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5 Minutes II Peter 3:8 We are in 2022. Christ was crucified in 31 A.D. The Spirit of Prophecy tells us that Christ’s death met the requirement for God’s time. SOP - And in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.” In A. D. 31, three and a half years after his baptism, our Lord was crucified. With the great sacrifice offered upon Calvary, ended that system of offerings which for four thousand years had pointed forward to the Lamb of God. Type had met antitype, and all the sacrifices and oblations of the ceremonial system were there to cease. {The Great Controversy, GC88 327.3} That means we return in time to 4000 years for the count to begin. We return to 31 A.C. (after creation). SOP - The great plan of redemption results in fully bringing back the world into God's favor. All that was lost by sin is restored. Not only man but the earth is redeemed, to be the eternal abode of the obedient. For six thousand years, Satan has struggled to maintain possession of the earth. Now God's original purpose in its creation is accomplished. "The saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever" (Daniel 7:18). {Amazing Grace, AG 370.2} From 31 A.C. to 31 A.D is 4000 years. From 31 A.D. to 2031 A.D. is 2000 years. We are about 8 years from the 6000 year mark. That’s 96 months. 75 months = 9 minutes 96 months ~ 11.52 minutes remaining Matthew 24:22 Romans 9:28 And to cut that time short is purposed by God... Why 6 days for God time? God’s Sabbath is holy. It is the 7th day. God has not spent a holy Sabbath day with “all” His people since sin. When God’s people are all “caught up” together and changed there will be a holy people to keep a holy Sabbath with a holy God. Zephaniah 3:9, 13-17 A gazillion times the resonance of Niagara Falls. Yet soothing like the trickle of a stream. With the bass as the blast of Mt. St. Helen sounding smooth as a kitten’s purr. Vocals more powerful than every sun’s radiance. Yet audible like a flake of snow falling in the woods. The most euphonious voice having the range to extend not just to every octave but infinite times beyond every frequency. Yet rising and falling like a wistful glimmer in full harmonious accordant: strong, smooth, rich, distinct, deep, thick, mellow, calm. Did God give us early warning of Jesus’ death? Genesis-the seed Exodus-Passover Leviticus-the vow Numbers-the bronze serpent Deuteronomy-hanged on a tree Joshua-savior Judges-redemption Ruth-our blood kinsman Samuel-three days of darkness Kings-death and resurrection of the widow’s son Job-suffering Psalms-his life Isaiah-by his stripes Daniel-cut off Do you believe God will give early warning of the testing trial?

8 Minutes Why God Gives His People Prophecy... Our ability to touch others with our warning voice matters to all who are faithful covenant believers of Jesus Christ. Because the Lord is love, He calls servants to warn people of danger and to give admonishing counsel to call attention to truth. The Holy Spirit gives us thoughts that line up with God’s patterns. This is how God speaks. He wants us to understand His character, but He also wants us to teach, correct, rebuke, encourage, direct, guide, comfort, and confront. When we have peace in our hearts, then we know that God is speaking with us. Through His peace, He guides us situationally. Prayer is to provide us direction from God. We are living in perilous times. In addition to viruses, we have wars, other diseases, strong storms, earthquakes, civil unrest, etc. This is a dangerous world. Because there are risks that you may not have thought about, God sends a warning to come to Him for reasoning, and reasoning with God is not a cheap option. These things are imminent. Hebrew Israelites warn that the world, as well as believers, face a sterner judgment now because Christ has revealed the Truth as he is The Truth; this warning offers hope that Christ stands ready to help, therefore, we should persevere in our faith, we must both know God personally and be devoted to His purposeful interests. True love warns... Ezekiel 3:17-21 Ezekiel 18:4-9, 19-32 Ezekiel 33:1-20

3 Minutes Remember the purpose of the Sabbath is for us to worship God in spirit and in truth. John 4:23, 24 Let’s not be mechanical in our worship time...our study time. Tradition has no preference where true worship is concerned. We are understanding the word of God under the guidance of the Holy Spirit...there is no other word like it. These are God-breathed words. The power of the truth of the word itself commands our deepest attention. Let’s be holy this day. No hint of light heartedness. No quirps, no quips. Let’s unfold God’s word until the light of the glory of God comes forth. Let the truth impress our hearts. Where there are passages that need further explanation, let us reason and allow ourselves time to search the scripture. Let’s remember the context of what is revealed that we not wander off the path of understanding. Let’s not swallow the words till we have digested them well. We are going to go through some suffering as we learn from the word. Let’s be truthful in all circumstances. There’s a blessing in walking in God’s word. Please do not allow repented memories to tarnish your learning. When we close, we should hear the sound of every sober word spoken echoing in our minds throughout the six days of labor because we shall be as this scripture says... Titus 2:7, 8

12 Minutes There is this unreflective desire for the glorious prospect of seeing the Lord. This driving force comes from knowing the necessity of suffering before he comes. The decision to be found faithful and vigilant in our particular callings is to strengthen us until he comes. Our every response is to be biblical. Our pursuit is to be like him now. We must become a radically pure, holy, loving, sacrificial, Christlike person now. For that to happen the intensity of our hope, the devotion to nothing but the truth, is to be focused upon him. We are to be spiritually and mentally alert to satanic deception and every false teaching; we should be completely submitted to the word of God rather than being lawless or self-willed; and we should be cultivating strong faith in the sovereign goodness of God, so that we can endure to the end through whatever suffering comes our way. Be weary of human nature... human beings have developed popular as well as intellectual and sophisticated ways of denying the existence of any divine law or standard. We have a tendency to attempt to override the mind of God. We have found a way to claim plausibility for creating our own truth, creating our own right and wrong, creating our own identity. Such lawlessness will be multiplied, will be increased, and that the effect is a tragic coldness of love among professed believers. Another of our pursuits to prepare for the Lord’s coming and its antecedent sufferings is to submit ourselves with spiritual intelligence and spiritual wisdom and spiritual reasoning and spiritual joy to the absolute standards of God’s law, of God’s every word for the sake of warm love, not cold love. I thank God for allowing His messenger to fuel my thoughts in this plea for our betterment. Let’s be faithful and vigilant in our particular callings. We have an assignment. We are to be wise. We are to keep oil in our vessels that our light keeps us morally and spiritually awake that we may know the way in the dark time when the cry is made for us to meet the Lord. Our gifts, resources, abilities, money, relationships, and spiritual discipline must be of such as God means them to be. These are the spheres where we do our job with faithfulness and diligence. Our life is to be guided with the sureness of seeing our God at His coming. Consider the depth of the statement, “let this mind be in you”, in your readying yourself for Christ’s return. The mind of Christ... Mark 13:32 Christ did not have such intimate knowledge of God the Father. This verse reveals the self-limitation of the real Incarnation of the Eternal Word. As a fully human individual, Jesus learned things as other human beings learn them, yet Jesus was fully God, and as God, He had infinite knowledge. In the passage before us He speaks in terms of his human nature. This statement of our Lord as to Himself can be explained only by referring to the ignorance of His human mind...indeed, a finite mind could not contain all knowledge. If there was to be real Incarnation of the Eternal Word, then the body He took must be a real body, and the mind a real mind. How His divine nature could be omniscient, and His human mind limited in knowledge, both being united in one person, is part of the mystery of the Incarnation, which we need not expect to solve. But to be limited in knowledge, does not necessarily involve erroneous information or conceptions. The human nature of the Incarnate Deity was infallibly preserved from sin, and so, we may believe, from error of judgment. And the Word prayed for our being perfectly reproduced in this character. Our discernment is to be predicated upon this proposition. No day is named, that every day may be hallowed by the sense of the possibility of its being the day of Christ’s advent. It helps to hallow each day of life, even in consideration of prophesied events, to realize that before its close we may be in the presence of Christ's glory. Don’t let your familiarity with another hinder your discernment of truth. The whole truth measures motives, thoughts, intents as well as words and deeds. Intimate associations will be separated by the unexpected coming of Jesus. There will be no second chance. What is your personal relationship with Jesus? Are we prepared for the shaking? SOP - 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. But in the period of doubt and uncertainty that followed the disappointment, many of the advent believers yielded their faith. . . . Thus the work was hindered, and the world was left in darkness. Had the whole Adventist body united upon the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, how widely different would have been our history! {Ev 695.3} It was not the will of God that the coming of Christ should be thus delayed. God did not design that His people, Israel, should wander forty years in the wilderness. He promised to lead them directly to the land of Canaan, and establish them there a holy, healthy, happy people. But those to whom it was first preached, went not in "because of unbelief." Their hearts were filled with murmuring, rebellion, and hatred, and He could not fulfill His covenant with them. {Ev 696.1} For forty years did unbelief, murmuring, and rebellion shut out ancient Israel from the land of Canaan. The same sins have delayed the entrance of modern Israel into the heavenly Canaan. In neither case were the promises of God at fault. It is the unbelief, the worldliness, unconsecration, and strife among the Lord's professed people that have kept us in this world of sin and sorrow so many years.