The Smooth Road to Destruction

 By Pastor Doug Batchelor
An Amazing Fact: The California highway department noticed that on long, smooth stretches of highway, drivers were falling asleep and running off the road. So as a safety measure, they started adding line bumps to awaken sleeping motorists if they began drifting out of their lane. Most states now have these “drunk bumps” to keep drivers awake and alive.
“Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever: That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord: Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits” (Isaiah 30:8–10).

A Protestant missionary in the South Pacific, after working among the indigenous population for several years, decided to return to the United States for a nine-month furlough. During this time, he planned to visit several churches to raise funds for the island mission.
He also persuaded a local chief, a recent convert to the faith, to join him on the trip. The tall chief had an imposing presence — a muscular body accentuated by a broad, pearly white smile. The missionary knew that having this living trophy of his evangelistic efforts would greatly impress the church members in North America to give more generously.
When the two arrived stateside, the missionary took the chief from church to church. After showing slides of their mission station, he paraded the chief around in a colorful native costume. People were thrilled to hear about the chief’s conversion from paganism. But along the journey across America, to avoid the gawking of onlookers, the missionary dressed his friend in typical western garments and fed him American food. It was hard to find a pair of shoes wide enough for the burly chief’s rough feet.
After the nine-month whirlwind tour, the Western lifestyle had taken a toll on the Polynesian king. His feet softened from the shoes, and he lost definition and tone in his muscles from lack of exercise. Unaccustomed to the sweet, highly processed foods, the chief even began to lose his teeth and was plagued with frequent stomach ailments.
By the time he returned to his island home, many of his own villagers barely recognized him. “Soft living” had nearly killed him.
Baby Food
When whole wheat is milled into white flour, 83 percent of the nutrients are removed; mostly only starch remains. The fiber is also gone, along with most of the Vitamin E and 21 other nutrients. The flour that is left is so drained as a food that it must be fortified with chemically manufactured thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and iron. In fact, refined bread is so depleted, 35 U.S. states require that white flour must be synthetically enriched to be sold.
In the same way that processed wheat and soft living can make us physically weak, spiritual food with refined fiber-less pabulum produces churches full of weak, infantile invalids. Physicians are constantly reminding us that we must have sufficient roughage and grist in our diets to be healthy. This also applies to our spiritual diet, yet many Christians have been gumming baby mush for so long they are offended by real food.

“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Hebrews 5:12–14 NKJV).

Tasty Terms
Especially in North America, our brains and bodies have been gradually weakened by convenience stores, elevators, auto dial, and remote control. Why expend the energy to do anything when it can all be done for you electronically?
This love of comfort, ease, and generally smooth living has affected our terms, as well as our time. A TV network explains, “This program is not for sensitive viewers” — instead of the truth: “This program is bloody, gruesome, grisly, and violent.” In fact, marketing executives know that as soon as they announce a program is not for sensitive viewers, the average person will pay even closer attention. You’ve also heard, “The following program is for mature audiences.” Of course, they really should warn that the “following program contains perverted, lustful, crude material.” (Is being perverted really “mature”?)
We’ve all heard the warning: The church is in the world, but the world is not supposed to be in the church! (See John 17:16–18.) Yet sadly, the fact is that the trends of the world are having an obvious influence on our church. The same longing for easy living is infecting God’s people. In this age of fast food, everyone wants a sermonette. (A friend of mine once said, “Sermonettes are for christianettes.”) In fact, to secure popularity among the clamoring of comfort-loving members, many pastors are falling into the same pattern as politicians who travel from one district to another telling everybody what they think will please them.
What are some of the smooth, popular, yet poisonous doctrines that some pastors are telling their flocks these days?

• As long as you pray over your food, you can eat or drink anything without consequences.
• If you have enough faith, you’ll be prosperous and comfortable.
• Abortion is not really killing an unborn baby; it’s simply “pregnancy termination.”
• Practicing homosexuality is not really a sin; it’s simply an alternate lifestyle.
• It’s not necessary to honor the Sabbath commandment literally as long as you are resting in Jesus.
• Once you say the sinner’s prayer, you’re saved and you can’t be lost.
• The most prevalent and deadly lie: Jesus came to save us in our sins, rather than from them.

