IAUA End Time Ministry
Preparing for the End of Time
The Lord is Coming! Are you ready?
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IAUA End Time Ministry |
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Preparing for the End of Time | |
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The Lord is Coming! Are you ready? | |
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Dear Brothers and Sisters in IAUA (ee-uh-oo-uh) our Father,
Greetings on this day of preparation for the weekly Sabbath. I pray that this newsletter finds you in good health and happy in the service of the Lord. This is the 5th day of the 7th month of God's Sacred Calendar in the year 6012 Anno Mundi. It is four days until the evening of the 10th day of the 7th month which is Atonement Sabbath (September 10, beginning sunset on Tuesday, September 9 on the 2008 Gregorian calendar). It is one week and two days until the evening of the 15th day of the 7th month which is Tabernacles Sabbath (September 15, beginning sunset on Sunday, September 14 on the 2008 Gregorian calendar). It is two weeks and two days until the evening of the 22nd day of the 7th month which is Last Day Sabbath (September 22, beginning sunset on Sunday, September 21 on the 2008 Gregorian calendar). _____ There have been ongoing email discussions about the subject of the tassels. One person wrote an entire presentation defending the wearing of the tassels. They made some observations that I thought would be valuable to share. I remind you that these are not my words and I may not agree with every particular of what is said. This article is so long I will break it into three parts. _____ According to what Moses heard on the mountain, the commandment to wear "tassels" is simple and straight forward and was written exactly as it was spoken, “Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments”. (Numbers 15:38). Jesus himself says that the instructions given on mount Horeb stand until heaven and earth pass away. Sabbatarians rightfully stand behind Christ’s “law will never change” disclaimer to validate the immutability of the 7th day Sabbath, yet the same group of people cannot seem to reconcile the wearing of tassels based on the same principal. Many Seventh Day Adventist Bible students are particularly reluctant to move forward and execute one of the “least” of the commandments because Ellen’s words seems to excuse them from doing so. “The people of God are not now required to have a special mark placed upon their garments.” (Ellen G. White) Should those seeking to receive the “seal of God” refrain from executing a commandment proceeding directly from our Heavenly Father because a dreamer or visionary appears to give them a good excuse not to perform it? According to Moses, It is God specific design to test His chosen people on this very matter. “If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, "Let us follow other gods" (gods you have not known) "and let us worship them," you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. Y.H.W.H. your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. It is Y.H.W.H. your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commandments and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him.” (Deuteronomy 13:1-4) Do the prophets really agree? How then do we find harmony between the spiritual influences of Moses, Jesus, and Ellen on this point? There is no doubt that Jesus wore the tassels in compliance to the commandment written by Moses, and in fact, the sick were even healed by the virtue that proceeded from them. The following scripture gives some insight regarding their purpose. “But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings” (Malachi 4:2) It is interesting that the Hebrew word translated wings (kanaph) is not referring so much to the feathered wings of a bird, but rather the corners of garments (Tassels) and God connected these tassels with healing. On a side note, I think it is interesting that “God also wrought special miracles through the garments which Paul wore: "So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.” (Acts 19:11-12) Handkerchiefs or Aprons? I find it odd that the entire book of acts was written in Greek. Yet the word “Handkerchief” and “Apron” are both Latin words, rather than Greek. It appears that there has been some type of word substitution done in order to hide the fact that Paul (who was an Israelite) continued to wear tassels and that signs and wonders were performed through this Godly man in connection to his devotion to the instructions of Moses. Now if Jesus is truly our example particularly for these last days, then why does Ellen seem to indicate that the practice of wearing tassels is not necessary? We could bring this topic to a quick end by imagining, as many Christians do, that the death of Christ negated God’s instructions given at Sinai. But those who choose to end the argument this way will open up a floodgate of trouble for themselves. The falling away From my studies, the great falling away, or should I say, the spewing out of nominal Adventism which Ellen will describe for us below, has a root cause. Let’s take a look at her prophecy and in another few paragraphs; we will examine what she says about the cause. "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. When