--Manuscript 4, 1883. {Evangelism, Page 696.2} Are we to attain a level of holiness never seen before, will we ever meet that prerequisite? We must therefore do some thing never done before. From God’s viewpoint there is no delay. The sovereignty of God is our assurance. SOP - We have not cast away our confidence, neither have we a message dependent upon definite time, but we are waiting and watching unto prayer, looking for and loving the appearing of our Saviour, and doing all in our power for the preparation of our fellow men for that great event. We are not impatient. If the vision tarry, wait for it, for it will surely come, it will not tarry. Although disappointed, our faith has not failed, and we have not drawn back to perdition. The apparent tarrying is not so in reality, for at the appointed time our Lord will come, and we will, if faithful, exclaim, "Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us" (Isaiah 25:9). {Manuscript Releases Volume Ten [Nos. 771-850, Page 270.2}. Zechariah 4:6 How can the testimony of Jesus speak of delay being "not so in reality"? How can we harmonize delay and nearness? Here we have two ways of looking at the same event. From our viewpoint, there has been a delay because we have not done the work we should have. But from God's viewpoint, there is no delay. He has not put His plans entirely in our hands. He is sovereign; He is in control; He has His "appointed time." Faith in God's power: it is divine power that gives success. Those whom God employs as His messengers are not to feel that His work is dependent on them. Finite beings are not left to carry this burden of responsibility. The delay is ours...in doing our work. But the time determined is God’s. And the promises and threatenings of God are alike conditional. And God knows when His called “are ready”. But in truth there is more in our readying whether in nearness or delay. Our readying is to exhort the third angel's message and Sabbath reform, and then call God's people to purify their souls through obedience to the truth. It is the unbelief, worldliness, unconsecration, and strife among the Lord's professed people that have kept them in the world so many years. Where is the holy living and diligent witnessing? The Lord is not delayed...we are hindering his return. Our being ready is more about preparation than about time. A people will be ready when the Lord comes. Their spots and stains will be removed beforehand - pride, passion, slothfulness, envy, evil-surmisings, and evil- speaking. Overcoming sin must be done in this life: not one error of character will be removed when Christ comes. We must learn and reason to cultivate heart-holiness and to live with purpose. God says that we can hasten the coming. God is allowing our godly living to actually affect His timetable. We are to live out the new covenant realities. We are to take advantage of the divine delay to join in God’s redemptive purposes.This truth should actually fuel our patience and passion as we prepare for our Lord’s return. Matthew 24:44 We are to “be ready” when every event is presented to us. Our all-important readiness is being born again. We must live in prayerful, watchful readiness for “all that is about to happen.” Do not allow your heart to be weighed down with mundane matters of worldliness. Don’t engage in any conduct that will damage your careful watchfulness and prayerfulness. Interesting scenarios are taking place. We would do well to take them all seriously, in order to be “ready” for whatever is coming while we are alive on this earth. May I strongly suggest that be wise to seek the fullness of the Holy Spirit; both the new birth by the Spirit and the baptism with the Holy Spirit. All that we receive from God is by His grace. But that does not remove from us our obligation to apply that grace in our lives and to expend every effort to “make ourselves ready” for presentation to our entering into the perfect character of Jesus. We must be “ready believers”. The key is “readiness”. I Peter 3:15 If you are ready, when you are ready, Jesus Christ holds a very special, central place in your heart; and as a result you are “ready always to give an answer” to those who see something in you that causes them to ask about your hopefulness, your optimism. Do it with gentleness and reverence. Make clear to all the truth of the event. And that answer, of course, is the blessed hope that you have in Jesus Christ.

12 Minutes Let’s state what is matter-of-factly the truth... What we are approaching in this last day engagement will not be a Mt. Carmel encounter. This final “battle” will be over truth versus false worship. And we must have such a deep loving loyalty that our protection, our discernment is predicated upon the following word of God. This word is so vital that I will not present the text, but rather the word of God as it is...and it is followed up with a most riveting opportunity. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. This is the day. The seven last plagues fall on those who chose poorly. The seal of God is experienced by those who chose to follow the Lamb wherever he goes. For here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. If we fail to see the probation imagery that God is granting us to learn by reason, we may very well be on the left hand when Christ speaks. God’s truth is so powerful that He Himself has reasoned with us to place love in our hearts. This love is a blessing for obedience and promise for overcoming. Those who are lost had ample opportunity to fall in love with Jesus, to appreciate, and receive by living faith the gift of his righteousness, and the promise of eternal life. God purposed that all could be saved. Rome tampered with God’s law. If any transgress God’s sabbath they are doing the same as did Rome. This is breaking His covenant. None of the first six plagues are universal in nature though they have their affect upon the people of the world as they witness the upheaval of nature. Yet, in their torment at the end is the fierce anger of the Lord shown until they crescendo into full darkness, creating a vast emptiness. And as was our Savior on the cross, these torments pierce the earth as it was the epitome ofsin. As was the torment of isolation, emptiness and darkness upon those angels who fell in the beginning before creation, so will the return of torments be once again heaped upon their very souls with this exception...there will be no waters. Let’s achieve a higher truth through reasoning concerning this darkness for the originators of sin. What might precisely this darkness be? Darkness cannot exist without light. That means that even though they reside in darkness, even so as some human beings are in darkness, it does not mean that there is no light in them. How so? Ephesians 4:18 They have learned of some truth of God or received some witness of His word. So, when the evil angels are bound here on this deserted earth they will be in total darkness and since darkness cannot exist without light it will be as though they do not exist. Yet we understand that they will be here experiencing the consequence of their choice before seeing death...how so? The darkness they will be in will be “black”. Black is a physical impression experienced when no aspect of light is present. There is nothing that can reflect back to the eye. Spiritual blackness is the realization of complete, eternal absence from any facet of God. They will be in the blackest darkness for 1,000 years, not days...years. For us, this will be the “Sabbath” of God. SOP - These plagues are not universal, or the inhabitants of the earth would be wholly cut off. Yet they will be the most awful scourges that have ever been known to mortals. All the judgments upon men, prior to the close of probation, have been mingled with mercy. The pleading blood of Christ has shielded the sinner from receiving the full measure of his guilt; but in the final judgment, wrath is poured out unmixed with mercy. {FLB 340.3} It is impossible to give any idea of the experience of the people of God who will be alive on the earth when past woes and celestial glory will be blended. They will walk in the light proceeding from the throne of God. By the means of the angels there will be constant communication between heaven and earth. {FLB 340.4} The people of God will not be free from suffering; but . . . they will not be left to perish. . . . While the wicked are dying from hunger and pestilence, angels will shield the righteous, and supply their wants. To him that "walketh righteously" is the promise, "Bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure." Isaiah 33:16. {The Faith I Live By, Page 340.5} Habakkuk 3:17, 18 SOP - Yet to human sight it will appear that the people of God must soon seal their testimony with their blood as did the martyrs before them. They themselves begin to fear that the Lord has left them to fall by the hand of their enemies. It is a time of fearful agony. Day and night they cry unto God for deliverance. The wicked exult, and the jeering cry is heard: "Where now is your faith? Why does not God deliver you out of our hands if you are indeed His people?" But the waiting ones remember Jesus dying upon Calvary's cross and the chief priests and rulers shouting in mockery: "He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He be the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him." Matthew 27:42. Like Jacob, all are wrestling with God. Their countenances express their internal struggle. Paleness sits upon every face. Yet they cease not their earnest intercession. {Great Controversy, Page 630.1} Our God will not forsake us!!! Those who so sorely chose to rebel against God in their mind, in their heart, were given the consequence of their choice. These are given grievous sores outwardly. Those who are the waters where the whore sits, forfeited life eternal for the sake of worldliness and sees the waters of the world turn to blood and death. Those who declined to drink of the blood of Christ that they might live, are given the waters turned blood to drink from the rivers and fountains of waters. Those who chose to worship the Sun-day are given the god of their choice... Jeremiah 8:2 They are given the sun in all its glory, its scorching heat and solar flares eject intense bursts of radiation upon the earth and upon those who accepted the mark of the beast, heightening the sore punishments. Boiling blood in the oceans, the seas, the rivers. Those who accepted the errors of Rome as the mouth of truth, see the full darkness of lies and receive torment in the very tongues that spoke against God. And now comes the preparation to war against God. These who come to battle the Lord of Lords here, are those who comprised the number who opposed God’s Sabbath as the truth was revealed to them. These are those who mocked God’s image. The Sabbath marks the coming to God in worship, in resting from the things of the world. Armageddon represents the anticipation of the coming of the Son of God not to worship, not to rest, but to battle. This gathering occurs between the sixth and last plague. The drying up of the Euphrates represents the collapse of the Beast power. Babylon represented the entertainment center of the world. Remember how the people were drawn to Babylon. People came to ride the canals; to walk the Hanging Gardens of Babylon; to see Ishtar Gate. So, when the call was made to come to the Plain of Dura, the people came. Those who disregard the Sabbath now, will respond to the call to come to Armageddon. The waters of the Euphrates represent those people flowing to Babylonian attractions...they will be dried up...meaning without the spirit. Where is the line to be drawn between obedience to God and pleasure of the world? God first darkened their support with the fifth plague being poured out on the seat of the beast. Their hearts remain hard against God and His people. As such, they become fertile soil for the final deception by which Satan will draw the world to unite against God’s people to wipe them off the face of the earth. These all rejected the Sabbath, the day that from the beginning of creation, which was “blessed” and “sanctified”, “hallowed” as a “sign” of obedience. These denied the Creator and worshipped the creature, as their sign of disobedience. These have sown the wind, and these shall reap the whirlwind. Jeremiah 10:10 Let’s prevent any confusion...the spirit of prophecy says, “All who have not the spirit of truth will unite under the leadership of satanic agencies, but they are to be kept under control till the time shall come for the great battle of Armageddon.” {LDE 238.3}. There are only two parties in our world, those who are loyal to God, and those who stand under the banner of the prince of darkness. {SDA Bible Commentary Vol. 7, Page 982.4}. We will be weeping, grieving, and saddened by the loss of so many that Jesus died to save. The plagues will show that the righteous are ready for heaven, for they have heaven in their hearts. Duty was our delight, and sacrifice our pleasure. The love of God in us was spontaneously as we walked in the light, as Christ is the light.