The church is striving so hard to be politically correct and sensitive to the world. The result is that we are becoming increasingly indifferent to God’s Word.
Deadly by Any Name
The devil wants to soothe our conviction to sleep, lest we should realize our peril and turn from our sins. He is afraid we will discover how lethal sin really is — “That sin through the commandment might become exceeding sinful” (Romans 7:13) — and that we’ll start looking for a Savior.
My grandfather smoked Lucky Strike cigarettes for years. He made a few feeble attempts to quit, but his health was fair so he was not too alarmed and, therefore, not very motivated. But one day, he was admitted into the hospital for a simple procedure and was appalled when he saw the man in the bed next to him smoking those same cigarettes through a hole in his throat — his voice box had been removed from smoking-related cancer. When my grandfather understood how exceedingly dangerous smoking is, he threw away his cigarettes and never smoked again.
If a doctor is afraid to upset you so that he says that you have a touch of poison ivy when you really have skin cancer, he is not your friend. Likewise, as Christians, we should honestly diagnose ourselves if we are going to receive the appropriate treatment.
“Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful” (Proverbs 27:6). Ministers and church members have a responsibility to faithfully and lovingly warn the world that there is a heaven to win and a hell to shun, that persisting to live a life of sin will end in irrevocable loss.

“So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul” (Ezekiel 33:7–9).

As we near the end of the world, seeing the imminence of the second coming, it is no time to proclaim smooth things. Every gospel presentation should be saturated with a sense of power and urgency. “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins” (Isaiah 58:1).
Jesus has told us that one of the signs of the end is that the church will be softly singing Satan’s lullaby, “Peace, relax, rest in your sins.”
“For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3 NKJV). I used to believe this passage was speaking of the world, but perhaps Paul is warning us of conditions in the church!
The Truth Can Hurt
On many occasions, Jesus had to say some rough things for the purpose of saving souls. And on more than one occasion, droves of followers turned away from Him because of these challenging statements. “Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? … From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him” (John 6:60, 66).
I cannot improve on this statement from the book Steps to Christ:

“Jesus did not suppress one word of truth, but He uttered it always in love. He exercised the greatest tact and thoughtful, kind attention in His intercourse with the people. He was never rude, never needlessly spoke a severe word, never gave needless pain to a sensitive soul. He did not censure human weakness. He spoke the truth, but always in love. He denounced hypocrisy, unbelief, and iniquity; but tears were in His voice as He uttered His scathing rebukes” (p. 12).

