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Chapter Three

THE SHAKING AND THE JUDGMENT

Now we will examine the shaking. Will you be shaken in or out of the faith? The truth is, some of us will be shaken deeper into the fold and some of us will be shaken out. Now is the time to be stable. Many have reason to believe the shaking has already begun. Regardless, there is precious little time left to get ready.

“I had an impressive dream last night. I thought that you were on a strong vessel, sailing on very rough waters. Sometimes the waves beat over the top, and you were drenched with water. You said: ‘I shall get off; this vessel is going down.’ ‘No,’ said one who appeared to be the captain, ‘this vessel sails into the harbor. She will never go down.’” 5T 571

“The church may appear as about to fall, but it does not fall. It remains, while the sinners in Zion will be sifted out – the chaff separated from the precious wheat. This is a terrible ordeal, but nevertheless, it must take place.” 2SM 380

Satan will work to empty the ship in two ways. First, by convincing many members the doctrines are changed, they will fall out easily when the time of testing comes. Second, a watering down of our standards and doctrines causes such disgust on the part of others that they will believe the Seventh-day Adventist Church is no longer God’s vessel but simply another of Babylon’s vessels and walk away. At one time Ellen White was strong against such thoughts.

“To claim the Seventh-day Adventist church is Babylon, is to make the same claim as does Satan.” RH Aug. 29, 1893; TM 42

“But we have never had a message that the Lord would disorganize the church. We have never had the prophecy concerning Babylon applied to the Seventh-day Adventist church, or been informed that the ‘loud cry’ consisted in calling God’s people to come out of her; for this is not God’s plan concerning Israel....

Not Babylon
in
1893.

“The world has a light constantly shining upon them, because this people honor God in keeping His commandments. Now can we expect that a message would be true that would designate as Babylon the people for whom God has done so much? Hell would triumph should such a message be received, and the world would be strengthened in iniquity. All the reproaches which Satan has cast upon the character of God, would appear as truth, and the conclusion would be made that God has no chosen or organized church in the world. Oh what a triumph would this be to Satan and his confederacy of evil!” RH Oct. 3, 1893

“I know that the Lord loves His church. It is not to be disorganized or broken up into independent atoms. There is not the least consistency in this; there is not the least evidence that such a thing will be. Those who shall heed this false message and try to leaven others will be deceived and prepared to receive advanced delusion, and they will come to naught.” 2SM 68,69

“Those who have proclaimed the Seventh-day Adventist church as Babylon have made use of the Testimonies in giving their position a seeming support; but why is it that they did not present that which for years has been the burden of my message – the unity of the church? Why did they not quote the words of the angel, ‘Press together, press together, press together?” RH Sept. 12, 1893; TM 56

Note: Lest we boast, there are recorded warnings and statements regarding a time when our church was not following the truth counsel of God. As late as 1909 Ellen White wrote:

“How is the faithful city become an harlot! My Father’s house is...a place whence the divine presence and glory have departed!” 8T 250

At another time she announced:

“In the balances of the sanctuary the Seventh-day Adventist church is to be weighed. She will be judged by the privileges and advantages that she has had. If her spiritual experience does not correspond to the advantages that Christ, at infinite cost, has bestowed on her...on her will be pronounced the sentence: ‘found wanting.’ By the light bestowed, the opportunities given, will she be judged.” LDE 59

VICTORY IS COMING

No wonder sighting and crying goes on in the hearts of God’s people. They see friends they have loved no longer in unity with the special standards and truths of the original heaven-sent message. But their weeping will be turned into strength. God will bless the meek and lowly faithful members with a holy power. They are scheduled to become the CHURCH TRIUMPHANT:

“I was shown those whom I had before seen weeping and praying in agony of spirit. The company of guardian angels around them had been doubled, and they were clothed with an armor from their head to their feet.” EW 271
“I heard those clothed with the armor speak forth the truth with great power...I asked what had made this great change. An angel answered, ‘It is the latter rain, the refreshing from the presence of the Lord, the loud cry of the third angel.’” EW 271

There is more good news than bad; God lets us know the bad so we will not lose heart as these changes take place in our church family. He assures all who are faithful that they will enter Heaven at last, and in the meantime, He also assures them of a wonderful harvest of new members. There will be a change in church membership:

“In vision I saw two armies in terrible conflict. One army was led by banners bearing the world’s insignia; the other was led by the bloodstained banner of Prince Immanuel. Standard after standard was left to trail in the dust as company after company from the Lord’s army joined the foe and tribe after tribe from the ranks of the enemy united with the commandment-keeping people of God.” 8T 41