9 Minutes Let’s interject a truth requiring reasoning to gather the higher certainty for us. The evidence of things not seen does not infer being blind to the disclosures of God. In fact, the evidence of the Lord's work and resurrection was necessary to produce eyewitnesses. Moses saw the truths of God and worded what was seen and heard. John was shown things shortly to come and bare record of the word of God. He saw and heard things that are booked for our hearing. Walk through each inspiration given by God. You will be forever desirous of knowing the depth and the height of truth if you have faith. Without their sight, we would have none of their testimony; and without their testimony, there would be no faith. Do not ignore the evidence of God. It is by proving truth that our faith is established. Revelation 22:8 I John1:1-4 Romans 10:14-17 Wherein then did Thomas say “I will not believe”...it was not that he refused to believe without evidence, but that he refused to believe the evidence already available to him; the testimony of those who saw. Thomas doubted, and even refused to accept the witness of his fellow-apostles. But doubting is not the opposite of believing; doubting is an essential part of the process of believing, of coming to faith. Doubt is not the opposite of faith, unbelief is. The expression of doubt encourages us to find answers and answers of truth strengthen faith. And then the Word reasoned with him and at length he was brought into clear, strong faith. Unbelief is not hopeless. Ofttimes it may be but a process in the development of faith. "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief". There are different ways of believing. Mark 16:14 The word of God is of such truth that it is more than sight and hearing. We will find ourselves in an acceptable way when we come together with God. It is reasoning with God whereby we are made able to come to the whole of truth. Honest questioning, sincere reasoning, intensifies the faith to grow strong. Let’s do what builds our faith. Let’s hear the word of God. Luke 24:9 Not only were the disciples told the truth, but others also. Luke 24:13-15 What did they do “together”? Luke 24:16 Where was their sight? Listen to their uncertain reasonings. Luke 24:17-24 Now hear the soundness of expounding what the word of God says...and how the scriptures open our eyes to “see” Jesus. Luke 24:25-35 Luke 24:36-53 Jesus identifies the source of their anguish and gives the disciples conversable satisfaction with his discourse. He removed the disquiet that was among them as they thought they were seeing a spirit. Jesus told them of his arrest, crucifixion, and burial, and how he would rise again. But his appearing to them after his resurrection...and in human form without blood. This was a wholly new concept. They understood not that the sinful flesh had to be crucified. Mark 9:30-32 He was in his providence preparing them for seeing him at the sea of Tiberias. John 21:1-7 How so often we give advantage to Satan when we fail to reason with truth. It was providential of their unbelief that Jesus gave them proof of his resurrection, both for the silencing of their fears by convincing them that he was not a spirit, and for the strengthening of their faith in that doctrine which they were to preach to the world by giving them full satisfaction concerning his resurrection. The insight he gave them into the word of God, which they had heard and read, wrought in them such clearing. Jesus enlightened the intellectual faculties with divine light. We cannot learn above our bibles in this world; but we need to be learning still more and more out of our bibles, and to grow more ready and mighty in the scriptures having right thoughts ofChrist. We are to hold in our hearts one we have not seen in the flesh. We are included in these words, only if we follow up our faith with good labors. The true believer practices what he believes. Faith is the gaze of the heart at God. It is the inward eye of the soul meeting the all-seeing eye of God. Our gaze of faith sets our mind to love, obey and worship God. It involves the whole person. Faith opens our spiritual eye that as we know Christ, we see God, and as we know God we see Christ. The Holy Spirit enables us by faith to set our inward spiritual gaze upon Christ and we grow to new levels of spiritual life. In the vast darkness of this world, God places the stars in heaven as glimmers of light, words of God in our mind that encourage us. We are to learn from the providences of God in relation to the testimonies of those He chose to call. We are to have a faith that is satisfied with what God provides and is therefore not yearning for visions, miracles, esoteric experiences, or various form of success as evidence of God’s favor. This is why we learn of the good report of those whom we are to make perfect. We have not seen Christ in the flesh, yet our faith is to suffer no loss in that we have the testimony of the faithful...we have the testimony of Jesus. And it is by reasoning in the Word of God that unbelief is conquered. Thomas’s experience prompts us to understand that our faith is a deep personal conviction and it is entrenched in our own unique experience with God and yet, we can also obtain faith in our learning from others when the content of the message is reasoned with the word of God. It is interesting to note that hearing is just as important as seeing when it comes to faith. And this hearing is the inner working of the promised Paraclete, the Holy Spirit. Acquiescence with any statement relies upon exposure to truth as is found in the word. Perceiving is a process of the senses and believing is a conviction of confidence in the truth. Once found, greater faith involves the willingness to testify of that truth. We are blessed. We learn and grow in our faith through struggling with an aspect of it and coming through that time with a greater understanding, a sense of having become closer to God through the process. We are given true and substantial comfort from the scriptures when we engage with others to reason through doubt, through unbelief. We live in an interesting time and place when it comes to issues of faith and unbelief. We must groan in spirit. There is no shadow to our hope. Christ is always our divine refuge.

15 Minutes The whole world is in unbelief; how far distanced from unbelief are we? God's providence is God's caring provision for His people as He guides them in their journey of faith through life, accomplishing His purpose in them. God's mission is to save people and shape them to be more like Jesus. God is the creator of heaven and earth, and all that occurs in the universe takes place under Divine Providence. That is, under God's sovereign guidance and control as a loving Father, working all things for good. Through divine providence God accomplishes His will. To ensure that His purposes are fulfilled, God governs the affairs of men and works through the natural order of things. The laws of nature are nothing more than God’s work in the universe. The laws of nature have no inherent power; rather, they are the principles that God set in place to govern how things normally work. They are only “laws” because God decreed them. How does divine providence relate to human volition? We know that humans have a free will, but we also know that God is sovereign. How those two truths relate to each other is hard for us to understand. God hates sin and will judge sinners. God is not the author of sin, He does not tempt anyone to sin, and He does not condone sin. At the same time, God obviously allows a certain measure of sin. He must have a reason for allowing it, temporarily, even though He hates it. Scripture proof through reasoning - God allowed Joseph’s brothers to kidnap Joseph, sell him as a slave, and then lie to their father for years about his fate. This was wicked, and God was displeased. Yet, at the same time, all of their sin worked toward a greater good: Joseph ended up in Egypt, where he was made the prime minister. Joseph used his position to sustain the people of a broad region during a seven-year famine—including his own family. If Joseph had not been in Egypt before the famine began, millions of people, including the Israelites, would have died. How did God get Joseph to Egypt? He providentially allowed his brothers the freedom to sin. God’s divine providence is directly acknowledged. Genesis 50:15-21 God allowed Judas to lie, deceive, cheat, steal, and finally betray the Lord Jesus into the hands of His enemies. All of this was a great wickedness, and God was displeased. Yet, at the same time, all of Judas’s plotting and scheming led to a greater good: the salvation of mankind. Jesus had to die at the hands of the Romans in order to become the sacrifice for sin. If Jesus had not been crucified, we would still be in our sins. How did God get Christ to the cross? God providentially allowed Judas the freedom to perform a series of wicked acts. Luke 22:22 There is a spiritual balance between the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man. Divine providence is taught. Romans 8:28 All things” means “all things.” God is never out of control. Satan can do his worst, yet even the evil that is tearing the world apart is working toward a greater, final purpose. We can’t see it yet. But we know that God allows things for a reason and that His plan is good. Oh, the frustration of the sinner that yields his will to Satan. No matter what he does, he finds that his plans are thwarted and something good happens in the end. The doctrine of divine providence can be summarized this way: God in eternity past, in the counsel of His own will, ordained