The hard sayings of Jesus were never designed to simply wound or offend those hearing Him. He said them to save us and help us grow the fruits of the Spirit. “Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11 NKJV).
False Prophets
Peter Marshall, in his vivid style, describes 20th century Christians with these words: “They are like deep-sea divers encased in suits designed for many fathoms deep, marching bravely forth to pull plugs out of bathtubs.”
Jesus warns us that there will be many false prophets in the last days preaching smooth things (Matthew 24:11). That’s why we must know how to distinguish the true from the counterfeit. But to take the high, straight, and rough road of biting honesty when everyone else is sliding down the smooth road buttered with platitudes of popularity requires a rare breed of courage.
In the first book of Kings, we find a story that dramatically illustrates how most people in this world are hungering to hear smooth things, while God still has faithful followers who want to tell the truth at any cost.
Ahab, the wicked king of Israel, wanted to recapture his town of Ramothgilead from the Syrians, but he needed help to take on the mighty army of Syria. So he asked King Jehoshaphat of Judah to join him in his campaign against their common enemy.
Jehoshaphat was willing to join forces with Ahab, but he believed that they should first seek God’s counsel. Ahab had forsaken the Lord years earlier to worship the pagan god Baal, so he called in his 400 hired false prophets to come before the two monarchs and prophesy. As the two kings sat on thrones, all the pompous pagan prophets said, with a loud dramatic display, “Go and fight the Syrians and you will be victorious!” It was a very impressive pep rally.
Yet Jehoshaphat was skeptical. Seeing these were all prophets of Baal and knowing how they always told the king what he wanted to hear, he requested to hear from a prophet of the Lord. Ahab was disturbed at this request but said that there was one prophet of God left, called Micaiah — but he added, “I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil” (1 Kings 22:8). Nevertheless, at Jehoshaphat’s urging, Ahab reluctantly sent a servant to fetch Micaiah.
The messenger sent to bring Micaiah told him, “Behold now, the words of the prophets declare good unto the king with one mouth: let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is good. [Preach smooth things!] And Micaiah said, As the Lord liveth, what the Lord saith unto me, that will I speak.” Now there’s a novel thought — tell the truth regardless of the consequences. The prophet went to the kings and bravely told Ahab that if he went to fight the Syrians, he would surely die in the battle.
Now Ahab was faced with a tough decision. Should he believe 400 prophets of Baal who preached smooth things — or one lone prophet of the Lord with a rough message? Ahab made the wrong decision, even though he knew what was right. He persuaded Jehoshaphat to disregard the warnings of Micaiah and join him in a war promoted by Baal’s prophets. After all, how could one prophet be right over 400 others?
Still, just in case, Ahab thought he could outsmart the Lord by dressing in full armor and avoiding the front lines. But the wicked king learned too late that you can never escape the Word of God. In the battle, a stray arrow struck Ahab in the joints of his armor and he bled to death in his chariot. Ahab was killed by embracing the fatal flatteries of false prophets.
In the Age of Smooth Things
When the famous evangelist Billy Sunday would preach direct and powerful sermons against specific sins, such as the evils of alcohol, local leaders would often ask him to tone down his direct preaching. They would say, “Pastor Sunday, you are always rubbing the cat’s fur the wrong way.” But the famed evangelist would respond, “I am rubbing the cat’s fur the right way; the cat just needs to turn around.”
Jesus warns, “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, For so did their fathers to the false prophets” (Luke 6:26 NKJV). Jeremiah put it this way: “Do not believe them, Even though they speak smooth words to you” (Jeremiah 12:6 NKJV).
Paul goes on to tell us that this dilemma will be one of the characteristics of the church in the last days. Church members will be looking for ministers to tell them what pleases their carnal nature, for smooth, easy religion without a cross.
“Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers, and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables” (2 Timothy 4:2–4 NKJV).
Many people in our church today want a form of religion without the power to overcome their sins. Many churches are accommodating them, providing bazaars, bingo, and soothing social programs — but avoiding a message of salvation from sin. Their sermons are like a saw with no teeth. The sharp sword of God’s Word is replaced with a rubber baby spoon!
Sadly, the people leave church feeling like they have been feasting on molasses. It is sweet to eat, but then everyone walks away sick. It’s all gooey, sloppy sermons for cotton candy Christians.
One Sunday, Abraham Lincoln was riding home from church in his carriage when his secretary asked him how he liked the sermon they just heard. “Not very much.” The secretary was surprised, because most people felt the preacher was very gifted. What was the problem? Lincoln answered, “He did not ask me to do anything great.”
The true word of God will always challenge us to press onward and upward to greater things. One great writer put it this way:

“Preachers should have no scruples to preach the truth as it is found in God’s word. Let the truth cut. I have been shown that why ministers have not more success is, they are afraid of hurting feelings, fearful of not being courteous, and they lower the standard of truth, and conceal if possible the peculiarity of our faith. I saw that God could not make such successful. The truth must be made pointed, and the necessity of a decision urged. And as false shepherds are crying, Peace, and are preaching smooth things, the servants of God must cry aloud, and spare not, and leave the result with God” (Spiritual Gifts, Vol. 2, pp. 284, 285).

