are?
If it be true that there are to be only 144,000 living saints when Jesus comes, and if the membership doubles by the end of 1953 or 1954 as the aim seems to be, then at that rate in 1955 according to your own calculation, there will be only 9 saints to 91 devils out of every hundred members. Accordingly if the membership doubles several times before Jesus comes to receive His church then there will not be even one saint in a hundred members! If this be so, then ask yourselves whose church is the church? -- the Devil's? or the Lord's? and where shall He look for it when He comes? These sad facts stand as high as mountains against your private interpretations, Elders, and as eye-openers to your flocks. If you therefore continue to say that you are not asleep, that your interpretation of the Word is unquestionable, that you have all the Truth to take you through the Pearly Gates, that you have need of nothing more, than there is no hope; you are too far gone. We personally know, though, that there are many who are not so badly fooled, who have not bowed the knee to Baal, who have not permitted themselves to be locked in corrals as it were, like sheep and cattle, by imposters and so-called "men of experience that control and feed the flock of God there with such low grade husks as these lines disclose. Your bragging about the Denomination's numerous conversions the world over now challenges you to honestly answer the questions that here ensue: Why are you Elders jubilantly bringing the multitudes into the churches if you positively know that only 144,000 out of a vast multitude of church members are to be worthy of salvation? Why are you giving them hope of a home in the Kingdom if you positively know that they cannot be saved? Is not such an ingathering outright deception and the greatest endeavor to infiltrate the church with tares ever heard of, and is it not spiritual whoredom of the
worst kind to fill the church of God with devils? In the following quotation Inspiration further magnifies this Truth: "I saw jets of light shining from cities and villages, and from the high places and the low places of the earth. God's word was obeyed, and as a result there were memorials for Him in every city and village. His truth was proclaimed throughout the world." -- "Testimonies," Vol. 9, p. 28. Jets of light from cities and villages, from high and low places of the earth, and "memorials" in every city and village, represent a great multitude, not merely 144,000. Even if there were no more than one jet or memorial in every city and village, the number of them would be many, many times more than 144,000. To cover up the deep slumber that is reflected by the aforesaid figures, one minister explained: "When the work closes," he said, "there would be in the church many more thousands than 144,000 living saints, but rather than being translated, the greater number of them will have to die from the plagues or from epidemics before Jesus comes, because they could not be good enough for translation although perfect enough for resurrection! What an eye-opener to the laity these outstanding false doctrines! And what a compelling power now for you Elders to admit Christ's charge that you, the "angel" of the church of the Laodiceans, are "wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." Rev. 3:17. If the Spirit of Truth cannot now so convince you, then He never will. Wisdom, though, cries out that you had better now confess to the laity that you are guilty of passing out falsehood, and take to heart the Lord's counsel: "I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire [inspired Truth], that thou mayest be rich;,
and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear, and anoint shine eyes with eye-salve [such as this], that thou mayest see. As many as l love I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent." Rev. 3:18, 19. Your nakedness you see, is already beginning to be uncovered. For your sake these things have been kept away from the public eye, but since you have completely scorned every Heaven-sent plea for twenty long years, you are reaping a harvest. And if you do not now respond to this final revelation against the abominations in your midst, and to this plea for a reformation, then every one will know that your doings, Elders are deliberate attempts to deceive "the very elect," the 144,000 who, according to prophecy, are already in the church. If you ever intend to do something different from what you are now doing, you had better do it at this very moment. Now is the time to take to heart what the Spirit of Prophecy warned long ago. Do not fail to read "Testimonies," Vol. 5, p. 80; Vol. 3, p. 252 and on. Is it not shocking to you Elders who with one corner of your mouths teach these heresies and with the other corner of your mouths shout to your flocks to look out for the "The Shepherd's Rod," that It teaches error! What a paradox this is! What is really surprising, though, is that there are not a few, especially of the laity, who, without a question and with their eyes closed like birds in a nest, swallow whatever their confused Elders hand to them. These are the very ones who encourage the Elders to do what they are now doing. Such are too lazy to think, and too drowsy to open their eyes and to study for themselves. They expect the minister to carry them in his arms right into Heaven! They have forgotten that everyone must on his own legs get there.