everything that will happen; yet in no sense is God the author of sin; nor is human responsibility removed. Nothing happens that God does not ordain, cause, or allow. The primary means by which God accomplishes His will is through secondary causes, for example, laws of nature, human choice, and the truth that even God “determined” to change His mind providentially when petitioned. God’s intervention can be direct as an event that occurs when the Deity of God becomes actively involved in changing some situations in human affairs. Exodus 32:7-14 Joshua 10:12-14 Mark 13:14-20 We have a special privilege. If God did not promise to intervene when we face difficulties, we will have no grounds to pray, to ask for it. We are the target of God's promises and blessings. There is no altering His character, but to slight the mind of God breaches upon His call to us to reason with Him. Our reasoning with God is an assent to a revelation of God, it is a special instrument of apprehending, and laying hold on Christ for justification of the coming to understand that truth that we knew not. Jeremiah 33:3 Unbelief is not intellectual, it is moral. It doesn't come out of the head; it comes out of the heart. Sin has its root in unbelief. Consider the attitude that rejects reasoning. It might show a good opinion of one’s self or a bad opinion of the word of God. What is the providence in Thomas, a disciple, saying, “I will not believe”? The bible does not tell us how Thomas was drawn to Jesus. Did a friend bring him? Did he learn of the new rabbi through the fame of him that went everywhere, and then come to him without solicitation? Did he hear him speak one day, and find himself drawn to him by the power of his gracious words? Or did Jesus seek him out in his home or at his work, and call him to be a follower? Did he not have even a glimmer of hope? Why was his willingness to understand the situation so negative? Why was Thomas’ view always from the dark side? Thomas’ coming is veiled in obscurity. With him there was no lack of reverence, rather a constitutional tendency to question, and to wait for proof which would satisfy the senses. But we do know that Thomas is that disciple willing to follow Jesus into death. John 11:1-16 Thomas would rather die with Jesus than live without him. As the time of the cross drew near and Jesus offered the disciples understanding, it was Thomas who asked for clarification. John 14:1-7 Christ’s testimony concerning their knowledge made the disciples more sensible of their ignorance, and more inquisitive after further light. Thomas, confessing his ignorance, however, seems more solicitous to know the way. He asks Jesus to make that statement a little plainer. This showed he was willing to own his defects. He was willing to be taught. And Jesus gives them the full answer..."if you have heard and understood rightly; for you know me, and I am the way; you know the Father, and He is the eternal end; and therefore, whither I go you know, and the way you know. Believe in God as the end, and in me as the way, and you do all you should do". How rich and significant is that message to us today? Why are we not following Jesus now? Preconceived notions may hinder the belief of truth when presented. First, Jesus says, “I am”. That is the name of power and authority. He is not a way...he is the way. Coming to God is only possible through him. Jesus is truth itself. He embodies all things that lead to truth. He offers us the exclusiveness to the only way to the claim of eternal life. The disciples at this time had not the wisdom that we have. They had not yet experienced the cross. Once they understood the truth of Jesus’ words they changed, and they went on to change the world. Thomas’ loyal love for Jesus was evident. Thomas evidenced only one motive: love, and one rule: obedience. His was not influenced by any question of consequences; but though it be to certain death, his love for Jesus hesitated not. The disciples were coming together. They were having breakthrough moments of the revelation of truth after seeing their risen Savior. Jesus’ words had in them the power to grow the spiritual attainment needed to reckon with the present and soon to be encounters of apostleship. They were dropped into darkness and brought back to light and was now upon the mountaintop of faith. And then the words...”I will not believe”. You can feel the shift of atmosphere at Thomas’ words, and that’s exactly what we do when we douse the fire of other’s search for deeper truth. They had proving faith that was met with firm unbelief. Dissension enters. Distraction ensues. Instead of focusing on forward kingdom thinking and the glory of God, Jesus’ very disciples were left divided and trying to convince one of their own. Is our unbelief causing dissension in the body? What must that following week of study have been like? What was the “rest” of that Sabbath? God’s providence did something for Thomas. Truth appeared to saturate his mind in truth. God brought to Thomas His presence of truth. He caused him to see Jesus. Unbelief turned to belief. It was by chance that this chosen disciple was absent, then came and heard, heard and doubted, doubted and touched, touched and believed. It was not by chance but in God’s providence. The wounds of Christ healed Thomas’ unbelief, strengthened his faith and did a divine purpose for Peter and John. Christ was teaching that faith is the proof of what cannot be seen, yet what is seen gives knowledge and grows faith. We cannot see God, but what does our faith tell us of Him. It is His word that gives us knowledge and what of our faith as we accept of His presence in the revelation of truth. Thomas’ unbelief was turned to belief and by faith he saw God, and in seeing Jesus he came to the truth of the resurrection. John 20:28, 29 In that moment Thomas saw both the body on the cross, hanging by hands and feet, the side opened by the soldier’s spear, and his living friend and master. As these two figures fused together, so Thomas leapt the gap between loyalty to a friend and adoring faith in God Himself. His ponderous pessimism and lonely doubts disappeared, and he identified his friend. In Thomas’ mouth, was the complete acknowledgment of Christ’s nature and one of the most definitive assertions of faith recorded in the bible. In the face of Jesus, Thomas beheld the abundant consolation in the hope of eternal life. Sight may have made Thomas believe that Jesus was risen, but it was something other and more inward than sight that opened his lips to cry, ‘My Lord and my God!’ With this response, Thomas left no room for doubt of Jesus’ identity, of who Jesus is. He knew that Jesus was all that He is in Himself. Thomas realized that Jesus had read his heart and known of his bold demand, his reply was not just a profession of faith but an act of adoration and an expression of deep sorrow at his own unbelief. Thomas’ faith was now a great deal more than just an avowal. In the faith of the divine he taught the Deity of Christ from his wounds. How heightened and strengthened is our faith in the experience of Thomas’ doubting? Thomas reasoned the evidence to its full meaning. The graciousness shown by Jesus to Thomas is that graciousness given us that we know it was not by chance, but in God’s providence that we have never a doubt where the reality of truth is reasoned to offer still more truth. We have this assurance by faith, that comes by the hearing, and that hearing by the truth of the word of God. Our faith is that by which we not only see and touch the Word, but we know him as our Lord...our God. This is the pinnacle of the testimony to Jesus Christ. I Peter 1:8, 9 Jesus chose to bring to heaven those wounds he bore for us, he refused to remove them, so that he might show God his Father the price and the love of our being set at liberty. The Father places him in this state at his right hand, embracing the trophy of our salvation: such are the witnesses the crown of his scars has shown us there. And as pertaining to Peter and John... John 21:15-24

2 Minutes Why did God create Adam and Eve separately? God wanted Adam to recognize that aloneness before God, developed in him a unique spiritual connection. Elsewise the concept of union with God would have been communal instead of individual. It was only “not good” for man to be alone after learning of the likeness of his kind to fulfill God’s purpose. Adam and Eve are shown as interdependent, yet one of other, as part of God’s “very good” creation. Adam was not lonely. He was in the presence of his Creator. He simply learned that to fulfill God’s purpose he needed a suitable companion. He was learning himself. Notice that both Adam and Eve were created on the same day. In his unfallen state it is doubtful that Adam could have experienced loneliness in the way we do. Adam was not in the least idle. He was learning his responsibility; he was naming every creature according to why God created them according to the common characteristics of their genus. Remember, Adam had an unfallen mind that was given such a capacity to assimilate maximum data with the power of scalability and performance comparable to high-speed networks. He had a mind imaged after the mind of God. God wanted Adam and Eve to recognize their uniqueness. Eve was not brought forth from the dust of the earth. The woman is taken from a living and vital part of the man. No two of any other creatures shared this kind of intimate connection. Eve comes forth from Adam as the church bride comes forth from Christ. Adam came forth in the figure of he who was to come. Our walk is to image the communion between God the Son and God the Father.