Avoiding Disaster
“When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee: And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite. Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat” (Proverbs 23:1–3).
So what can you do to resist the temptation of gobbling up Satan’s sweet but deceptive delicacies?
1. Measure all teachings by the Word of God. “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:20).
2. Be willing to do His will, regardless of the consequences! “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God” (John 7:17).
3. Never accept a teaching just because it is popular. “Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil” (Exodus 23:2).
4. Place yourself under a well-balanced diet of spiritual teaching and feed your own soul with God’s Word. “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
Several years ago, a man living in China bought a microscope. At first he was thrilled with his new acquisition; he marveled looking at the wonders of flowers and feathers magnified hundreds of times. But one day he made the mistake of looking at his rice under the microscope and saw that it was crawling with tiny creatures. Rice was his favorite food. Very disturbed, the man smashed his microscope with a rock because it revealed his rice had bugs, but he didn’t want to give up his beloved staple.
We are all faced with a similar challenge today. We can either place ourselves under the scrutiny of God’s Word and allow Him to boil away the bugs — or we can turn the microscope of His law out of focus to blur our defects and listen to the fancy fables of false prophets.
God desires that we look deep to find out what we really want. “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves” (2 Corinthians 13:5). May our sincere response be, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23, 24).

The Dangers of a Diluted Gospel

October 18, 2010
By Pastor Doug BatchelorAn Amazing Fact: In 2005, cancer patient Georgia Hayes won a $2.2 billion court settlement against her pharmacist, who had diluted her chemotherapy drugs with water. In the process, she had lost her best chance for recovery. While $2.2 billion is a lot of money, it’s little comfort when you don’t have long to live. Dilute: to make thinner, to lessen strength, to adulterate, to reduce value or efficiency, to make fainter, or to water down What could be more deadly than diluted cancer medication? Maybe placebo pills for a cardiac patient. Or diluted insulin for a diabetic. Actually, the most deadly medicine is a watered-down gospel—because the tragic results are eternal. Jesus says there will be two groups of people in the end times. One group He calls few, the other He calls many. “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name? … and done many wonders?’ ... And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ ” (Matthew 7:22, 23). Evidently, the majority of Christ’s professed followers are self-deceived. They know His name. Their religious activities seem to have the marks of genuine ministry, but Jesus, with a broken heart, will declare to them, “I don’t know you.” Why? Because they live a compromised life full of sin. This is a popular characteristic of people in the last days. They are “lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, … haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3:2–4). Of course, when Paul describes the last-day conditions above, he’s describing what has always been typical in the world. But here he’s saying that it will infiltrate the church. All these lawless behaviors so prevalent in the world are going to be common in the church. Christians will have all the “form of godliness” but lack the power (2 Timothy 3:5). They have a medicine bottle and a label, but they’re taking diluted drugs that can never heal them. Sin Isn’t Just a Case of the Sniffles Perhaps you know somebody with hay fever. Maybe even you. There are some over-the-counter pills you can take to fight the symptoms. Sometimes, depending on the pollen, you can take half a pill and be okay. Sometimes, though, you have to take the entire pill. If you don’t take the right dose, you might leave the house thinking all’s well, but then later it hits you: Your eyes start itching and your nose starts running. You’re miserable. You just can’t wait until winter arrives. Getting the right medicine in the right dose makes a world of difference. So it is with the gospel. If we don’t get the full strength, we could be deceived into thinking we’re really healed when we’re actually getting worse. Likewise, the devil is mass-distributing a watered-down version among God’s people. He’s content to let you go to some churches because the medicine there is often so diluted it won’t make any transforming difference in your life. “The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables” (2 Timothy 4:3, 4). In this verse, Paul describes a problem in the pulpit and in the pew. You have preachers who are not sharing a straight message, and you have people who don’t want a straight message. The people don’t want to take anything that’s hard to swallow. They generally want what’s easy and sweet to the senses. They want someone who will give them a prescription for candy-flavored, chewable medicine. “Savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also, from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves” (Acts 20:29). The gospel gets watered down because preachers want to be popular and some, for pride or money, want to draw away disciples after themselves for power and influence. (See Ezekiel 13:10.) Untempered Mortar Instead of warning the lost to turn from their sins, false teachers tell people to be at peace in their sins because God is too full of grace to expect them to change. They give diluted medicine, which gives people a false sense of security. The Scriptures refer to false teachers as those who build a wall and “plaster it with untempered mortar” (Ezekiel 13:15). In Bible times, lazy builders would stack bricks with no mortar and then put a plaster veneer over the bricks to hide it. Without the mortar, there’s no stability. (Today we use concrete to hold the bricks together.) The wall might have looked solid from the