The exciting drama described above takes place as the wheat is actually being separated from some of the chaff. In the sanctuary above, God had previously marked the wheat and chaff according to each person’s response to conflicting principles in the church. Notice:

“I asked the meaning of the shaking (of the church) I had seen, and was shown that it would be caused by the straight testimony called forth by the counsel of the True Witness to the Laodiceans.” EW 270; LDE 175

It seems obvious that the members are already sifted into one group or the other before the Sunday law and its resultant time of trouble begins. Please note the following:

Just BEFORE we entered it (the time of trouble), we all received the seal of the living God. Then I saw the four angels cease to hold the four winds.” 7BC 968

Notice that we (the church) are sealed before entering the time of trouble. The brackets are supplied by Ellen White. Her sequence is correct. First the church is sealed, next a time of trouble, third the four winds blow, and then will come the time of Jacob’s trouble, Jacob’s trouble is mentioned in the following quotation.

“I saw that Jesus would not leave the Most Holy Place, until every case was decided either for salvation or destruction: and that the wrath of God could not come until Jesus had finished his work in the Most Holy Place...I saw that the anger of the nations, the wrath of God, and the time to judge the dead, were separate events, one following the other...when our High Priest had finished His work in the Sanctuary, He will stand up, put on the garments of vengeance, and then the seven last plagues will be poured out. I saw that the four angels would hold the four winds until Jesus’ work was done in the Sanctuary, and then will come the seven last plagues...This was the time of Jacob’s trouble.” RH 8/01/49; EW 36

In the context of the above statement she is addressing the seven last plagues. Before the seven last plagues fall many dear people will hear the message for the first time. Thousands of them will be converted even in the face of death. No wonder God must have a purified and sealed people to present the loud cry to them. The messengers bearing the last message to the world must be settled in their commitment before they witness to the world. Remember, the Church is judged first before the world; hence the sealing of her members will also come first. The final witnesses will be well settled into the truth before they begin their final awesome work. Are you ready? Time is precious. Make everything right with God now.

Praise God for the shaking in the church. It will illuminate the triumphant wheat over the tares, and their light will shine. Ellen White indicates that this is the very time when certain members of the church militant become the church triumphant. The church triumphant will have no tares. Friend, now is the time to make that final commitment by the grace of Christ to overcome all sin. Repent, and forsake all known sin, and commit yourself in full cooperation to “Him who is able to keep you from falling.”

“God has a church upon the earth who are His chosen people, who keep His commandments. He is leading, not stray offshoots, not one here and one there, but a people. The truth is a sanctifying power; but the church militant is not the church triumphant. There are tares among the wheat.” TM 61

“...all our zeal will not be successful in making the church militant as pure as the church triumphant.” RH Sept. 5, 1893; LDE 61; TM 47

We will see more of the fact that there will be a pure church and a pure ministry to give the loud cry as we read on. For now, we have already evidenced the fact that the sealing in the church will be advancing at a time when music is conducted in a new manner and changes in our old fashioned principles and beliefs are taking place.

Today, the primary theme of messages preached for God’s people must be repentance. Repent of every known sin. Repent of every evil thought. Make straight the way of the Lord. Clear the King’s highway!

We must put on the whole armor of God to resist sin in every way. We are in a war, and if Satan can deceive us into lethargy we lose!

“Some, I saw, did not participate in this work of agonizing and pleading. They seemed indifferent and careless. They were not resisting the darkness around them, and it shut them in like a thick cloud. The angels of God left these and went to the aid of the earnest, praying ones.” EW 270

We can’t
afford to be
careless!

“The numbers of this company had lessened. Some had been shaken out and left by the way. The careless and indifferent, who did not join with those who prized victory and salvation enough to perseveringly plead and agonize for it, did not obtain it.” EW 271

She continues to say: “...their places were immediately filled by others taking hold of the truth and coming into the ranks. Ibid.

If the angels of God have left these poor members in darkness, and their places are to be filled with other people, you can see why this experience equates with the close of probation for the church militant and the formation of the church triumphant.

Just as surely as the wicked among us will lose their angels, the faithful members will have their angels doubled. These two truths give reason for both rejoicing and weeping.

The question is, when certain members of the church militant becomes the church triumphant, and those of us to be sealed are sealed, what then is scheduled to happen to the insincere members who are not sealed at that time? Will they have further opportunity to repent during the loud cry or will their opportunities be over? This may be according to each individuals’ circumstance; however, the truth is, for a person to be anything but very sincere with God at this time is careless and risky.

