Friday Morning Manna
February 21, 2020
Nathaniel Fajardo
email: [email protected]
Eroding Laws and Institutions of Man: No Assurance in Anything Human or Earthly both of State and Church: Part I
What is currently unfolding in rapid-fire action before us, particularly with the state of affairs of the state and its three branches of government— executive, legislative and judicial and their respective institutions, legal, constitutional and traditional, in relation to the church and its religious institutions and powers—will impact and shape our immediate future and eternal destiny in ways most still haven’t yet imagined, figured out or have been fully warned of. (Fast forward: The work of the three angels’ messages of Revelation 14, culminates in “enlightening the whole earth with knowledge of God’s glory” in the last invitation “to come out of her, My people” called the fourth angel of Revelation 18. God, through the Holy Spirit takes over the reins of the work of salvation in the promised latter rain. Then earth’s probation ends.)
The people are fixated on the political, economic, military, environmental, peace and order, and health issues and its solutions. As important as all these are with their expanded applications and ramifications, they are not the key issues bearing eternal consequences. In the scheme of true Biblical prophecy, they are actually side issues. By focusing on the “sideshows” they are unprepared for the main event, the real “Big One.”
But Bible prophecy reveals a faithful, commandment-keeping, apolitical people of the last days who rely on the Bible with the aid of “the Spirit of prophecy which is the testimony of Jesus” (Rev. 14: 12; 19: 10) and thus can read the future but only that which revealed by God’s word. They not only know what to personally prepare for and arrange their priorities correspondingly, but are tasked with the responsibility of revealing the real issues and proclaiming the pertinent warnings that will open men’s eyes to recognize Satan and his agents’ masterful, enchanting, confusing and distracting multi-level, multi-purpose, multi-discipline schemes and snares. The Spirit of prophecy says:
“Everything in the world is in agitation. The signs of the times are ominous. Coming events cast their shadow before. The Spirit of God is withdrawing from the earth, and calamity follows calamity by sea and by land. There are tempests, earthquakes, fires, floods, murders of every grade [from the murder of hatred, 1 John 3: 15, to slow suicide of intemperance of food, drink and lifestyle). Who can read the future? [the faithful, commandment-keeping Christians who study Bible prophecy with the aid of “the Spirit of prophecy which is the testimony of Jesus,’ Rev. 14: 12; 19:10, can and should!] Where is security? There is assurance in nothing that is human or earthly. Rapidly are men ranging themselves under the banner the have chosen. Restlessly are they waiting and watching the movements of their leaders. There are those who are waiting and watching and working for the Lord’s appearing. Another class are falling into line under the generalship of the first great apostate [Satan]. Few believe with heart and soul that we have a hell to shun and a heaven to win.
“The crisis is stealing gradually upon us. The sun is shining in the heavens, passing over its usual round, and the heavens still declare the glory of God. Men are still eating and drinking, planting and building, marrying and giving in marriage [hetero and homosexuals now]. Merchants are still buying and selling [just look at the wild frenzy at stock markets, real estate developments, gigantic mergers of industries spurred even more by frontier-busting phenomena of nanotech and biotech spawned in the “garages” and “Silicon Valleys” of the earth, etc.!] Man are jostling one against another, contending for the highest places [the “high places of mortals of the earth”]. Pleasure lovers are still crowding the theaters, the horse races [and all kinds of races, worldly concerts, festivals, fashion shows, pleasure-cruises and vacation destinations], gambling hells. The highest excitement prevails, yet probation’s hour is fast closing, and every case is about to be eternally decided. Satan sees that his time is short [Eve. 12: 12??]. He has set all his agencies [both evil spirit and humans] that they may be deceived, deluded and entranced [like Eve before them, 1 Tim. 2: 13, 14], until the day of probation be ended, and the door of mercy forever shut [as the one door to Noah’s ark shut on the 120th year of his warning to the wicked long-lived antediluvian generation. Gen.6: 3; 7: 16-23. “As in the days of Noah shall it be in the days of the coming of the Son of man.” Matt. 24: 37-44].
“Solemnly there come down to us through the centuries the warning words of our Lord and Savior from the Mount of Olives: ‘Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.’ ‘Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all those things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.’- Ellen G. White, “The Desire of Ages,” p. 630.
I used to think that “that day” was Christ’s second coming. However, a closer personal study many years later of these passages and all related ones, revealed a truth much more urgent and critical for it occurs before the second advent and determines whether one is eternally lost or saved! Stripping myself of all preconceived ideas and assumed beliefs (which is never easy), I followed the prophetic chain of the longest time prophecy of 2,300-day/years of Daniel 8: 14 that clearly ended in 1844. Moving onward with the remaining prophecies of Daniel and Revelation no longer subject to time but follow an orderly divine chronology, “that day” is not Christ’s second coming, which only takes place after the consecutive, progressive and cumulative yet not universal seven last plagues have done their prophesied desolating job upon the earth and all who received the mark of the beast and his image. Christ’s second coming, far from being secret and sudden can never “come unawares” upon anyone living upon the earth at that time! “That day” must refer to some other event equally stupendous if not more. And it surely does!
Rather, and this should rightfully alarm all who still cling to any similar mistaken ideas I had previously—“that day” is the individual reckoning day of each individual when his probation closes at death, who professed to be a member of the “household of God,” the church, or Christianity in general both faithful and apostate, which includes “the saints” Christ Himself distinguishes as “the remnant of her seed,” specifically so for “having the patience of the saints” and “keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus;” furthermore, “they have the Spirit of prophecy” in their midst, “which is the testimony of Jesus.” Rev. 14: 12; 19:10.