outside, but a donkey could have kicked it over because it had no real strength. More than 500,000 were killed or injured in the 2010 Haitian earthquake. One of the principal causes of these casualties was untempered mortar. Greedy contractors skimped on the percentage of concrete they mixed into the mortar and expensive iron rebar, which reinforces the concrete. It made for pathetically weak walls, and as soon as the massive earthquake struck, the fragile buildings crumbled. There are walls for Christians too. The Ten Commandments are a wall, built to protect your freedom and happiness. When someone gets an STD because of promiscuous living, he reads the seventh commandment and understands that wall was put there to protect his happiness, not to prevent happiness. The wall of obedience protects our lives, freedom, and contentment. But if the mortar gets diluted, whether from the pulpit or the pew, then, when the storm comes, like a house built on sand the wall implodes. Diluting the Prosperity Naturally, I always want a big crowd in church. That’s understandable, right? But this desire carries risk. In order to draw people to church, I’ll always be tempted to make my sermons as attractive as possible. Marketers try to convince you that if you use their product, you will live longer, look better, have more money, and be more popular. Does the Bible tell us that’s how we’re to market Christianity? Does Jesus promise health and wealth and popularity? Is “prosperity preaching” right? There’s a lot of good in the good news. There are many blessings, but Jesus also says, “Take up [your] cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24). Deny yourself daily—we don’t hear that very often. Jesus said the real key to happiness is to put God and others first. Today, however, it’s all about putting “me” first. A lot of people hear this diluted version of the gospel and believe it’s good medicine. But good medicine is really just the beginning. Jesus said we are to be doers of the Word. A Christian isn’t defined by church attendance. A Christian is defined by a transformed heart that influences his actions. Jesus asked, “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). We can’t call ourselves Christians if we don’t do what He says. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). Part of the gospel we’re not hearing today is that He wants us to be a people who obey Him. Giving the industrial-strength prescription of gospel truth will heal the symptoms of sin. We are not saved by obedience, of course. That is legalism. But obedience is not legalism if it’s a response to God’s love, a response to having already been saved. “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). One way the gospel gets diluted is when people are encouraged to have enough faith to believe that God will forgive them, but not enough to believe that He will keep them from sin. It’s a gospel that says God accepts you as you are and doesn’t care if you change. The Bible says the gospel is not just about justification, but also about sanctification. You can come to Jesus just as you are. That’s good news. But He loves you too much to leave you that way. That’s good news too! You can be changed to be like Jesus. He can transform you so you become a new creature. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). That’s great news! Show, Don’t Tell “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, [from falling,] And to present you faultless Before ... His glory with exceeding joy” (Jude 1:24). I want to have a life where I don’t stumble all the time. How about you? But Christians hear so little of that, and the results are obvious. People have to explain they’re believers because they don’t consistently live it. Instead, we ought to be lights on a hill so people say, “Wow. Her life is distinctly different.” “He’s not just like everybody else.” “What’s different about you?” And we answer, “I believe in Jesus. He saved me. He changed my life.” Prior to the Dark Ages, the church thrived even though the Christian religion was forbidden. They were being thrown into lion dens and being burned at the stake. They couldn’t practice it in the open, so they dug catacombs under Rome for the first 200 years of Christian history. You can still visit these Roman mines. Some Christians etched on the walls, “Vita, vita, vita,” which means, “Life, life, life. I have life.” They were suffering and dying in these dark mines—and yet they were joyful. Then something happened in Rome. Constantine wanted to build his empire because of the civil war between him and Maximus. He claimed to have had a vision and was now supposed to fight under the sign of the cross. They didn’t know anything about Christianity, but his soldiers painted Christian symbols on their shields. They were all pagans, but they marched into the Tiber River for battle and called it a baptism, figuring they were Christians when they came out the other side. It became the in-thing to be a Christian, but they hadn’t been taught the whole truth. When the emperor made Christianity acceptable, pagans came pouring into the church. The leaders didn’t handle it well. They didn’t want to lose the new converts, so they began to dilute the message, just a little. The pagans would have to make a lot of lifestyle changes, and if they didn’t like it, they might go back to persecuting Christians. One such problem was idols. One historian wrote, “There were more idols in Rome than Romans.” These new Christians wanted to do what was right and asked the priests what they should do with their statues. Some of the priests said, “Throw them out!” But many of the pagans balked. So some of the other pastors suggested, “Ease them into it. Tell them to give Christian names to their idols and we’ll take care of it later.” So they named their idols Peter, James, John, and Mary. Many pagan practices crept into the church so that in one generation Christianity became the commingling of paganism and Scripture. They diluted the gospel for the sake of having quantity instead of quality—and it ushered in the 1,260-year Dark Ages. How to Grow the Church It’s a constant temptation churches face when measuring success. They ask, “Is it growing?” Very