“Then I was shown a company who were howling in agony. On their garments was written in large characters, ‘Thou art weighed in the balance and found wanting.’ I asked who this company were. The angel said, ‘These are they who have once kept the Sabbath and have given it up.’ I heard them cry with a loud voice, ‘We have believed in Thy coming and taught it with energy.’”

The hardest thing that the lost Seventh-day Adventists will have to bear if the fact that they failed when their witness was needed most. They could have worked with the holy angels, and they could have helped during the loud cry, but they didn’t. Dear reader, the signs of the times are ominous for the church. There is precious little time left to learn the issues, review the pillars, repent of every known sin, and live in loyalty before your Maker. The Son of Man alone has made it possible for you to have a clean heart within you. Ask Him to cleanse it now with no reservations of your own. Yield every impure thought with repentance and every transgression with sincerity.

“But I speak not my own words when I say it (God’s Spirit) will pass by those who have had their test and opportunity and have not distinguished the voice of God or appreciated the movings of His Spirit. There will be thousands converted to the truth in a day, who at the eleventh hour will see and acknowledge the truth.” EGW 1888 Materials p. 754

Truly the places of those who have not returned to the old ways in repentance will be replaced by a new and grateful people who will take hold of the truth and come into the ranks. Are you ready to accept them?

God has been kind in providing plenty of signs to let us know when time will be running out on our opportunities to belong to the church triumphant. The more thoughtful members are storing ‘oil’ to help light their way through earth’s darkest hours. The promise is that their lamps will not go out and that their light will shine. Praise the Lord!

Our study has shown that there will be faithful brethren right up to the very end of this world; but it has also shown that there will be those who can no longer be called brethren. They can only be called “former” brethren. Plan now not to be classified as a “former” brother or sister. Do not allow yourself to have your beliefs diluted only to find yourself sifted out of the structured church to become a former member. Ellen White describes this class in GC 608.

“As the storm approaches, a large class who have professed faith in the third angel’s message, but have not been sanctified through obedience to the truth, abandon their position, and join the ranks of the opposition. By uniting with the world and partaking of its spirit, they have come to view matters in nearly the same light; and when the test is brought, they are prepared to choose the easy, popular side. Men of talent and pleasing address, who once rejoiced in the truth, employ their powers to deceive and mislead souls. They become the most bitter enemies of their former brethren.” GC88 608; FLB 336

It is encouraging to note that even “former” brethren who drop completely out can be accepted back into fellowship under proper circumstances:

“After the meeting had been two or three days in progress, one who had been a member of the church, but who left it about two years ago, because of his opposition to the Testimonies, arose and said that he desired to take his stand again with the church... He wished to be baptized again, and to be received as a brother by his former brethren and sisters. Many hearts rejoiced greatly that this brother was restored to the church.” Bible Echo 6/1/93; RH 6/6/1893

The word “former” lets us know his status was that of a nonmember of the organized visible SDA church.

FAITHFUL VERSUS UNFAITHFUL “BRETHREN”

As the loud cry of the third angel is sounding, there will be four classes of Adventists. First, the faithful that will remain within our SDA structure; second, those unfaithful “former” stewards who will be sifted out of the SDA structure; third, the unfaithful members who will remain in the church structure to the very end. We are strongly warned about these “brethren” (not former brethren) that may make life difficult for faithful believers until probation finally closes on the entire world; and fourth, the faithful and true members who will be cast out from the SDA structure.

The next few pages will concentrate on the last two of the above groups. First, the study will focus on those wicked ones who will be in the structure; these are not “former” brethren, but will be still considered “brethren” until the close of probation on the world.

It will be demonstrated that Ellen White harmonizes with our Savior who declared that the wheat and tares will grow together until the harvest. At that time the angels will gather the wheat into the garner, and the wicked will be left in bundles to be burned.

It is this unfaithful group, the ones still referred to as our false “brethren,” that we will address here.

“When the law of God is made void, and the church is sifted by the fiery trials that are to try all that live upon the earth, a great proportion of those who are supposed to be genuine will give heed to seducing spirits, and will turn traitors and betray sacred trusts. T hey will prove out very worst persecutors. ‘Of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them;’ and many will give heed to seducing spirits. Those who apostatize in time of trial will bear false witness and betray their brethren, to secure their own safety. They will tell where their brethren are concealed, putting the wolves on their track. Christ has warned us of this, that we may not be surprised at the cruel, unnatural course pursued by friends and relatives. We shall find that we must let loose of all hands except the hand of Jesus Christ.” Maranatha p. 197

Why? Because men “of your own selves” will rise up against you! They will betray you to secure their own safety. This is not talking about outside, disfellowshipped, or dropped-out “former brethren.” It is talking about “brethren.” Yes, brethren among your own selves.