Their falling for private (uninspired) interpretations of the Scriptures, such as you Elders teach concerning the 144,000, is incredible indeed. They are not all so fooled, though; many of them are already discovering that all such perpetrators are underground agents of un-Adventist activities. God's true people know that though Jesus, by the name Michael, comes in a time of trouble such as never was, yet He delivers everyone whose name is written in the book, and that all God's people who are at that time in Babylon, the world, and thus subject to the plagues, are all called out (Rev. 18:4), and as they come out of her and into God's purified church they all escape the plagues; none have to die for any such reason. They all know that if they are good enough to come up in the first resurrection, they are good enough for translation. They know that the standard of salvation is not lower for the resurrected than it is for the translated. The Elders who have gone so deeply into darkness, if they are to be helped, the laity must compel them to really prove their teachings by the Bible; for such strange, inconsistent and erroneous theology, heresy of the lowest type, purposely devised to fight Truth with it, is certain to plunge them and their sympathizers to the bottom of the pit. If they continue to fight the "Rod," do not let them take you into something else, or to personalities, let them fight It in what It says here. They should be shown that what the "Rod" teaches It proves. Then they should be made to understand that their following the head men who have usurped the title "men of experience," and who have infiltrated the church of today with tares and error in no lessen degree than did the Sanhedrin-heresy teachers in Christ's day, will lead them and all their sympathizers into hell.
The Elders are warning the laity not to read the 'Rod," but to burn It, only because they are determined to keep them in darkness so that they may never discover the delusion into which they have been led. Notwithstanding the ministers' command, "Thou shalt not," many of the laity are already beginning to see that before they voice their opinion, and before they set their stakes, they had better look into these things for themselves. Thanks be to God that the 144,000 are not all the living saints that they are but the "first fruits" (Rev. 14:4) of the great harvest that they are not from all nations but only from the twelve tribes of the children of Israel (Rev. 7:4-8) -- the fruits from the church at the commencement of the harvest (Judgment for the Living). The great multitude, though, which John saw immediately after the sealing of the 144,000, are "from all nations" (Rev. 7:9), over whom Babylon then rules (Rev. 17), and who are called to come out of her (Rev. 18:4). They are the second fruits. God will have a church filled with saints, not with devils. None will have to die to be saved, but all may live to be delivered by Michael's standing up (Dan. 12:1). "Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of My planting, the work of My hands that I may be glorified. A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the Lord will hasten it in his time." Isa. 60:21, 22. Does not this scripture also say that there are to be multitudes of true conversions and no devils in their midst? Why limit the Lord? It is your duty, Brother, Sister, to tell plainly and kindly to your Elders that the term "first fruits" (Rev. 14:4) definitely implies that there are to be second fruits, just as does the term "first resurrection" (Rev. 20:5) definitely imply
that there is to be a second resurrection. Tell them that they had better not meddle with the Word of God. Tell them that since Inspiration does not say that the great multitude are the resurrected ones, they have no right to say that they are the resurrected. Tell them that their adding the word "resurrected," and their taking away the words "second fruits" which are implied by the term "first fruits," is nothing short of deliberately adding to, and taking from, the Word of God (Rev. 22:18-20). This alone is enough to convince any open-eyed Adventist that the church is at sea "without chart or compass." But should we not be thankful that the "Rod" has found both the chart and the compass, and that we may have them back if we want them? Elders, it is certain that if the laity allow you to continue on with the head men's foolishness, you will prove no less detrimental to the church at this time than did the pious priests in Christ's time, who, by their Sanhedrin foolishness proved detrimental to the Old Testament church. Yes, as surely as God lives, their foolishness, selfwill, and supposedly wise judgment will prove no less detrimental to the Denomination than did Hitler's foolishness and his false philosophy prove detrimental to Germany. Do you Elders realize that in your tirades against "The Shepherd's Rod," you do not at all deal with the issues involved, but instead you boast about goals raised and about saintly men running the churches? Just how does that refute the "Rod"? Obviously you Elders do not know that such boasting is condemned by the Scriptures (Jer. 7:4). Evidently you have not read "Testimonies," Vol. 5, p. 217. Heretofore you have been talking generalities and scattering character defamation, but now you will have to deal with the issue! We are sure that the Spirit of God through the laity will demand this of you.