rarely do we measure the success of a church by how godly the people are. Instead, we measure success by numbers, and that can be a mistake. We’re tempted to make it easier to be a member. It becomes a mindset to just get them in the door and worry about the rest later. So we dilute the message little by little to make the medicine easier to swallow. Even today, I hear pastors saying, “Don’t insist they quit smoking or drinking before they join the church. Make it easy for them to come to Christ and baptize them. The Lord will deal with these things in His own time.” Then they come in and years later they’re still chained to these destructive habits. Baptism represents a new beginning, a liberation, a changed life. It doesn’t mean you’re instantly perfect. It does mean addictions to sin should be repudiated and left behind. One of my favorite Christian authors said it this way: “Men and women have many habits that are antagonistic to the principles of the Bible. The victims of strong drink and tobacco are corrupting body, soul and spirit. Such ones should not be received into the church until they give evidence that they are truly converted, that they feel the need of the faith that works by love and purifies the soul. The truth of God will purify the true believer. He who is thoroughly converted will abandon every defiling habit and appetite. By total abstinence he will overcome the desires for health-destroying indulgences” (Bible Training School, July 1, 1902). As we learned earlier, the Dark Ages were a result of bringing people into the church before they really understood, before they had surrendered their hearts. The church becomes diluted, enfeebled, weakened. The power of being a follower of Jesus loses its strength, and pretty soon we’re coming together, going through a ritual once a week, and living like the world. Instead of winning souls to Christ and living godly lives, we’re doing exactly what the devil wants in weakening the power and the efficacy of the gospel. “Gospel Lite” The mega evangelical churches have something they call “gospel lite.” They want visitors to be comfortable, so they make the worship experience as easy as possible. They offer coffee and donuts before and after service. They encourage relaxed dress, even just T-shirts and shorts. They have theater-like seating so you don’t have to squish together in a pew with strangers. If you offer enough enticing perks, you can get anybody to visit for an hour. Then once you get them in, you can’t preach the hard things or rebuke their pet sins because they might not come back. Feed them on clichés about the power of positive thinking. Entertain them with animated music, laser lights, and dramatic presentations. Then you think it must be the truth because after all you have 10,000 people coming to church. But how many have repented of their sins and really know Jesus? So how are you going to know that you’re not getting a diluted gospel from your pastor? You must study the Bible with guidance from the Holy Spirit. You need to search it out for yourself. There are a lot of preachers out there who are wolves in sheep’s clothing. They measure success by numbers, so they preach a diluted gospel. Pastor John MacArthur says, “Watered down, diluted theology will fail to produce deep reverence, deep worship, deep repentance, deep humility, deep understanding of God’s nature, His work, His ministry, His laws, His standards, His principles. It fails to make people of God, people that are God-centered.” He’s right. An undiluted gospel is going to involve real repentance for sin, a sorrow for sin, and a turning away from it. Repentance means “remorse, regret, contrition for past sin. To change for the better as a result of remorse or contrition for one’s sins.” The first thing John the Baptist said when he started preaching about the kingdom of God was, “Repent.” The first thing Jesus said was, “Repent,” and if He tells us to repent, it means we can and we should. Jesus said, “I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Matthew 9:13). The first church leaders said, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). First comes the baptism of repentance, then comes the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The full-strength gospel medicine precedes reception and filling of the Holy Spirit. Along with repentance must be restitution and reform. “If the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has stolen, and walks in the statutes of life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die” (Ezekiel 33:15). In 1858 revivalist Jeremiah Meneely brought his preaching to Belfast, Ireland. He talked about repentance, reform, and committing yourself to the Lord. The men there worked in a shipyard and were so convicted of their sins, they repented and began to return the tools they had pilfered during the previous years. The response was so complete the shipyard had to build extra sheds to take in all of the returned tools! Eventually, the management asked that there be no further returns of stolen property! You know the Holy Spirit is working in a community when people start living like real Christians and make tangible changes in their lives. This is the fruit of the real gospel. What Gospel Do You Desire? Is it your desire to be filled with the Spirit and to have an undiluted message in your life and in your church? Let us encourage one another to be real Bible Christians by studying for ourselves to know what constitutes having a relationship with the Lord and being saved. I have a friend who is still crippled today from a small plane crash. While flying with friends in a South American country, they trusted a stranger to fill up the tanks in their aircraft. It turns out that gas was badly contaminated with water. Unfortunately, they did not discover the polluted fuel until they were 600 feet off the ground. The engine coughed, lost power, and they crash landed in the jungle. Friend, do you know that you’re getting the pure, high-octane, unadulterated, industrial-strength fuel of God’s truth? Many will be deceived by bright lights and promises of wealth, but a few will study for themselves in the Word and be changed. Which one are you?

