Hidden Treasure – A Deeper Understanding

God raised up a people in the mid nineteenth century to herald the soon coming of Jesus back to this earth. They were given advanced knowledge of teaching, of theology, of lifestyle that was ahead of their time. Like Israel of old in the book of Leviticus they were given advanced knowledge in matters pertaining to healthful living. https://answersingenesis.org/biology/disease/the-first-book-of-public-hygiene/ At a time when most people had a gross diet consisting heavily of meat products these early Adventists were given knowledge of a healthful, spare diet that closely resembled the original diet given to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. http://www.whiteestate.org/books/mh/mh.asp  This knowledge was way ahead of its time and was considered foolishness by many at the time. Time and scientific breakthroughs have validated much of what was then taught. The pioneers of that early movement came out of very fundamental Protestant churches. They leaned towards doing ‘good’ things and were puritanical in their theology and lifestyle. Nothing wrong with this. They reflected the faith of their time. They were sincere and these people were champions of faith and were deeply tested. They were not privy to the knowledge that we have today. Revelation is progressive. These people were given a knowledge of the Sabbath, one of the original Ten Commandments. That alone was highly significant. In the mid nineteenth century the theory of evolution was being formulated and foisted upon a gullible world. This theory is the greatest lie ever perpetrated on mankind. It comes directly from Satan, the father of lies. (John 8:44)  To counteract this lie God raised up a people who embraced the Sabbath commandment. This was the one commandment that stated clearly how God created this world in six days.(Exodus 20:11)  This truth was a solid spiritual foundation. Foundations are meant to be built upon, not rested on. This group of Christians are no longer at the forefront in declaring creationism. Others have had to take up the banner.

Just as the health reform message has been not just confirmed but overtaken by medical science and dietary knowledge. So the spiritual truths of the mid nineteenth century have been overtaken and brought into sharper focus through modern Biblical scholarship. In case some think that this cannot be, the reader is invited to read this quote from Ellen White.”There’s no excuse for anyone 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 years is not a proof that our ideas are infallible. Age will not make error into truth, and truth can afford to be fair. If the pillars of our faith will not stand investigation, it’s time we knew it.”  Counsels to Writers and Editors p.35

We need to remember that the prophet Daniel said that in the last times, knowledge would be increased. (Dan.12:4)  Spiritual knowledge like science is not static.  …the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. Prov.4:18 The true gospel of Righteousness by Faith has been taken up and widely spread by many, other than those who were originally given the opportunity. (The reader is directed to the article “Why did Ellen White go to Australia?”) They were once the head in health reform and in theology. This is not necessarily still the case. The knowledge about healthful living is readily available to all who will receive it. And the knowledge of the Sabbath rest is not just the domain of the Seventh-day Adventist church. Many Protestant and Roman Catholic authors and teachers have embraced the reality of 100% security in the merits of the risen Saviour. This is the true Sabbath rest which many are entering into and which are not confined to the parameters of one denomination. Many Christians are fulfilling the Old Testament prophecy regarding the Sabbath. If you refrain from trampling the Sabbath, from pursuing your own interests on my holy day; if you call the sabbath a delight and the holy day of the LORD honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, serving your own interests, or pursuing your own affairs; then you shall take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Jacob, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken. Isa.58:13-14 NRSV This was written in Old Covenant times. It has to be read in the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Clearly it is talking about the rest we have in Jesus. God is calling us to delight in the Sabbath rest that we have in Christ. We cannot hold both the Old Covenant and the New Covenant and pretend to keep them both. In entering into the true Sabbath rest of Christ we are fulfilling and embracing the true Sabbath rest of Isa.58. SDA’s were also given a knowledge of the Old Testament sanctuary service and how that pertains to the New Testament gospel era. They have always maintained that their teaching on the Sabbath as opposed to “Sunday keeping” will have a lot to do with the last day events of this worlds history. If the Sabbath is represented in the New Testament as the ‘rest’ that we experience in Jesus our Messiah rather than a point of law, is it not clear that last day events will centre around, not the outward keeping of a specific day but those who have entered into a true surrendered experience with Jesus Christ. They are then Sabbath keepers in the true spiritual sense of the New Testament. The Sabbath Rest is the rest that has been provided for the whole world. It is the rest that Christian believers have in Christ. https://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-Sabbath.html  It is not determined by what day on which we go to church. We can’t hold onto both the old covenant and new covenant simultaneously. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. Rom.8:2  In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. Heb.8:13 ESV Alternatively, those who are not surrendered to Jesus Christ are under control of the prince of this world. Societies the world over are polarising into two camps, good and evil. God can clearly see the distinction. The Lord knows those who are his, 2 Tim.2:19  There are those who have been taught that before Christ comes certain events must take place. A large number of Christians believe that their must be a rapture before Jesus returns ie millions of people will suddenly disappear. https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/the-rapture-theory-debunked-scott-coltrain-OKsermon-on-rapture-187508 Another growing number of Christians believe that Jesus has already come. That is called “preterism”. http://alwaysbeready.com/preterism-refuted We can be like Israel of old and set up our own signs for signs. Ps.74:4 ESV Just as Israel of old was looking for Elijah (Matt.17:10; Mal.4:5,6) as a prelude to the coming of the Messiah: and missed the evidence before them because they were looking for a physical outward demonstration. There is a very real danger for us in looking for perceived prophetic fulfilments when what we should be doing is looking within. “No sign will be given except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah… Matt.12:39 For the people of Israel at that time, their perception of truth lay in the life, the death, the burial and resurrection of Jesus. So today, our perception of truth lies in the death burial and resurrection of Jesus as lived out through his people. This is a spiritual reality that is being lived out around us. The words of Jesus to Nicodemus are particularly relevant here. Are you a teacher of Israel and yet do not understand these things? John 3:10 ESV Then the disciples came and asked him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 He answered, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 13 The reason I speak to them in parables is that ‘seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.‘ 14 With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that says: ‘You will indeed listen, but never understand, and you will indeed look, but never perceive. 15 For this people’s heart has grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; so that they might not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears, and understand with their heart and turn — and I would heal them.’ 16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it. Matt.13:10-17 NRSV Just as the people of Israel were looking for an outward sign that the coming of the Christ was near, so there is an important lesson here for us today. By looking for outward signs such as Sunday laws we could be missing critical indications. Sabbath keeping was never about the outward demonstration of going to church on a particular day of the week. Paul, the main protagonist of the New Covenant in the Christian era recognised this. (see Heb.4 and Rom.14:5) The only mention he makes of the Sabbath in a necessary judicial sense is when he uses it in Hebrews chapter four as a sign of the rest that we have in Christ. A rest that God has waited since time immemorial for his people to enter.

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The true Sabbath rest for those prepared to dig a little below the surface.

Ezekiel 20:12 ESV
Moreover, I gave them my Sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them.

Colossians 2:17 ESV
These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

Hebrews 4:8-11 ESV
For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. [9] So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, [10] for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. [11] Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.

Psalm 118:13,17-18,22-24 ESV
I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, but the LORD helped me. [17] I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the LORD. [18] The LORD has disciplined me severely, but he has not given me over to death. [22] The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. [23] This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. [24] This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Luke 9:23
And he said to [them] all, If any [man] will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

Galatians 3:24-25 ESV
So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. [25] But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian…