Month: November 2021

FROM YOUR PASTOR’S DESK:
November 8

THE SANCTUARY DOCTRINE EXPLAINS THE WAY OF SALVATION OF THE GOSPEL (Part 41)

The dying Lamb of God makes His last recorded glorious promise, moments just before He expired—-not to His disciples or his earthy mother, Mary (as would normally be expected)—-but to a criminal condemned to die by crucifixion with Him at the Calvary Moment of the Plan of Redemption! That hopeless, nameless thief never thought his individual probation was still open, that he could still be eternally saved, having been condemned to die by human justice for his crimes.

Greater still the human impossibility and chance that he would be crucified on the same ignominious “hill of skulls, “Golgotha, just outside the walls of Jerusalem alongside God in the flesh, the long-awaited promised Messiah, the prophesied “Lamb of God,” the very Antitype of all the typical lambs and specified clean animals offered as a blood sacrifice starting with that first lamb offered at Eden immediately after the fall of the first Adam, down through two thousand years of successive generations to that eternal epochal Calvary Moment!

It was the last “preparation day”FRIDAY when type would meet Antitype, shadow would meet substance, the terminal point of the Old Testament Mosaic dispensation. It was in the dying moments of Christ that momentous Friday, a couple of hours before sunset when the Sabbath would begin that He promises the penitent thief on the cross, “TODAY,” or “this day,” “this preparation day Friday.”

‘I say unto thee TODAY, thou shalt be with Me in paradise.’ (Luke 23:43). Christ DID NOT promise that the thief should be with Him in Paradise THAT DAY [that Friday, specifically!].

HE HIMSELF DID NOT GO THAT DAY [Friday] TO PARADISE. He slept [rested in death] in the tomb [of Joseph of Arimathea], and in the morning of the resurrection [first day of the week, our Sunday], He said, ‘I AM NOT YET ASCENDED TO MY FATHER.’ John 20: 17.

But on the day of the crucifixion, THE DAY OF APPARENT DEFEAT AND DARKNESS, the promise was given, ‘Today,’ while dying upon the cross fo a malefactor, Christ says to a poor sinner, ‘thou shalt be with Me in Paradise.’” – Desire of Ages, p. 751.

If we who claim to be “red, white, and blue” are genuinely Christo-centric and CALVARY-CENTERED, as loudly asserted in doctrines and worship services, we confuse ourselves and countless others by contradicting the very New Testament account of Christ’s last moments before dying on the cross and the promIse made to the thief on the cross, and the very prophecies and its fulfillment regarding when Christ would be crucified, when and where He would be buried, when He would resurrect from the grave, and when He would ascend to Paradise—-when twe also believe, teach, and preach that when a “saved”’believer dies he or his “soul” immediately “flies to Paradise,” etc.

Think “with the mind of Christ,” not with the “mind of the church,”’dear friend in Christ!

(To be continued). Bless all, NMF.

FROM YOUR PASTOR’S DESK:
November 5

THE SANCTUARY DOCTRINE EXPLAINS THE WAY OF SALVATION OF THE GOSPEL (Part 40)

The Dying Penitent Thief on the Cross an Eleventh Hour Saved Witness for the Dying Lamb of God!

“The bystanders caught the words as the dying thief called Jesus LORD. The tone of the repentant man arrested their ATTENTION. Those who at the foot of the cross QUARRELING over Christ’s garments, and casting lots over His vesture, STOPPED TO LISTEN. Their angry tones were HUSHED. With bated breath they LOOKED UPON CHRIST, and waited for the RESPONSE from those DYING LIPS.

“As Jesus spoke the words of promise [to the penitent thief], the DARK CLOUDS that seemed to enshroud the cross was PIERCED BY A BRIGHT AND LIVING LIGHT. To the penitent thief came the PERFECT PEACE of acceptance with God.

“CHRIST IN HIS HUMILIATION WAS GLORIFIED. He who is in all OTHER EYES appeared to BE CONQUERED WAS A CONQUEROR [in death!]. He was acknowledged as the SIN BEARER. Men may exercise power over His HUMAN BODY. They may pierce the HOLY TEMPLE [of His head and body] with the crown of thorns. They may strip from His [physical and temporal] RAIMENT, and quarrel over its division
[NOTE: Paul also calls the church as the “body of Christ.”]

BUT THEY CANNOT ROB HIM OF HIS POWER TO FORGIVE SIN [though the Antichrist and ‘MYSTERY BABYLON, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH” (Rev. 17:5) blasphemously claims to have that power that exclusively belongs to God Immortal].

“In DYING He bears TESTIMONY to His OWN DIVINITY and to the GLORY OF THE FATHER. His EAR is not heavy that it cannot hear, neither His ARM shortened that it cannot save. It is HIS ROYAL RIGHT ‘to save unto the uttermost all who come unto God by Him’ [Heb. 7:25]. He declared, “No man cometh to the Father except by Me, the way, the truth, and the life.’ John 14: 6]..” – E. G. White. The Desire of Ages, p. 751.

(To be continued). Bless all, NMF.

FROM YOUR PASTOR’S DESK:
November 4

THE SANCTUARY DOCTRINE EXPLAINS THE WAY OF SALVATION OF THE GOSPEL (Part 39)

“There is no question now. There are no doubts, no reproaches. When condemned for his crime, the thief had become hopeless and despairing; but strange, tender thoughts now spring up. He calls to mind all he had heard about Jesus, how He had healed the sick snd pardoned sin. He had heard the words of those who believed Jesus and followed Him weeping. He had seen and read the TITLE above the Savior’s head ‘written in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.’ Luke 23:38, KJV

“The HOLY SPIRIT illuminates his mind, and little by little the chain of evidence is joined together. IN JESUS, BRUISED, MOCKED, AND HANGING UPON THE CROSS, HE SEES THE LAMB OF GOD THAT TAKETH AWAY THE SIN OF THE WORLD. Hope is mingled with anguish in his voice, as the helpless DYING SOUL casts himself upon a DYING SAVIOR. ‘Lord, remember me,’ he cries, ‘when Thou comest into Thy kingdom.’

“Quickly the answer came. Soft and melodious the tone, full of love, compassion, and power the words: ‘Verily I say unto thee today, thou shalt be with Me in paradise.’ [Luke 24: 43].

“For long hours of agony, reviling and mockery have fallen upon the ears of Jesus. As He hangs upon the cross, there floats up to Him still the sound of jeers and curses. With LONGING HEART He had listened for SOME EXPRESSION OF FAITH FROM HIS DISCIPLES. [But] He had heard only the mournful words [from His own disciples!], ‘We trusted that It had been He which should have redeemed Israel.’ Luke 24:21].

“How grateful then to the Savior was the utterance of FAITH AND LOVE FROM THE DYING THIEF! While the LEADING JEWS DENY HIM, and even the DISCIPLES DOUBT HIS DIVINITY, the poor thief upon the BRINK OF ETERNITY, calls Jesus LORD!

“MANY were ready to call Him Lord when He wrought MIRACLES, and AFTER He had RISEN from the grave but NONE acknowledged Him AS HE HUNG DYING UPON THE CROSS but the penitent thief who was SAVED AT THE ELEVENTH HOUR.” – E. G. White, Desire of Ages, pp. 750, 751.

(To be continued). Bless all, NMF.

FROM YOUR PASTOR’S DESK:
November 3

THE SANCTUARY DOCTRINE EXPLAINS THE WAY OF SALVATION OF THE GOSPEL (Part 38)

What That One Thief Crucified With Christ Saw and Heard from The Antitypical Sacrificial Lamb of God at the Calvary Moment.

“In the judgment hall and on the way to Calvary he [this particular condemned criminal] had been with Jesus. He had HEARD Pilate declare, ‘I find no fault in Him..’ John 19:4. He had marked His GOD-LIKE bearing, and His PITYING FORGIVENESS of His tormentors. On [his vantage height in] the cross he sees the MANY GREAT RELIGIONISTS shoot out the tongue with scorn, and ridicule the Lord Jesus. He sees the WAGGING HEADS. He hears the UPBRADING SPEECH of his companion in guile [the other condemned thief]: ‘If Thou be Christ, save Thyself and us.’ Among the PASSERSBY he hears many DEFENDING Jesus. He hears them repeat His WORDS, and tell of His WORKS.

“The conviction COMES BACK to him that this is the Christ. Turning to his fellow criminal he says, ‘Dost thou not FEAR GOD, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?’

“The dying thieves have no longer anything to fear from men. But upon one of them pressed the CONVICTION that there is a God to FEAR [see the first angel’s message, Rev. 14: 6,7], a future to cause him to TREMBLE. And NOW [at that Calvary Moment], all sin-polluted as IT is, HIS LIFE HISTORY IS ABOUT TO CLOSE. ‘And we indeed justly,’ he moans; ‘for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this MAN has done nothing amiss.’“ – E. G. White, Desire of Ages, p. 749.

If still conscious somehow though visibly undetectable, the “conviction that there is a God to fear” in the ebbing moments of a dying person who has led a sinful life, is the final glimmer of hope for his eternal salvation, if he repents and confesses in his mind to God, even in a matter of seconds or in his thoughts, unheard by mortals and evil angels.

In such special but not strange cases, as established prototypical by that one thief on the cross, they are eternally saved exclusively through JUSTIFICATION, not by sanctification or “overcoming by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.”

They no longer had any time whatsoever left for the latter work. As there are “eleventh hour workers” illustrated in the parable, there are also souls that will be saved at the “eleventh hour” of their individual probation time.

How? Because “the plan of salvation is broad enough to embrace the whole world,” and God in Christ “sees the end from the beginning,” and “looks upon the heart while men looks upon the outward appearance,” the perfect righteousness of Christ is instantly IMPUTED to such souls by child-like, implicit trusting faith in the merits of Christ’s sacrifice and sin-cleansing blood.

It is not imparted as in sanctification—the process of character perfection, which is purification from sin and it’s defilement, a progressive work of a lifetime in the “new creature in Christ” in his “walk in the Spirit,” as he, like Paul, “presses towards the mark of the high calling in Christ Jesus” till the end of his earthly journey. Having “died in Christ,” not perished in his sins, he is blessed, rests from his labors, and his sanctified works follow him to eternity! Rev. 14:13.