The apostle prophesied: “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who obey not the gospel of God? If the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and sinner appear?” 1 Pet. 4: 17, 18.
John was shown in vision and commanded to write “to the churches” of this awfully solemn pre-advent judgment “beginning at the house of God” as the first of the three successive angels’ messages: “And I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell upon the earth, unto every nation, kindred and tongue and people, saying with a loud voice, fear God and give glory to Him for the hour of judgement is come and worship Him that made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and the fountains of water.” Rev. 14: 6, K.J.V.
Now, “what will the end be of those who obey not the gospel of God” (It’s the gospel of obedience, not disobedience!), and “where” will these “ungodly and sinners appear”? As all will, they will individually “stand before the judgment seat of Christ” (Rom. 14:10) for the Father has entrusted all judgment to the Son of man.
But the second and last judgment, according the grand and comprehensive redemption plan of the gospel, called the executive judgment, which happens only after Christ’s second advent, takes place in the heavenly courts and commences only after the grand welcoming and celebratory “wedding supper of the Lamb with His bride, who was purified by His blood until she is “without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.” Eph. 5: 26, 27; Rev.19: 7-9. This perfected bride is not the church militant but the church triumphant—they “that overcome” the world, the flesh and the devil, “even as He overcame.” Rev. 3: 21; 21: 7.
The executive judgment session takes place during the period of a “thousand years,” the true Biblical millennium. There, Christ will seat in judgment together with the eternally saved—the translated saints (the 144, 000, Rev. 7: 1-8; 14: 1-5) and the resurrected saints shown to John as “ the great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples and tongues” (Rev. 7: 9), determined by the pre-advent judgment that began with the righteous dead from Adam and moved on to the cases of the living during the “judgment hour” period began 1844 till the close of earth’s probation.
They will not “relitigate” the cases of the eternally lost, both fallen angels and those who “obeyed not the gospel,” who are the “ungodly” and the impenitent, unforgiven sinners.” This is not the purpose of this judgment. As Solomon wrote, in God’s plan “to everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” Eccl. 12: 1. Rather, they sit down clothed with heavenly royalty “as priests and kings” (Rev. 1: 6; 5: 10; 20: 6) and open heaven’s books of records to which there are no false, incomplete or erroneous entries of the life record of each soul born on earth, in the sight of the universe assembled. No secret tribunals! They will judge the wicked angels. 1 Cor. 6: 3; cf. Matt. 25: 41; Jude 6.
What will be determined and settled for eternity—beyond any doubt in the minds of the hosts of the eternally saved, who already possess the gift of immortality in their incorruptible bodies, as well as the holy angels, the wicked angels, Satan himself, and all the sinless beings of the unfallen worlds that witnessed the whole drama of the conflict of the ages between Christ and Satan unfold through six thousand years on the stage of fallen earth—in this last judgment, carried out based on the book of records, the statute books of heaven interpreting the eternal and immutable law of God used for the judgment of all, are the following final questions:
(1) For the saved: Why those they expected to be there, are not there.
(2) Why those they did not expect to be saved, are there—together with them! Can you imagine the looks on their glorified faces as they look at each other in stunned relief!
(3) The amount of punishment, limited only to purifying fires, is to be meted out by God for each lost soul and demon, based on the divine sentencing guidelines. They know that the Author of love and law never tortures when He metes out punishment so they entrust to Him the length and intensity of punishment. Inspiration says that Satan, the author of sin, typified by the scapegoat in the Mosaic dispensation, upon whose guilt and sins are added all the guilt and sins he caused to be committed by the lost and saved, “will burn the longest” but definitely not “forever.” When God finally purifies our sin-cursed earth at the close of the millenium with His cleansing fires, nothing whatsoever that defiles remains, most especially “hell” where eternal fire is supposed to be burning wretched souls for eternity.” What a revolting and heretical unbiblical doctrine from Rome’s decretals. Thank God for the Bible’s saving truths!
(4) The Bible says, “All knees shall bow to Christ.” Rom. 14: 11; Phil. 2: 10. After all is said and done in the last judgment, the saved, the good angels, and all inhabitants of the unfallen worlds will bow with in awe, adoration, reverence, and gratitude with heretofore unachieved enlightenment of God’s love, wisdom, mercy and righteousness in dealing with Satan, his fallen angels, sinners and sin. Satan and his fallen angels will also bow in their knees but not to worship as the saints and angels do but because that’s all left to do and admit defeat and guilt so totally deserving of everlasting humiliation, shame and oblivion.
Just thinking: Like those who received the mark of the beast who cried “rocks fall on us” for we cannot look upon the face Him who comes in the clouds, the eternally lost— men and evil angels, with no more fight left in them and all guile exhausted–will probably also cry, “Burn us up quickly for we cannot bear to look upon the happy faces of the redeemed, the angels who protected them against us, and especially Jesus Christ whom we knew is the Son of God who created us yet we joined Lucifer-Satan in his rebellion and war in heaven and carried it forward on earth.” Then divine fire comes down from heaven and underneath the earth to cleanse it inside out in preparation for “the new heavens and the new earth.” Rev. 20: 9, 10; 21: 1.
(Part II to be continued next week)