SPECIAL MESSAGE TO WGM TEAM PARTNERS:
June 3, 2024
WHAT IS THE SETTING OF THE FINAL COUNSEL TO THE LUKEWARM CHRISTIANS?
Part 31
“I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, 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 thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see.” Rev. 3:17, A.V.In order to better apprehend the solemn nature and extreme urgency of this last counsel, the Christian has only to realize that it is the last and only hope-filled message of God in Christ through the Holy Spirit, “the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness” to the specific spiritual condition of the seventh and last period of the church undergoing the most solemn hours of earth’s six thousand year history—the antitypical day of atonement, the pre-advent, investigative judgment referred/declared/announced by the following men of God:
- Apostle Peter
“For the time is come that judgment must BEGIN AT THE HOUSE OF GOD and if it first begin with US, what shall the end be of THEM that obey not the gospel of God? And if the RIGHTEOUS SCARCELY be saved, where shall the ungodly and sinner appear?” 1 Pet. 4: 17, 18. - John the Revelator, through the First of the Three Angels’ global messages of Revelation 14: 6-12.
“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 unto Him, for THE HOUR OF HIS JUDGMENT HAS COME; and worship Him that made heavens and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” verses 6, 7. - Prophet Daniel in the Old Testament, which Jesus Himself cites in His mini-apocalypse in Matt. 24:15. Note these profound prophetic language describing the scenes of this judgment (all emphasis mine):
“I beheld fill the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool: His throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him: thousand, thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him: AND THE JUDGMENT WAS SET, AND THE BOOKS WERE OPENED.” Dan. 7: 9, 10.
Magnifying the foregoing, God’s last-day messenger wrote:
“Thus was presented to the prophet’s vision the great and solemn day when the CHARACTERS AND THE LIVES of men should pass in review before the Judge of all the earth [Rom. 14: 10, 12; 2 Cor. 5:10] and to every man should be rendered ‘according to his works.’ [see Eccl. 12: 13, 14; Rev. 22: 12].
The Ancient of days is God the Father. Says the psalmist [Ps. 90: 2, A.V. quoted]. It is He, the source of all being, and the FOUNTAIN OF ALL LAW, that is to preside in the judgment. And holy angels, AS MINISTERS AND WITNESSES, in number ‘ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands,’ attend this great tribunal. . . .
"Every man’s work passes in review before God, and is registered for faithfulness or unfaithfulness. Opposite each name in the books of heaven is entered, with terrible exactness, every selfish act, every UNFULFILLED DUTY, EVERY SECRET SIN, with every ARTFUL DISSEMBLING. Heaven-sent reproofs [such as this very Laodicean rebuke] neglected, wasted moments [spent in earthly pursuits, entertainment and indulgences, while maintaining “a form of godliness’], unimproved opportunities [because one thinks he is “already rich, and increased in goods, and have need of nothing’ more], the INFLUENCE exerted for good or for evil, with its FAR-REACHING results, all are chronicled by [our] recording angel.
“The LAW of God is the standard by which the character and the lives of men shall be tested in the judgment. Says the wise man [Eccl. 12: 13, 14 quoted]. The apostle James admonished his brethren, ‘So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.’ James 2:12.” - E. G. White, Great Controversy, 1911, pp. 479, 482. Thus to humbly and quickly heed the counsel of the “Amen, the Faithful and True Witness” is but “working out our salvation with fear and trembling” in striving to “make our calling and election sure.”
To be continued, God willing. Bless all, NMF.