(To be continued). Bless all, NMF.

FROM YOUR PASTOR’S DESK:
November 2

THE SANCTUARY DOCTRINE EXPLAINS THE WAY OF SALVATION OF THE GOSPEL (Part 37)

The Untold, Unparalleled, All-encompassing Sufferings of the Antitypical Lamb of God at the Antitypical Altar of Sacrifice at Calvary.

We continue reviewing what took place at Calvary, in the treatment He received from His own people. Out of that dark moments before He finally expired at 3 PM (our time), came one and only one weak ray of light as it were, of human comfort that the humanity of Christ craved for, but not “from His own people,” not even from His own twelve disciples, not even from the Father, the Holy Spirit, or the holy angels!

From whom then? One of the two thieves condemned to die by crucifixion simultaneous with Christ! Strange as it seems, the Bible does not even identify him by name! Why? It was the deed, not the name (or title) that mattered.

There is a deep lesson here many have missed even to this late hour of probation! Truth is indeed stranger than fiction, at times! Now read on from the inspired pen:

“To Jesus in His agony at the cross there came ONE GLEAM of comfort. It was the PRAYER OF THE PENITENT THIEF. Both the men that were crucified had AT FIRST railed against Him; and one [of them] under his suffering only became MORE desperate and defiant. But not so with his companion. This man was NOT a hardened criminal; he had been led astray by evil companions, but he was LESS GUILTY than many of those who stood beside the cross reviling the Savior. He had seen and heard Jesus, and had been CONVICTED by His teaching, but He had been turned away from Him by the PRIESTS AND RULERS.
Seeking to stifle conviction, he had plunged deeper and deeper into sin, UNTIL he was arrested, tried as a criminal, and condemned to die on the cross.”- E. G. White, Desire of Ages, p. 749, April, 1950, Pacific Press Publishing Asso.

There are countless victims from that Calvary Moment to this very moment in time and up to the close of probation, of this devastating combination.

What is it? Sinners being convicted of their sins and sinful lives by the truth and righteousness only to turned away from it by the very men whose primary religious duty and responsibility is to encourage sinners to repent and turn away from their sins.

This very naturally leads him in his already weakened state to seek ways and means to stifle a bothered conscience, the only ways available being to go deeper into sin and wickedness, until aborted by death or in this case, by his arrest by the civil authorities.

Furthermore, because of the principle of command responsibility “unto whom much is given much is required,” those religious leaders were not merely “partners in crime” with the condemned thief, they were promoters and purveyors of human depravity and sin. Hence it was the thief, not the “thief-makers” who found salvation in that Calvary Moment! Please remember that!

(To be continued). Bless all, NMF.

FROM YOUR PASTOR’S DESK:
November 1

THE SANCTUARY DOCTRINE EXPLAINS THE WAY OF SALVATION OF THE GOSPEL (Part 36)

Who Is This Jesus?

History unlearned repeats itself only with fiercer fury and to greater magnitudes with its devastating antitypical results and consequences.

So lest the antitypical “chosen people” of these last days become also deceived—as were the ignorant-but-not-innocent rabble gathered at Calvary, agitated and egged on by the Pharisees, elders, and scribes of the nation—-and similarly get duped and join the threefold union of the final confederacy against Christ through His faithful remnant (Rev. 14: 12), let Christ’s true disciples, beginning in theOld to the New, filled with the Spirit of inspiration, remind us:

“ADAM will tell you. It is ‘the Seed of the woman that shall bruise the serpent’s head.’ Gen 3:15., KJV.

“ABRAHAM will tell you, It is ‘Melchizedek, King of Salem,’ King of peace. Gen.18.; [cf. Heb. 7:1-25].

“JACOB will tell you, He is ‘Shiloh of the tribe of Judah.’ [Gen. 49:10].

“ISAIAH will tell you, ‘Immanuel,’ ‘Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of peace.’ Isa. 7:14, 9:6.

“JEREMIAH will tell you, The ‘Branch of David, the Lord our Righteousness.’ Jer. 23:6.

“DANIEL will tell you, Ha is ‘the Messiah.’ [See the 70-week prophecy of Dan. 9:24-27].

“HOSEA will tell you, He is ‘the Lord God of hosts; the Lord is His memorial.’ Hos. 12:5.

“JOHN THE BAPTIST will tell you, ‘He is The Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.’ John 1:29.

“THE GREAT JEHOVAH has declared from His throne, ‘This is My Beloved Son.’ Matt. 3:17.

“WE, HIS DISCIPLES [if we truly are!] declare, This is JESUS, the MESSIAH, the PRINCE OF LIFE, the REDEEMER of the world.’

And SATAN, “the prince of the powers of darkness,’ acknowledges Him, saying, ‘I know Thee who Thou art, the Holy One of God.’ Mark 1:24.’” (From Desire of Ages by E. G. White, pp. 578, 579, April, 1950, Pacific Press Publishing Asso.

(To be continued). Bless all, NMF.