Since the church as a body has never since the beginning of the world accepted a new message, and since the ministry in every age and in every church has bitterly fought it, it is not surprising that they are now doing the same. Your decision now, as always, must therefore be altogether an individual matter. But remember that your decision is not to be that of joining something, but of joining Christ and His Judgment message for the salvation and prosperity of the Denomination. Stay in it and work for its return to God. It is not Babylon, and do not let them intimidate you to leave it. They may take your name off of their church records which are now devised for no other purpose but upon which to base their goals and other money raising campaigns, but that is all they can do. If you want to know why the church is not Babylon and what Babylon is, then you had better study "The Shepherd's Rod." If you are convinced of the facts brought out in these pages, and if you pray for forgiveness and for guidance, then happy shall you be, and your hope shall not be in vain. But if this fails to open your eyes, then what hope is there for you but forever to abide in your Laodicean self-deception and to spend eternity in the company of those who crucified the Lord? The Spirit's recommendation for the Laodicean malady is this: "Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." 1 Thess. 517-21. Do as the noble Bereans who "received the Word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily whether those things were so." Acts 17:11. "Knowing this first that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation" (2 Peter 1:20), that only by Divine gift of interpretation can prophecy be interpreted. Cease from all un-Adventist activities; return to God. Shun uninspired interpretations of the Scriptures
lest you be led not by the Spirit of "all Truth," but by the spirit of the Devil that is working through everyone who engages in private interpretations of the Scriptures to keep himself and others in darkness and away from the Spirit of Truth for this very time. "Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?" (Isa. 2:22), but do something to save them. Faithfully yours for a revival and reformation such as has never been seen
(9 T 126),
BEWARE OF FALSE PROPHETS Dear Friend, [PICTURE] Through these cartoons our Sabbath School quarterly, you plainly see, wants you to know the Truth as It is in Jesus for It alone makes anyone free. So to be one of, or one with the 144,000 guileless servants of God would be a mighty and final victory, eternal security, and life for evermore! Now is your opportunity and you cannot afford to lose out so late in the day. For this reason I am penning these special lines to you. And since Inspiration's counsel is, "study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of Truth" (2 Tim. 2:15), you positively know that this is what God wants you to do. The 144,000, let us note, are not from the Gentile nations, but strictly from the church, from the twelve tribes of Israel -- from the descendants of Jacob (Rev. 7:3-8). Then, to conclude that there will be no more than 144,000 living saints when Jesus comes the second time, is to say that not a soul from the Gentile nations is to be saved, which, of course, is contrary to the teachings of the Bible, not according to Jeremiah 8:20, not in harmony with the testimony of the prophets, though in harmony with the law. Moreover, the 144,000 are only the first fruits (Rev. 14:4) and where there is first there must be second fruits also else there cannot be first. Because
there is a first resurrection we know that there is a second one. Those that were seen after the sealing of the 144,000, the great multitude from all nations (Rev. 7:9) are, therefore, the second fruits. Besides their racial lineage of identification there are the words "first," "fruits," "servants of God," "sealed" and "standing on Mount Zion" by which to identify who the 144,000 are and what they are. Obviously they are called fruits because they are the result of the "harvest," the work which separates the tares from the wheat. The word "first" connotes that they are the first crop (group) to be harvested -- separated from the "tares," for Jesus explains that the harvest is the time in which to separate the tares from the wheat (Matt. 13:30). The harvest is variously termed: (1) the purification of the church ("Testimonies," Vol. 5, p. 80); (2) the closing work for the church ("Testimonies," Vol. 3, p. 266); (3) the time in which the bad fish are cast out, and the good put into vessels (Matt. 13:47, 48); (4) the cleansing of the sanctuary (Dan. 8:14); (5) purifying the temple (Mal. 3:1-3); (6) Judgment In the House of God (1 Pet. 4.17; Dan. 7:10). This is Truth positive, you know, and every Seventh-day Adventist knows it, too. The word sealed," put into the "barn," put into "vessels," etc. all are figurative terms of absolute security -- the church purified during the Judgment in the House of God and set apart from the world. The Judgment in the church sifts out the unrepentant sinners, you note, but the Judgment in the world calls into the church all the penitent -- Truth-susceptible people of God-saying, "Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." Rev. 18:4. This you plainly see is pure Bible. Stop,
think, double check, and do not let this opportunity by-pass you. Since the word firstfruits suggests second fruits, and since the first fruits are the servants of God (Rev. 7:3, 4), the second fruits therefore must be gathered in by the first fruits. The fact that it is hardly possible for one to honestly question or doubt the truth here presented on the subject thus far, it is natural for one to ask, "What happens with the sinners that are unable to stand during the Judgment in the House of God (1 |