“I saw some becoming weary; their eyes were directed downward, and they were engrossed with earthly things, and were unfaithful in watching. They were saying: ‘In the first watch we expected our Master, but were disappointed. We thought surely He would come in the second watch, but that passed, and He came not. We may be again disappointed. We need not be so particular. He may not come in the following watch. We are in the third watch, and now we think it best to lay up our treasure on the earth, that we may be secure against want.’ Many were sleeping, stupefied with the cares of this life and allured by the deceitfulness of riches from their waiting, watching position. Angels were represented to me as looking on with intense interest to mark the appearance of the weary yet faithful watchers, lest they be too sorely tried, and sink under the toil and hardships made doubly severe because their brethren had been diverted from their watch, and become drunk with worldly cares and beguiled by worldly prosperity. These heavenly angels grieved that those who were once watching should, by their indolence and unfaithfulness, increase the trial and burdens of those who were earnestly and perseveringly endeavoring to maintain their waiting, watching position.” 2T 192,193

In 1SM 122 we are told that we have more to fear from within the church than from without. It appears false brethren in the church will become more intense in promoting their false belief systems.

As the close of probation on the world approaches there will still be this group of false brethren within the structured church. The next quotes show some of them still in leadership positions and determined to remove our landmarks. What does Ellen White tell us about them?

“After the truth has been proclaimed as a witness to all nations, every conceivable power of evil will be set in operation, and minds will be confused by many voices crying, ‘Lo, here is Christ; lo, He is there. This is the truth, I have a message from God, He has sent me with great light.’ Then there will be removing of the landmarks, and an attempt to tear down the pillars of our faith. A more decided effort will be made to exalt the false Sabbath...” 7BC 985; 3SM 406; Mar. 192

A removing of the landmarks of our faith can only be done from the inside. Near the close of probation on the world certain members will be opposing our landmarks and pillars and even exalting Sunday. Notice:

“The Lord has a controversy with his professed people in these last days. In this controversy men in responsible positions will take a course directly opposite to that pursued by Nehemiah. They will not only ignore and despise the Sabbath themselves, but they will try to keep it from others by burying it beneath the rubbish of custom and tradition. In churches and in large gatherings in the open air, ministers will urge upon the people the necessity of keeping the first day of the week.” RH March 18, 1884

“The warning here given as to what the disciples would have to meet at the hands of their fellow men is a warning to us also. ‘Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted,’ Christ said, ‘and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for My name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.’ These words will be fulfilled.” RH April 19, 1898

The entire context of the above statement involves men within our church. They will try to bury truth after truth beneath the historical trash heap of false and popular traditions. But all the while, God will be using another group of individuals in the church that He can trust.

“Our Leader has all power in heaven and earth. He will use men as agents for the accomplishment of his purposes whom some of the brethren would reject as unfit to engage in the work. Heavenly intelligences are combined with human instrumentalities in carrying forward the Lord’s work. Angels have their places assigned them in connection with the human agents on earth. They will work through every person who will submit himself to labor in Heaven’s ways; therefore, not one human being should be cast aside or left with no part to act.” RH 7/9/1895

All of these things God tells us ahead of time that we might not be discouraged and to let us know that the end is near. As the hymn goes, “We are nearing home.”

SOME INNOCENT MEMBERS DISFELLOWSHIPPED

There is yet an altogether different group developing. In this fourth group are faithful Seventh-day Adventists that will not be tolerated in some of our visible SDA structures.

“The trials of the children of Israel, and their attitude just before the first coming of Christ, have been presented before me again and again to illustrate the position of the people of God in their experience before the second coming of Christ.” 1SM 406

“These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whosoever kills you will think that he offers God a service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me.” John 16:1-32 NKJV

Don’t lose
heart if you
are put out
of the church
for your
faithfulness.

“Among many of the professing followers of Christ there is the same pride, formalism, and selfishness, the same spirit of oppression, that held so large a place in the Jewish heart. In the future, men claiming to be Christ’s representatives will take a course similar to that followed by the priests and rulers in their treatment of Christ and the apostles. In the great crises through which they are soon to pass, the faithful servants of God will encounter the same hardness of heart, the same cruel determination, the same unyielding hatred.” AA 431

“Hear the word of the LORD, ye that tremble at His word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for My name’s sake, said, Let the LORD be glorified: but He shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed.” Isaiah 66:5

In the courts of heaven a record is taken of every deed that is done against His sheep. Nothing misses His all seeing eye.

“Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my name sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” Matthew 5:11,12

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