Hidden Treasure – A Deeper Understanding

It was Billy Hughes the Australian prime minister at the time who said while in London that the Gallipoli campaign “had shown that through self-sacrifice alone could men or a nation be saved.” He then went on to make the following, interesting comment. “And since it has evoked this pure and noble spirit, who should say that this dreadful war was wholly evil now that in a world saturated with the lust of material things came the sweet purifying breath of self-sacrifice?” Is their a lesson somewhere in that for Christians?

Leading up to this time the mid nineteenth century saw important Christian revivals on a world wide scale.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_the_19th_century

Some Christians, namely SDA’s, believe that Christ could have returned to this world before the turn of last century.

They are told, “Had Adventists, after the great disappointment in 1844, held fast their faith, and followed on unitedly in the opening providence of God, receiving the message of the third angel and in the power of the Holy Spirit proclaiming it to the world, they would have seen the salvation of God, the Lord would have wrought mightily with their efforts, the work would have been completed, and Christ would have come ere this to receive His people to their reward.” (1SM 67, 68)

Whether one believes statements such as these or not, they do present us with a sobering perspective. Even the early Christians of the 1st century expected and hoped for the return of Jesus in their day. (Matt. 10:23; 16:27-28; 24:33-34; Luke 21:22, 28, 31; Rev. 1:3; 22:10)

While it is easy to be grateful that time has gone on as long as it has and we today have the opportunity to embrace the gospel and receive salvation. We need to remember that this privilege has come to us at enormous cost.

When the prophet wrote,  Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you,I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life. Isa.43:4, did he realize the extent to which these words would be fulfilled? The salvation that is offered freely to us today has come at enormous cost. Millions of lives have been lost for the salvation of those who live in the last generation.

The world at the beginning of the 20th century was about to embark on its bloodiest and cruellest period of history. To believe that this catastrophe could have been avoided had our forefathers been faithful to God’s leading opens up a realm of accountability that is staggering in its implications. It says that God sees beyond the obvious. The Kaiser Wilhelm’s, the Adolf Hitler’s, the Pol Pot’s of this world are not the main protagonists. They are mere pawns in the Great Controversy being played out. WW1 and its aftermath seems to have set the tone of what was to prevail in this world’s extension of time until the 2nd coming of Christ: “…wars and rumours of wars.”

In God’s eyes, religious leaders can be as accountable as the worlds despots. We could go back to the Jewish people in Christ’s day who said, …His blood be on us, and our children. Matt.27:25 In saying this they were uttering words in cursing their own nation. Their rejection of the Son of God was the greatest sin of mankind. It was their spiritual leaders who said: If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation. But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all! You do not understand that it is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed.” John 11:48-50

1915 – The year that one of the main founders of the SDA church, Ellen White died. The year after the greatest holocaust the human race has ever experienced began. Its repercussions come down to us today 100 years on. This was the beginning of sorrows. (Matt.24:8,30)

WW1 17 million deaths, 20 million wounded. WW2 estimates of 50 to 80 million deaths. Deaths under communist persecution in the 20th century, estimates vary from 85 to 100 million people.

In light of the above figures, the world was about to embark upon an era that she would not have had to endure had God’s people followed His opening providence.

Could it be that just as the Jewish nations rejection of the Messiah led to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, so the rejection of God’s merciful leading in the late nineteenth century has led the way into the most perilous time of this world’s history. These historical events are not insignificant.

The origin of the Seventh-day Adventist Church was in the United States of America. This is a great nation, though we are mindful of the fact that in the mid nineteenth century when this church was coming into being there was still slavery practised and the tribes of native American Indians were still suffering under these Christian newcomers from Europe. It wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to say that this country was built on violence and bloodshed towards certain races of people. In spite of all this, this country became a bastion of freedom and self-expression. To this nation was entrusted the privilege of a Christian foundation. It’s the belief of many that it’s to this that she owes her greatness. To many, she is in this era, what the nation of Israel was in the Old Testament.

We can make some observations here. That just as there was humanity and imperfection in the foundation laying of this new country, why would we expect that the foundations of the last day Christian movement would be perfect and without blemish? A sure foundation may have been laid but that was what it was – just a foundation. It was meant to be built upon.

How often we cling to foundational truths and make them into fundamentals which must be adhered to – rules of church membership. Instead of realizing that they are meant to be simply a foundation upon which God’s ever revealing truth is built. But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. Prov.4:18 It’s the Pharisaical mind in all of us that wants to calibrate and quantify our Christian faith to make it understandable and doable.

Daniel made it clear that their would be an increase of knowledge as we get closer to the end of time. But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. Dan.12:4 I don’t believe that we can allow ourselves to think that spiritual truth has been dormant since the mid nineteenth century. The foundational truths that were embraced then were foundational and not an end in themselves. By foundational truths we are talking about, the Sabbath, the Sanctuary, and the state of man in death. These are almost unique to Seventh-day Adventism.

Just as its host nation was not without major blemishes, it would be almost naive to think that the SDA church would be the last bastion of truth from its inception till the end of time. God gave Seventh-day Adventists a schoolroom. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster [to bring us] unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. Gal.3:24,25 He has been inviting them to come out of that schoolroom ever since their inception in the mid nineteenth century. One of their foundational truths, the Sabbath, has become nothing more than a clinging to the law. Our true Sabbath rest is in dying to self so that our humanity is consumed and we rise in newness of life. When the church grasps that principle she will go forth, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners. Song of Sol. 6:10

Just as not killing or stealing does not make us commandment keepers, so not working in a 24 hour period of time does not make us Sabbath keepers. We need a transforming power from inside. (Jer.31:31-33)

The Sabbath was a sign of Jesus death for the sins of the world. It was on the Sabbath day that He lay dead in the tomb for the sins of the world. He was killed by, the law of sin and death. Rom.8:2

The Sabbath, rightly understood is a sign of our death to self. Not one day but every day alike. (Rom.14:5, Heb.4:9-11) Every day we, like Paul who says, “I die daily…” 1 Cor.15:31, enter into the experience of death to self so that ‘daily’ we walk in newness of life through the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit.

In the New Covenant era we are sinners, not because we break the commandments, but because we don’t believe in Jesus. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin….because they believe not on me; Jn.16:8,9

There is only one commandment for the Christian. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. 1 Jn.3:23

The SDA church today is not unlike the religious leaders of Jesus day who said, ‘We don’t need any new revelation of God, we have the law, we have our father Abraham.’ They answered him, Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing what Abraham did, but now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. Jn.8:39,40 NRSV

Another example is the 3 friends of Job who knew their scriptures. A lot of what they said was true and right. They knew about God, they had the right answers. But they didn’t know God as Job did.

There were attempts to break through the miasma of legalism. The Minneapolis Conference of 1888 is well documented. Stephen Haskell began to see the true spiritual importance of the sanctuary doctrine in his book ‘The Cross And Its Shadow’. Even in more recent times there were attempts to break through the miasma of legalism with authors such as Leroy Froom. He wrote such books as ‘The Coming of the Comforter’ and ‘Movement of Destiny’. Other preachers of righteousness by faith have found themselves the victims of ruthless and relentless attacks by their enemies, both spiritual and human.

The rejection of the Messiah was the human races’ greatest sin. This led ultimately to the release of the antichrist from the pit and the horrors of the dark ages – never part of God’s plan. God intended, his people, to embrace the Messiah – who would willingly have gone to the sacrificial altar. The world would then never have gone through the horrors of the dark ages. The Lamb of God was to have been slain with pity, untold sorrow and eternal gratefulness. Instead He was slain with hatred, cruelty and untold malice. This was the way the world treated Jesus, the Son of God, the second person of the Godhead.

The law hangs over the head of many Christians like the sword of Damocles, that says, “You must do right”. It un-nerves them, takes away their peace, and totally discourages them. That’s why it is called, “the ministration of death”, the “law of sin and death”. The law was given to illustrate one thing: God’s great anger towards sin. Sin which is inherent in the human race since Adam. 4000 years of world history proved that God’s perfect standard could not change the heart of man. This proved to not just mankind but to all creation that ‘obedience’ was about to be overtaken by something greater. God’s grace in giving His Son completely disarmed the powers, not just on this earth, but the very powers of heaven. The sword of Damocles would no longer hang over the head of His people. To those who can in humility accept the absolute goodness and righteousness of God there would be redemption.