THE WORD OF GOD IS A MOST POWERFUL INDUCEMENT TO THIS...WE SHALL SEE OF WHAT VAST CONSEQUENCE IT IS TO US THAT WE BE HOLY IF WE CONSIDER THE ACCOUNT WE MUST EVERY ONE OF US, SHORTLY GIVE OF OURSELF TO GOD. THE STRICTNESS OF GOD’S WORD MUST CONCERN US NOW AS TO HOW WE WORK GOD’S WORD. THE SOLEMNITY OF THE COVENANT IS ESTABLISHED BY AND CONDITIONAL UPON A FAITH THAT WORKS. HOW CAN SO MUCH GRACE BE DISPENSED UNDER THIS COVENANT? WE LOOK FORWARD TO THE COMING OF GOD’S SON WHO REPAIRED ALL THE INJURY DONE TO GOD'S HONOR. In God’s divine call to prophesy again are shown several powerful phenomena that occur in heaven. So intense are these happenings that God allows us visionary access to the sanctuary. And following the revealing of the phenomena we see the ark of God’s testament, His covenant. Let’s look at what the testament, what the covenant infers. Testament is seen as a relation between God and humanity (the new testament), covenant tends to show the relationship between Hebrews (Israel) and God. First, an angel of God assesses us...do we worship God in Spirit and in truth. Do we make God's glory our end and His word our rule? Does our conversation become the gospel? Revelation 11:1 God’s most faithful witnesses who attest the truth of His word and the excellency of His ways. These witnesses will have deep bearing in our prophesying. War will be raged against the witnesses and for a time they will appear dead, but will not be buried. The Lord will revive a people. We can detail the phenomena, with that referenced and notated above. It is the showing of the ark that we might want to gather wisdom concerning. This was in the holy of holies. This is the expression of God’s favor in the propitiation of Jesus Christ. A reminder that God is implacably opposed to everything that is evil, that His opposition may properly be described as 'wrath', and that this wrath is put away only by the atoning work of Christ. This is the only mention of the real covenant in the book of Revelation. Our covenant with God is current and relevant. Revelation 11:19 Reconciled in the opening of the temple that the contents of the ark may be known are two apparently exclusive principles: that only the elect will be saved and that God is perfectly just. This is an extremely important event when God’s temple in heaven opens to show the real ark of the covenant. It happens at an extremely important time in the book of Revelation. Its purpose was to signal the certainty of Christ’s reign over the world; that we are in the final phase of prophecy; judgment and reward are determined. This is a very sacred and serious moment. The most sacred object, the ark of the covenant in heaven was opened. It contains evidence of the covenant, God’s promises that establish His relationship with His people. God is acting with the most severe and serious judgements, but He has not forgotten His promises. He acts in this manner because of His promises. The proper time has, at last, come. That is why at this time, God shows the ark of the covenant, the evidence of His promises. Compare the scene with God’s coming to Mount Sinai, including the opening and the great hail. Is Jesus ready to leave...what of the final act of God’s wrath opening the 1000 year sabbath in heaven. God’s true people moves to truth continuously. There will be those who grow further and further away from the knowledge of God’s Word by choice. It makes the truth God is revealing in His Word even sweeter to His believers and those that are searching for the whole truth. Divine revelation is the source of knowledge concerning ultimate truth and, therefore, ultimate reality. And the bible says we are to “continue” in the quickness of the word...that means in the life of the word and the word is not dead. John 8:31, 32 Hebrews 4:12 Hear what the word does once it is inside...it reveals all opposition to God’s truth...it discerns the thoughts, the intents, the attitude toward the word. But when the Holy Spirit works with the word it does more: it convicts us of our rebellion against God and subdues us; it leads us as sheep to the Good Shepherd. This is how we are born again. We hear God speaking, we know of the perfect demands of the law as well as God’s sure judgment, we realize our peril, we surrender ourselves and fall before the Lord in conviction of sin. The word is so powerful that it is sharper than any weapon used against it. Hebrews 4:13 What is this that the word opens up to us...it uncovers every heart, every act, every intention, every thought, and desire and brings them before the penetrating gaze of the living God. It is the gospel witness. I John 4:6 There is urgency in our studying the word of God. II Kings 22:8 Josiah began reading the bible the workers had found, and soon he tore his clothes to lament what had been absent from Israel’s life for so long. He gathered the godliest people around God’s Word to study it. Then they put into practice the things they read in the scriptures, and the result was a renewal of the covenant with God and the restoration of the blessings that come through faith in him. Through His Word, God Himself teaches us, rebukes and corrects us, trains us in righteousness, and equips us for every good work. When we come to God’s Word in faith, when we open up our heart and mind to the teachings of the bible, either as it is taught or in our reading of it, that Word comes alive within us because it is sent by God Himself for that purpose. He lives and acts in us through His living and active Word. Why is God revealing the ark of the covenant? SOP - The Lord has shown me clearly that the image of the beast will be formed before probation closes, for it is to be the great test [SEE THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER, WHERE THE GREAT TEST FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD IS SHOWN TO BE SUNDAY-LAW ENFORCEMENT.] for the people of God, by which their eternal destiny will be decided. 2SM 81 (1890). {LDE 227.3} Please note that the great test is not the Sunday Law for God’s people...it is the enforcement of the Sunday Law. God has a people standing with the Lamb before the mark of the beast...and they have a name written in their foreheads...they are sealed. SOP- God has not revealed to us the time when this message [the third angel's] will close, or when probation will have an end. . . . Letters have come to me asking me if I have any special light as to the time when probation will close; and I answer that I have only this message to bear, that it is now time to work while the day lasts, for the night cometh in which no man can work. {FLB 215.2} When Jesus rises up in the most holy place, and lays off His mediatorial garments, and clothes Himself with the garments of vengeance in place of the priestly attire, the work for sinners will be done. . . . The probation of all closes when the pleading for sinners is ended and the garments of vengeance are put on. {FLB 215.3} The case of every soul will have been decided, and there will be no atoning blood to cleanse from sin. . . . Then the restraining Spirit of God is withdrawn from the earth. {FLB 215.4} In that fearful time the righteous must live in the sight of a holy God without an intercessor. The restraint which has been upon the wicked is removed, and Satan has entire control of the finally impenitent . . . . Satan will then plunge the inhabitants of the earth into one great, final trouble. As the angels of God cease to hold in check the fierce winds of human passion, all the elements of strife will be let loose. The whole world will be involved in ruin more terrible than that which came upon Jerusalem of old. {FLB 215.5} We have no time to lose. We know not how soon our probation may close.... Christ is soon to come. {FLB 215.6} When probation ends, it will come suddenly, unexpectedly--at a time when we are least expecting it. But we can have a clean record in heaven today, and know that God accepts us; and finally, if faithful, we shall be gathered into the kingdom of heaven. {FLB 215.7} Now let’s think again concerning the opening of the temple and the ark of the testament in light of the probationary truth. We had best consider and understand this... Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14 It does not say “do you hear”, it says “let us hear”. Teachers must themselves be hearers of that word which they teach to others, and must hear it as from God; those are not teachers who teach others and not themselves. Every word of God is pure and precious, but some words are worthy of more special remark, offering greater insight. There is a conclusion to the matter. Set aside doubtful disputation. The old covenant dealt specifically with the law and rightfully so because God covenanted obedience above sacrifice. If never there was disobedience...And so with the new covenant unbelief is regarded as the sin that is pre- eminently offensive to God. Hebrews 4:3-11 Unbelief is a tragic and increasing trend among God’s people. It is the principal one of which we are guilty and so we trampled on the blood of His Son. All sin has its root in unbelief. John 16:9 Unbelief is not simply a casual incredulity nor a difference of opinion, rather, it is a total rejection of God’s messenger, message, and God’s word. Unbelief puts self at the center of things. People who deny or refuse to believe what God has revealed about Himself are in a state of unbelief. Hebrews 3:7-19 Unbelief in the face of evidence is either stupidity or sin. Why is God opening the temple showing the ark of the covenant to His last day people? Unbelief... is always proud...always conceited. Unbelief is in itself the fruit of an evil heart. Unbelief was the first sin, and pride was the first-born of it. Disobedience and unbelief are two sides of the same coin. Unbelief in the biblical view is not passive, an innocent but inaccurate view that has unfortunately 'got it wrong' at a few points. Rather, unbelief is active, driven by a dark energy. Unbelief is at the bottom of all our staggerings, unsteadiness, at God's covenant promises. The real heart of unbelief is seeking your own way to fix God’s way as your way. Unbelief is not failure in intellectual apprehension. It is disobedience in the presence of the clear understanding of God. When we neglect to ask God, we may hold an erroneous conception of God's way. James 1:5, 6 What we can know about God, we must know about God. While God has entered into agreements with humanity, His designated, peculiar people, is the only people with which He has entered into a blood covenant relationship. Yet not forgetting that the blood of our Lord and Savior was typified in the sacrificial offerings by faith. Jeremiah 31:31-33 God’s covenant likewise is established referentially to His Son’s looming death. How does scripture verify this truth both positively and negatively? No one can legally, morally, or spiritually transfer God’s covenants with His people to another people. God therefore will fulfill His covenantal promises to His people, not to descendents of Ishmael, nor to the world, nor to any other people who does not come to Christ in belief of the promise. Galatians 3:29 Hebrews 10:16; 8:5 Better promises?? Deuteronomy 27:3 Psalms 105:42-45 I John 2:25 And the deeper truth still concerning this “ark of the testament”... Mark 14:24 Jesus unites his offering with the promise of God given Abraham and at Mt Sinai. The new covenant not only enlarges and fulfills all the promises of the Abrahamic covenant, but also supersedes the Mosaic covenant, the law. It does what the Mosaic covenant could not do - not because the law itself was deficient, but because of a deficiency in the people who received it. Hebrews 8:6-10 It might be now that we have understanding why God opens the temple in heaven to the ark of His testament. It is the re-affirmation of His intentions...promise fulfilled. The commandments... Exodus 20:1–17. The judgments... Exodus 21:1–24:11. The ordinances... Exodus 24:12–31:18. These covenant principles govern God’s people’s moral, civil, and spiritual life as we live under the everlasting covenant. Jesus fulfilled his role as the mediator, he now is the enactor of the new covenant. Hebrews 13:20, 21 The new covenant provides blessing through Christ to the whole world. Thus, believers today come under the blessings of the blood of the covenant. Therefore, by faith and by blood appropriate from the mountain of God’s throne the mediatorship of the Lord Jesus Christ. Please remember this better covenant...God’s law written upon hearts, minds. Jesus Christ has ratified the new covenant, but has not yet enacted it. Its unenacted status is what necessitates that Jesus be the guarantee of the new covenant. Hebrews 7:22 If enactment had already occurred, no need for the guarantee would exist. The Lord Jesus Christ himself is that guarantee for the enactment with the people of God of that better covenant. The enactment is Jesus’ coming to bring his people to the Father. Two distinct and separate events. The ratification by blood has only made the future enactment of the new covenant with God’s people most certain. The opening of the temple, the ark of the testament by the Father, is the guarantee of its future fulfillment...Jesus’ work done. Remembered by few, forgotten by most, the bread, the cup; these tokens recall the sacrifice that ratified the covenant until God enacts the covenant itself at the Lord’s return. And so we wait, we suffer, we patiently endure till he come. In the meantime, we have a place, a promise, an answer, a good report, a family, at the altar before God. We have Jesus Christ in us.