Sabbath keepers are brought before the courts to answer for their faith, these apostates are the most efficient agents of Satan to misrepresent and accuse them, and by false reports and insinuations to stir up the rulers against them." (Great controversy 608) The situation described by Ellen seems to parallel the Jewish leaders reaction to a small sect of Jews who they called "Nazarenes" or "People of the Way" two thousand years ago. The Jews misrepresented their words and even made up things that were never spoken by the messianic believers in order to put a stop to their influence. These desperate people inflamed imaginations, claiming that the Nazarenes were the troublemakers of their society. Imagine it, people who considered themselves “Chosen” and vowing to have nothing to do Rome and its policies found themselves collaborating with their great enemies. I shudder to think that it is entirely within the realm of possibility that I myself could be included among this kind of group should I fail to guard my soul. How? By simply resisting the advancement towards "new light". If I am moved by His spirit to examine truth and shrink back when I calculate the potential loss of family, friends, and worldly status, God will move on and present the light before others who might be more willing (but less qualified by my standards). By spending my mental powers trying to work around the duty placed before me, I would successfully quench the "still small voice” of God and He would let me win the argument. Strangely, I would still be a useful tool in his hand. He would allow me to use my skills that I once employed for His glory. But now I would be working in quite a different fashion. I would be working for him by drawing likeminded souls to me. He would allow me to inflame their hearts with the same passionate arguments I used in order to extinguish the light and silence, as it were, that “still small voice”. I would direct these willing souls to purge from the community any who held to the truth I had rejected. I would be quite useful in binding the wicked into bundles to be burned on the Day of Judgment. “There is to be in the churches a wonderful manifestation of the power of God, but it will not move upon those who have not humbled themselves before the Lord, and opened the door of their heart by confession and repentance. In the manifestation of that power which lightens the earth with the glory of God, they will see only something which in their blindness they think dangerous, something which will arouse their fears, and they will brace themselves to resist it. Because the Lord does not work according to their expectations and ideal, they will oppose the work. "Why," they say, "should we not know the Spirit of God, when we have been in the work so many years?" Because they did not respond to the warnings, the entreaties, of the messages of God, but persistently said, "I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing." (Maranantha 219) Brothers! I hope and pray that none of us will fall into this category; but prophecy is prophecy and we must all understand that such a spirit is now manifesting itself today. The cause of the apostasy With this in mind, let me proceed to an interesting statement/warning/observation made by Ellen in the book Great controversy that will help separate the teachers of truth from the teachers of falsehood. "The truths most plainly revealed in the Bible have been involved in doubt and darkness by learned men, who, with a pretense of great wisdom, teach that the Scriptures have a mystical, a secret, spiritual meaning not apparent in the language employed. These men are false teachers. It was to such a class that Jesus declared: "Ye know not the Scriptures, neither the power of God." Mark 12:24. The language of the Bible should be explained according to its obvious meaning, unless a symbol or figure is employed. Christ has given the promise: "If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine." John 7:17. If men would but take the Bible as it reads, if there were no false teachers to mislead and confuse their minds, a work would be accomplished that would make angels glad and that would bring into the fold of Christ thousands upon thousands who are now wandering in error." (Great controversy 599) I don't think any Bible believing person can question the clarity of the commandment for Israelites to wear tassels (Numbers 15:38-41) I see no “symbol or figure employed” in the commandment. In fact, it was Y.H.W.H. who commanded that Israel wear the tassels for all of their generations. It is also very clear that Moses did not think up the idea on his own; it came from the mouth of God Himself. Also, by wearing the tassels himself, Jesus validated that it was not a tradition of the Rabbinic Jews, for he was at war with their unbiblical false traditions throughout his entire ministry. Therefore the commandment is still "live" and in still in force today. _____ Is your heart filled with the desire to follow God's leading no matter where it takes you? I pray that we may all continue to seek love, peace, and unity in truth preparing for the soon coming of IAUShUO (ee-uh-oo-shoo-oh) Messiah, the Son of God.
Frank T. Clark
Next: 2008-09-12 Tassels Defended II |
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Revised 2008-09-12 |