WHEN GOD INSTITUTED THE SABBATH WHAT WAS HE THINKING

There is a side of the Sabbath that is not presented to Sabbath Keepers.

When the Lord had finished creating this world in 6 days He set apart the 7th day as a day of rest and sanctified it. (Gen.2:3)

Why did He do this? He obviously didn’t need to do this for Himself. Adam and Eve in their perfect state didn’t need a rest day once a week to remind them of their Creator. They were in perfect accord with Him. Love and worship were natural to them.

We need to look at God and who He is. He is all powerful, all knowing. He is the infinite God of, not just creation, but of eternity.

When He created this world and its inhabitants He knew what was about to transpire. That is why it says of Jesus that He was, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world Rev.13:8, not as we would have expected, from man’s fall into sin. When God created this world He created it with the sun and the moon. These were for times and seasons. Time was a part of God’s creation for us. But for Him, He is the God of eternity. The past, the present and the future were all alike to Him. It has been said that He lives in an eternal present. To the Christian this is beyond comprehension but never the less, true.

So what does all this have to do with the Sabbath? What then was on God’s mind when he made the Sabbath? Was it really a time of celebration or was it portentous of what was soon to transpire. Remember God isn’t bound by time as we are. Things of the future are just as real to Him as things of the present.

The setting aside of the Sabbath was a lot more than a celebration of creation. It was portentuous of what was about to happen to God’s creation. We are told in Gen.2:3 that this day was “blessed” and “sanctified”.

Word History: The verb bless comes from Old English blœ̄dsian, blēdsian, blētsian, “to bless, wish happiness, consecrate.” Although the Old English verb has no cognates in any other Germanic language, it can be shown to derive from the Germanic noun *blōdan, “blood.” Blœ̄dsian therefore originally meant “to consecrate with blood, sprinkle with blood.” In many cultures, the blood of a sacrificed animal is thought to hallow and bring blessings upon the people and places that it touches. In the Biblical book of Exodus, for example, God punishes the Egyptians by killing the first-born son in every family, but the Israelites are able to protect their own houses from divine wrath by sprinkling the blood of a sacrificed lamb on their lintels and doorposts. The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, the early Germanic migrants to Britain, would have originally used the verb blœ̄dsian for the consecrations effected by their own pagan sacrifices. After they converted to Christianity, however, blœ̄dsian acquired new meanings when it was used to translate the verb benedīcere, “to bless” in the Latin Bible. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/bless

The generic meaning of sanctification is “the state of proper functioning.” To sanctify someone or something is to set that person or thing apart for the use intended by its designer. A pen is “sanctified” when used to write. Eyeglasses are “sanctified” when used to improve sight. In the theological sense, things are sanctified when they are used for the purpose God intends. A human being is sanctified, therefore, when he or she lives according to God’s design and purpose.

http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionaries/bakers-evangelical-dictionary/sanctification.html

The meaning of these words tells us that there was something more happening here than a mere celebration of creation. Remember when God made the world and its inhabitants it was “very good”, perfect in every sense. Adam and Eve would need no reminder of God’s love. If there were to have been no ‘fall’ there would have been no need for a Sabbath. There was something anticipatory about the Sabbath.

The Sabbath was to be written into a law. The law is given when God’s people are in rebellion against their Creator. The law is a fearful thing. When given upon Mt. Sinai it caused great fear and dread amongst the people. (Ex.19:16) In the New Testament it is called the law of sin and death. Rom.8:2

This is the law that killed the Son of God. The law does not represent God’s character. It represents His anger against sin.

It is necessary in a sinful world. The Sabbath anticipates the law. It was to be written into the very heart of that law.

The Sabbath was celebratory. It was celebratory of the ultimate rest that would be established in this world of sin when the Creator stepped into the timeline of this worlds history and took upon Himself the wrath and anger of God. This is illustrated by the fact that our Creator lay dead in the tomb on the Sabbath. The law, of which the Sabbath was an integral part, killed Him.