18 Minutes God knows what it is like to lose a Son. But God forsaking God...no man can fathom this. What was meant by Jesus when he asked his Father to take away this cup from me? Because Jesus’ love for humanity was so great he was not praying for a way out of the pain and suffering. He was praying for strength to face the pain and suffering he knew he was about to bear. The cup he was relating to was the adversity of the human will. Consider the eternal relationship that has existed between God the Father and God the Son. Understand this relationship. They had never been separated by anything for any length of time in any way, shape, or form. Nothing had ever come between them in the way of will, desires, intentions, thoughts, or purposes. This was a sovereign transaction completed in the counsel of determination. God and Christ knew there would come a day that he would bear the sins of the world and the righteous judgment of God in his body. We have a difficult time grasping this, since we don’t know what it is like to live in such a relationship at all, let alone for all eternity. All our relationships, even those that are thought to be the most loving, have areas of discord and misunderstanding. But God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit always are in a perfect relationship and perfect unity. Jesus had not gone to Calvary without purpose. God would never have allowed this had it not been in His plan. Christ would never have submitted to this awful death had he not been willing to purchase our redemption. It was when Jesus took on my sin, became a curse for me...that was a time of separation from his Father. Not an abandoning, a brokenness. Jesus’ faith was that he would rebuild this temple. If we could but understand the despair, the agony we bring to God when we sin. Jesus is God and he is not a God-forsaken God. God is not forsaking Jesus. He is handing His Son over to humanity to show the dearth of our love for he who dies to save us. Trace God’s speech and God’s silence, God’s presence and God’s hiddenness. Jesus had to understand what the full impact of separation from God was because of sin. Jesus never sinned. He had to experience the pain and turmoil of what it is like to be a sinful human being separated from God. Jesus came as a human being yet being fully divine to rescue us from our sinful plight and in so doing, experienced almost everything he could as a human. He never really experienced the fearful and agonizing predicament of what sorrying to repentance and receiving forgiveness. It should dawn upon us that losing our life because of sin denounces God’s sovereignty. God was in the flesh of humanity. This is the prayer of Jesus that he be glorified with God Himself and that we be made clear in the matter. II Corinthians 7:9-11 But when Jesus took my sin upon himself on that cross...the crushing despair of how we should feel when we sin was sounded from the Son of God as if he had been sin altogether for eternity. The total sum of the miseries brought by sin upon all the past, present, and future generations of the human race and the holy horror of Jesus bearing physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually in thought and deed all the woes of mankind caused by sin in this life, and in that which is to come all being completely placed upon this one man. We are so numbed in our souls that when we sin we except the next breath as though it is owed us. The cry that Jesus made should be the heart cry of every single human being on earth. It is the cry we should voice since the beginning. It was Jesus giving voice to our pain, our fear, our hurt, our despair, when we are one with him. God Himself came to earth, to us, to feel this anguish of suffering for Himself. Because of the wonder of Christ when we feel despised and rejected, abused and slandered, misunderstood and forgotten, our God will not forsake us. It is sin that makes us feel separated from God, and this is the feeling Jesus expressed on the cross, and is one reason Jesus went to the cross, to take our sin and bear it away into death so that we can see that God has not left us, has not abandoned us, and has not forsaken us, but has fully entered into our pain, our suffering, and even into our sin, so that He might show us how much He loves and cares for us. This truth is explained in reasoning with God that we may know the atoning done for us. We must learn to truly hear what the word of God is saying in every particular. For He Himself spoke it. Hebrews 13:5, 6 The deepest part of sadness must be when we forsake God. God is holy. He kept us in the womb. He is present in our trials. We look for God in our circumstances yet ignore Him in the consequences. I think of the intimacies of praise, thoughts, words that Jesus offered the Father. We’d best know Him for who He is, what He has done, and what He will do. We are to persevere to the end with absolute trust. God gave His Son to bear our sin that we might be prepared for the judgment. The judgment due us, God’s wrath, instead of being poured upon us was poured upon Christ. For God so loved the world...He gave him up to suffer the weight of all the sins of all of His people and the judgment for those sins. We cannot begin to fathom all that this would mean between the Father and the Son. And I pray we never have to. Here is where we see into the determinate counsel of the Godhead. When Jesus was hanging on the cross he did not say “let me quote Psalms 22 here”. He was in his moment of agony. What words we will say in the depth of our trial either is in us as the very essence of our calling or it is not. And if it is in us, then we give vent at the worst moment of our life with the appointment of what our Father scripted for us in the counsel before the foundation of the world. That is what hit the heart of Jesus. That is why he declared in the counsel “send me”. There is no curiosity in faith. Jesus could not see through the portals of the tomb, yet his words were “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” Our faith is to be our triumph. We ought to cease looking for a theological answer to somethings. We should bring a real cry of spiritual desolation with words reasoned with God that are second nature because our whole life is scripted by God...all will go according to His plan. Jesus was not asking the question “my God, my God why has thou forsaken me” for an answer. This “cry of abandonment” is the voice of our salvation. He was enduring a real sense of forsakenness for our sake. He was not dying for his sin. It is our sin that was upon him. He was expressing desolation, not asking for an answer. This cry was not occasioned by unbelief. Unbelief is the denial of truth and that is doing sin. Jesus was pointing his hearers to the prophesy that would teach them that as the Savior Messiah the petition was answered. The language of the prophesy was designed to give us a pattern for praying in times of extreme suffering and need. It movingly expresses the common emotional experience of God’s last day people when they are alone and afflicted. Jesus is demonstrating his oneness with us. Our fully God, fully human Savior identifies with us in every way, even in our weakest moments, even when we feel like God has abandoned us. Through Christ’s total identification with us, He gives us permission by his own example to pour out our hearts to God. Jesus shows us that trusting God means lifting up the very worst of life to God in prayer. He was amazingly fulfilling scripture in the horror of it all and witnessing to the perfection of the plan of salvation. With these words, Jesus beckoned us to make the connection and recognize prophetic implications as given in the Psalms. Who was the fulfillment of the Psalms prophecy? Who is the fulfillment of the prophecies to come in Revelations? What is shown us in these prophecies? It was necessary for God to withdraw that the fullness of God’s love for humanity should be realized. Do we not understand that God so valued us that He abandoned His Son, as sin, that we might be saved. God loves us so much that He could not save His Son from this suffering unto death. Do we not hear Jesus’ dependence upon God and his gratitude for the benevolence of God? My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me is the cry recognizing the desperation of humanity that hung upon Jesus then and will so likewise be upon us and even in that agonizing moment, his voice called out to show that only God could deliver him...for he did no sin and only God will deliver us as we enter into the suffering with Jesus and cease to sin. It is here that God becomes truly vulnerable for the sake of His creation knowing that as God He cannot die, yet He must allow death to arise that salvation is to be secured for all His faithful. And this omniscient offering removed all barriers between us and God. Let us term it “justification”. Never again was a blood sacrifice required. The relationship that we were created to have with God was now possible again. Ultimately, it comes down to an exchange or substitution...God for us. We were given the covenant truth and expression to be able to understand in some way the need for God to demand justice for the offense of human sin. We despised the goodness of God when we first offended Him in the Garden and because of that we have all lived under the curse. We became an imperfection in the good thing that God created us to be. Sacrifices had to be perfect animals. We were not, are not perfect from birth. Only Jesus would be able to satisfy the demand for a perfect sacrifice because he was perfect from before conception. Only Jesus could pay our price, only Jesus could suffer in our place. The language of sacrifice allows us to begin to comprehend our need and the remedy for that imperfection: a sacrifice of blood. However, the question does present itself, how effective is a sacrifice that has to be renewed continuously? Is there some way to pay the price forever? God had this very thing in mind from the beginning. The early sacrifices were in place to help us to understand what Jesus would do when he came to walk among us. Jesus knew that God could not look upon sin and would withdraw His favor. Habakkuk 1:13 I repeat this again that it might be heard...the burden is now fully upon His Son and the reality of God’s wrath for sin reveals itself in full. Here is where Jesus cries out “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” In this moment there is the despair of death, but in the words of the Psalm that he rails, there is also hope for deliverance. Jesus still has trust in the God of the Universe. He has submitted to God’s will to that very last moment. There is a terrible beauty in this death in that it shows us that God loves us by taking our place on the cross and dying in our stead. There, we have heard it again. Do we better understand what was said and why? Jesus’ last words are not a pleasant phrase; they are full of despair. It was misunderstood by those close by when he said it and today it can be difficult to understand without placing it into its appropriate context of Psalm 22. You cannot leave it by itself. Jesus was calling us to the full Psalm just as he knew that his followers would understand when they figured out what he had said. Yes, that was a moment of ultimate pain and loss as only the burden of sin could cause. Jesus was telling us that sin is not just relationally ruinous, but spiritually separative. But also, there was still hope in the promise of God’s deliverance and that there would be resurrection on the other side of death. Psalm 22 shows us Jesus’ utter dependence upon God, even when he could not feel anything but the weight of the sin of the world. We are invited to do the same in our lives. To depend on God, trust in his love, and believe that eternal life is offered to us through the sacrifice of Jesus his son. When I begin to think of who God is and His character, one of the most endearing parts of God’s character is His faithfulness. When we understand the truth that is expressed in every word of God and that He is faithful to every truth spoken, every word written, we are to be confident that the work begun in us will be finished. Philippians 1:6 God is doing the work. I hope we see why this truth is so powerful and should lead us to be thankful. This should lead us to worship...the doing of thankfulness for God. His great love is born out of His character. And His love is the great goodness that He continually pours upon us. It is by knowing His character and who He is which is the only proper response we are to have in worshipping Him. He will never leave us...we should never cease to worship Him. Let our hearts be genuine that pure worship will flow back to the God who truly deserves it. We do not know all the hells we will have to endure. We do not know the particular darkness in which we will have to descend to suffer with Christ. We do not know the rejection we will have to bear this very day, nor the quiet desperation in which, forsaken, we will cry out. We know only Him whose love, unlike our own, does not end in death. Thanks be to God. Our response to God in our suffering is to be with an attitude of gratitude. In the way of Jesus we are called to lament evil, yet speak the truth for God. We must do this in the presence of other people. There is something about speaking out loud when other people can hear that allows us to kindle hope in our lives, and theirs. Even Jesus himself knew this when he was on the cross. He spoke his mind to God. God is present to us through other believers. Our friends that are believers in Jesus, can make God present to us in the power of the Holy Spirit, just by their presence. What joy in seeking out friends and family who have faith in Jesus. And the deeper their faith, the more they will be able to reason with the mind to God that our conversation not hinder the process of gathering instruction and wisdom from the word of truth. What a blessing always...to hear from God who knows all things. For even from the beginning our God, who is a god that cannot lie and cannot die was familiar with death. For it was in the counsel that God committed to death that we might have life eternal. And it is that that answers my prayers of why hast thou forsaken me...this is my dolorous lament from the lowest pit of misery. In Christ, mine is no more to be measured and weighed in the sanctuary. That which is love endured my every trial and the triumphant shout of, "it is finished” showed there is no forsakening of my God. Faith triumphs. The mere truth that Jesus said “My God, My God”, is the evidence of his faith substanced. If my faith be of Jesus, I am assured to never be without my God. The appropriation is in the word "my"; but the reverence of humility is in the word "God”. This God is ever my God. As was for His Son, I have no question. It is in that probe that we hear reasoning. For Jesus knew most distinctly the sufficient cause of why his Father darkened the scene...that none could see the spiritualnearness that God was for him and with him in a certain unquestionable sense. Yet there was no contact with sin. God was not against him...it was what he was made to be...for us. Only the ear of God could know the purity and truth in the words. We cannot see all that is there. But what we can see is the resolve of submission. In the very words spoken Jesus does not draw back, he does not quit the business of justice. He did not ask this forsaking to end prematurely. My Jesus rather dedicates himself anew to God by the words, "My God, My God," and by seeking to understand the ground and reason of that anguish which he is resolute to bear even to the bitter end. The cry sounds to me like deep submission and strong resolve, pleading with God. This was an amazing experience for such a sacred and pure being. For one to be made a sin-offering who so abhors sin. And found guilty by God. Can we not see that there was here a glance at his eternal purpose, and at his secret source of joy? That "why" is the silver lining of the dark cloud, and our Lord looked hopefully at it. He knew that the desertion was needful in order that he might save the guilty, and he had an eye to that salvation as his comfort. He is not forsaken needlessly, nor without a worthy design. We can make a life-study of that “why”. Was he saying this for himself or to gives us certainty that God would never leave us? That is why it was not a question. Jesus knew the outcome of this suffering, the reason for it. Not only did my Jesus take my sin...he took the separation from His Father, my Father for me. And since he did no sin and sin is what we do, this truth might be heard of us...God loves us more than we could ever love ourselves.

9 Minutes Mark 12:50 and Luke 10:27 God is love. And that is the only criteria that establishes the strength of spirituality in a person. Theological knowledge is not the measure of spiritual maturity or strength. Knowledge without love is a sure sign of the lack of both. Ask yourself this question; why would anyone show such a disdain for what Jesus was doing as to desire his death? You see, with all that preaching, with all that teaching, with all that scripture study, the Pharisees were just noisy voices. Where was their love? In doing all they could to harm the character of the one who desired their salvation. It is true that as believers we are called to love everyone, but our love should especially be toward our fellow brothers and sisters. Jesus actually said that the world would know that we are his disciples by the love that we show toward one another. We are to love even our enemies, but our love for the family of God is vitally important. This is why God designated the sixth church Philadelphia. Philadelphia, from “philos” which means love or affection and “adelphos” meaning brother. The term originally meant affection for someone from the same womb, blood relatives. But it is used several times in the New Testament to describe the love that fellow believers have for one another, especially since now they are a part of the same new family. As believers we have been born again into the family of God, so that we call each other brother and sister in the Lord. It is vitally important to realize that love for the family of God actually becomes a test of our real conversion. Any who speaks ill of another is still in darkness. The kind of love that the bible talks about is not a natural love. The world naturally loves its own, and has an affection for pleasures and pursuits. But having an “agape” love for others is not natural. It is not natural to love the way Jesus intends his followers to love. This love actually comes from God. When a person is “born again,” the Holy Spirit comes and abides, or lives, inside of us. It is the Holy Spirit who then teaches us to love. You must be “God taught”. I Thessalonians 4:9 How is the love? that you show?...that you preach? Love that extends no farther than self has no bearing for others. The type of love that is to abide in God’s people must be a concerned love. Concern of brothers and sisters in the Lord is always about faith in Christ. The most important aspect of love that a fellow believer can have is a desire to “establish and exhort” a brother or sister in their faith. Trials will inevitably come, and family looks out for one another. We are always ready to help each other persevere in our faith and love for Christ and one another. Is this not what we teach? We encourage the babes in Christ. But we must first love deeper in our minds. Judgmental minds are the workplace of evil. Humble consideration is a better place to build knowledge. The only love we have to love with is the very love of God, which we cannot measure. This brings a spiritual perspective to our reasoning through circumstances and events that bind us as God proposed in the gathering. Ours, if we are Christ’s, should never lack of love in words or acts of unkindness, thoughtlessness, or irritation. Love is not a commodity to be withheld or bartered out. Familiarity – how we see things...spirituality – how things really are. We continually try to exorcise God’s mind. This is what God was teaching us, knowing that there are somethings we need not know. Genesis 2:17 Knowing good and evil will cause dispute in the mutual love between God and man and man and man. In learning the true nature and origin of love, we can let go of our belief in our knowledge of evil, just by refusing to partake of it. Any particular situation you may be struggling with at any given moment is nothing outside of your own consciousness, over which you have ultimate control by the spiritual strength of the indwelling spirit. Wake up, it was just a dream. Evil is real. It can produce both emotional and spiritual turbulence. No one is required to love an evil intent expressed or done, but to see its untruth. Then it is easy to love that person. This means putting aside a human sense of love and its interdependencies; it means not being so easily sidetracked by some rude word or deed. When we truly understand that the only love we have to love with is the very love of God, which cannot be measured or meted out in part, only then can we love freely, even in the face of personal affront or indignity. This is the same love that Jesus expressed. It is a love that heals. Please never struggle with resentment toward another. Suffer and sacrifice as did Jesus. You are strengthened beyond measure. Encourage one another, teach one another, eat the fruit of the Spirit which evidences love. Love compels. Push past cultural or personal imposed boundaries. Lay down your life for your sister, your brother. Slow down, hear their cry. The enemy likes to stick a finger in any opening to widen it to put his foot in, to begin to walk up and down in it. In small groups, we have to avoid unhealthy togetherness. This is where there isn't separateness between two people's thoughts, feelings, fears and values. We must fight for healthy togetherness. This includes respecting others as separate individuals, being honest and clear. This requires a strength of spirituality to let go of self and follow Jesus withersoever he goes. The Holy Spirt is very interested in the value of our words. He inspired the bible and it is the