This is what God saw clearly when He instituted the Sabbath day. He knew what was going to transpire.

To make the Sabbath into a day of socializing and celebration is almost missing the point of its true intent.

To understand its true significance we have to go to the New Testament. So then, a sabbath rest still remains for the people of God; for those who enter God’s rest also cease from their labors as God did from his. Heb.4:9,10 For we who have believed enter that rest. vs.3

The Sabbath, is as the Cross of Christ. They both celebrate the same thing, our redemption. By remembering the Sabbath, the heart of the law, once a week we are remembering His death, for in reality, this is what it foretold. When Jesus lay in the tomb on the Sabbath the way of the law was finally finished. Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; [And] having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath [days: ] Col.2:14-16

We are to be ever mindful of what He did for us, but praise God, we worship a risen Saviour.

Just as, in the new earth, there won’t be a law hanging over us in a threatening way, so the Sabbath which is the integral part of that law, won’t be there demanding that we remember. God’s redeemed will never forget what their Creator has done for them.

If the Sabbath is the great issue of contention in the final days of this world’s history, as SDA’s contend, it has to do with far more than what day we go to church. Otherwise it becomes quite ludicrous. Even Paul seems to be saying that. (Rom.14:5)

We don’t have to wait until anecdotal Sunday laws are declared. That gives a false sense of security. As Jesus said, in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Matt.24:44 Those words are addressed, not to unbelievers, but to last day Christians who believe in the second coming of Jesus Christ. No, we are not to look for man made laws telling people to go to church on a certain day. The enemy of mankind would not be interested in any law which is going to hasten his demise. The 4th commandment, the one commandment that Jesus was accused of breaking, is in reality the turning point from ‘doing’ to faith. That is why the Sabbath can be seen as arbitrary, unlike the other 9 commandments which can be seen as coming naturally. By faith we grasp the true New Covenant experience that was foreshadowed as in Jeremiah 31.

By looking at the Sabbath as a mere point of law we are missing the whole message of the New Testament. No one will receive the mark of the beast by keeping or not keeping a certain day. People will receive the mark of the beast by not receiving or grieving away the Spirit of God by whom we are sealed. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Eph.4:30 That can’t have anything to do with Old Covenant law keeping. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. Gal.5:4,5

Generations of a certain Sabbath keeping organization have been waiting for certain historical events to take place. By depending on these historical events to take place they have overlooked the weightier matters of the law. Instead of seeking the gift of the Holy Spirit they have depended on their imagined law keeping and their doctrinal ‘correctness’ for their committment and security. They honestly believe that by going to church on a certain day they are then accounted as those who, “keep the commandments of God”. (Rev.14:12) – False security. In fact if the message to the Laodiceans doesn’t say it clearly enough Ps. 119:126 says, “[It is] time for [thee,] LORD, to work: [for] they have made void thy law.” This group of people can be judgemental and law obsessed. Their prophet told them that if there were a genuine outpouring of the Holy Spirit in their midst not one in twenty would be ready. “It is a solemn statement that I make to the church, that not one in twenty whose names are registered upon the church books are prepared to close their earthly history, and would be as verily without God and without hope in the world as the common sinner.”

http://ellenwhite.org/content/file/not-one-twenty-1#document

The mark of the beast means far more than what day we go to church. God will have a people at the end of time who know what it is to enter into the true “Sabbath Rest”. This is portrayed in Heb.4. Jesus lay in the tomb on the Sabbath day. To enter into the true Sabbath rest God’s people will learn a level of surrender never before experienced. They will learn by their own experience what Paul learnt when he said, [We are] troubled on every side, yet not distressed; [we are] perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. 2 Cor.4:8-10 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1 Cor.3:11 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom [is] an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. Dan.7:27

Some years ago I wrote about the importance of the burnt offering. It is one of the first articles on this website. (In-His-Time.com) I come back to that as possibly the most important foundational truth in Scripture. It is the key to personal revival. It is the key to corporate revival in the world wide church. It is the key that the anti-christ power desperately wants to keep hidden. Deep personal surrender, not religiosity, is what God is calling for from His people.

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