standard for word values. Why would we devalue the word? The words that we exchange are to be for profit. Love does not separate, it does not disintegrate, it does not devastate. Love builds. Too many people are using the word "love" as in inferior measure...a lesser content. The life of Jesus was a love-offering. What are our lives...a like-offering? What kind of measure are we using for “love”? Deuteronomy 7:6-9 It is a wonderful thing that God does not have love for us. For then it might falter as does our love...instead, God is love. He is it. More powerful than life. An unbreakable bond. A One of a kind. And Jesus is the revelation of that covenant love of which we are to be in agreement. We are united in him in mercy, brought to God by his grace. Why would God’s people allow anything to fragment and scattered their unity? Some or all, are falling into fallenness...an invisible spiritual dimension that can only be overcome with the strength of spirituality that is mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. II Corinthians 10:3-6 We have to put aside those “finger openings”. I Peter 2:1-3, 21, 25 Let not our trust in reasoning falter. Too concerned with what lies behind us and what lies before us, weakens our reasoning to what lies within us. Self- righteousness produces pride, not love. Pride is the root of contention, division, and separation. The next time you say “I love you”, think about it. The source of the strength of spirituality is loving the word of God to guide us to know the biblical principles, and yet a whole other thing is to live them out. Straying from principles we know to be true...we suffer as a result. The principle of love is scripturally lived out in terms of behavior and attitude. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love fulfills the covenant. Hebrews 10:16 The life that Jesus lived, the price that Jesus paid should encourage you and me too to keep striving to love better. This behavior keeps our spirit connected to his Spirit, fills us with overwhelming care and concern, perfects and purifies our hearts. We are in hard testing times...we can do better. Our strength of spirituality is not measured quantitatively but rather qualitatively. Consider reasoning of that statement this way... the letter of the law is quantitative, while the value of the law is qualitative. Qualitative consist of developing character traits. Quantitative is finite. Reason further...you ever hear a doctor ask on a scale of 1 to 10 what is your pain? That’s quantitative. Might my faith, my suffering have something to do with how the impact of pain is felt? Ask Jesus what scale was his pain on. Consider the blessing of the sabbath. It's not quantitative...God does not count how many sabbaths you keep. He weighs in the sanctuary, according to His way, your faith in the sabbath, your obedience to it. Look at how your enthusiasm for the sabbath grows higher and higher beyond measure. The man on the cross without keeping the sabbath rested in the faith of who Jesus is and was assured of the kingdom of Heaven. In the times of trial let nothing level out your strength of spirituality regarding the sabbath...no plateau. The strength of spirituality in a person causes them to learn from the trial, initiating new growth. If you are not willing to overcome by the presence of the Holy Spirit, you will be overcome with discouragement and regress downward. What are the strengths of spirituality to be displayed: faith, zealousness, sincerity and humility, steadfastness, obedience, kindness, forgiveness, self-discipline, wisdom, reason, virtue...let’s conclude this list...display the fullness of the character of Jesus Christ. The character strength of spirituality involves our capacity to dig deep and find the greater meaning in God’s word, to align ourselves with a purpose that extends beyond ourselves, to find relationship and unity with something greater such as God. We can, through the Holy Spirit strengthen ourselves by renewing our mind, to know and understand God's will and purpose for our lives. When we focus on Jesus, and what he has done and is doing for us, we can move from strength to strength, no matter our circumstances. When we suffer and melt in sorrow let’s rely on God’s way in the sanctuary... love’s way is not the way of weakness and defeat, but of strength and victory...love triumphs over hatred and fear...love develops and matures...love suffers long and is kind...love endures all things...love rejoices in the truth. In the Person of God love is the most powerful force in the universe. The strength of spirituality in a person is cored by the overpowering presence of hearing the words of Jesus. Acts 9:4-6, 15, 16, 20-22 This strength is power and ability to understand and explain the word of God. God wasn’t refreshing Saul/Paul’s body to survive another day; God was filling him with power to do the impossible in Christ. That is the strength God wants to give us. It is graced by Jesus. It is deep in our souls. Romans 4:20, 21 II Timothy 2:1 This strength is to be spent in love toward others. May God be glorified.

7 Minutes When the Roman legions destroyed Judaea and Jerusalem in A.D. 70, Josephus says that more than 1,100,000 Jews perished and nearly 100,000 were taken captive. In Rome’s ancient forum, the Arch of Titus, which still stands, depicts Jewish captives in chains and Roman soldiers carrying the seven-branched temple candlestick on their shoulders. Yet, while the Jews suffered starvation, slaughter, and capture, their fellow Christians in Jerusalem escaped. How were the Christians spared? About thirty-seven years before the destruction, Jesus had foretold the terrible events that would follow his death. He warned his followers to immediately flee Jerusalem when the signs he predicted occurred. The Christian community carefully watched for the signs and followed the Savior’s warning. The Lord first identified the situation leading up to destruction: Many would deceive the people by saying that they were prophets or even Christ himself. The disciples would be delivered up and afflicted, hated of all nations. Betrayal and iniquity would abound, and the love of many would turn cold. The Lord then taught of two major signs that would alert believers to flee: “When ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.” (Luke 21:20) He also said, “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) “Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: “Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: “Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.” (Matt. 24:15–18) Of the abomination of desolation to which Jesus referred, Daniel wrote, “They shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.” (Dan. 11:31) The abomination had happened in 170 B.C. when the Syrian king Antiochus IV ordered a massacre in Jerusalem, profaned the altar of the temple, and carried away the temple treasures. The horrifying events under Antiochus were familiar to every Jew, and those who heard Jesus’ reference to Daniel vividly understood the Savior’s prophecies. Among the tragedies that the Lord said would happen was the destruction of the temple. The magnificent structure Solomon had built had already been destroyed and rebuilt twice. It would be destroyed again, and the Jews scattered to the four corners of the earth! Unfortunately, the New Testament is silent concerning the fulfillment of the Savior’s prophecies in Matthew 24. History, however, reveals that his prophecies were realized. It also reveals the stunning fact that the believers obeyed the warnings, fled Jerusalem to a town called Pella, and thus saved themselves. The early Christian scholar Eusebius wrote: “The whole body, however, of the church at Jerusalem, having been commanded by a divine revelation, given to men of approved piety there before the war, removed from the city, and dwelt at a certain town beyond the Jordan, called Pella.” Epiphanes also attested to the Christian escape, according to Bible scholar Adam Clarke. The latter wrote: “It is very remarkable that not a single Christian perished in the destruction of Jerusalem, though there were many there when Cestius Gallus invested the city; and, had he persevered in the siege, he would soon have rendered himself master of it; but, when he unexpectedly and unaccountably raised the siege, the Christians took that opportunity to escape. ...“[As] Vespasian was approaching with his army, all who believed in Christ left Jerusalem and fled to Pella, and other places beyond the river Jordan; and so they all marvellously escaped the general shipwreck of their country: not one of them perished.” Pella must not have been the only destination of fleeing Christians, but it was the most prominent at the time. The flight to Pella took place in A.D. 66 during the attack by Gallus. Four years later came the fall of Jerusalem. Titus laid siege to the capital, and his battering rams broke down the great walls. The Jews, who were already suffering from plunder, murder, pestilence, and famine among themselves, were easy prey for the fire and swords of the Tenth Roman Legion. The Master’s chilling words concerning the fate of the temple in Jerusalem were completely fulfilled: “Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” (Mark 13:2.) The building the Lord called “my house” (Matt. 21:13) had stood on “immense foundations of solid blocks of white marble covered with gold.” Some of the blocks were 67 1/2 feet long by 9 feet thick. The temple towered 100 feet into the air, fronted by two immense columns. The imposing structure was laid waste, with no part of the building left intact. Only a part of the original wall that had surrounded the temple mount remained. Jesus had given adequate warning, and those who heeded the prophecies survived, while most others perished. Pella continued as an important Christian center for more than seventy years, during the time that Jerusalem remained desolate. Extensive ruins of Pella lie near the modern village Tabaqat Fahl in the northern foothills of the Jordan Valley—perhaps the“mountains” Jesus referred to—fifty-three miles north of Amman and two and a half miles east of the Jordan River. Why is the flight to Pella important to us in the last dispensation? The prophecies of Jesus concerning Jerusalem and the temple are not a lesson of the past only. In this case, history presents a type of what will happen again. The Lord told us that the signs that preceded the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple shall occur again, including the abomination of desolation. Our warning signals include hearing of “wars, and rumors of wars” and the “elect [being] gathered from the four quarters of the earth. ... “Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes. ... Iniquity shall abound, the love of men shall wax cold. ...[The] Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come, or the destruction of the wicked.” The Christians who fled to Pella “and other places beyond,” such as Antioch and, later, Ephesus, were saved. Would we have been among them? We must treasure every word of God in the wholeness of its truth that we be not deceived...