A Tale of Two Women

A hush fell over the royal judgment hall, and all eyes were fixed on King Solomon. His servants wondered how the young monarch would resolve this perplexing case. Two single mothers were sharing a room, and each gave birth to a baby boy at about the same time. During the night, one of the mothers had accidentally turned over and smothered her son. When she awoke early and saw her child was cold and still, the distraught woman took her roommate's sleeping baby to herself and laid her dead baby in its place. Later the other mother awoke, saw the dead baby, and began to wail with grief. But after examining the infant, she quickly realized that it was not her child. Across the room, she could see her roommate tightly clutching her baby. Now both women stood before the king, tugging for possession of the living infant. "This child is mine!" one shouted. "No, the dead baby was yours!" the other countered. How would the king determine which was the true mother? Solomon interrupted their debate and told a guard to take a sword and divide the living infant in two. At first the soldier thought the king was jesting, but Solomon began to glare at the guard's hesitation. Slowly he drew his sharp, gleaming sword and made his way toward the woman holding the baby. Suddenly the true mother threw herself at the king's feet and pleaded,?"Let her have the child, but please do not slay it!" But the other woman said, "Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it." Now Solomon knew without a doubt who was the true mother. In prophecy, a woman is a symbol of a church (Jeremiah 6:2). With so many churches in the last days, how can we distinguish the true, last-day church that has the living Son from the counterfeits? Like Solomon, we must use the sword of God's Word (Hebrews 4:12)!

1. How does Revelation picture God's true church?
Revelation 12:1, 2, 5. A _______ clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. ... And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

Answer :  ____________________

NOTE:   In Bible prophecy, God's church is symbolized by a pure woman (Jeremiah 6:2). In Revelation 12, this woman is clothed with the sun, moon, and stars--the natural light of God's creation. Jesus told the church, "Ye are the light of the world." Matthew 5:14. The sun represents the light of Jesus (Psalms 84:11; Malachi 4:2). The moon under her feet represents the types and shadows of the Old Testament sacrificial system. As the moon reflects the light of the sun, so the sacrificial system was helpful because it reflected the light of the Messiah to come (Colossians 2:16, 17; Hebrews 10:1). The 12 stars above her head symbolize the leadership of the

church--12 tribes in the Old Testament and 12 apostles in the New Testament. The one who is to rule all nations with a rod of iron is Jesus (Psalms 2:7-9; Revelation 19:13-16).

2. Who is the "great red dragon," and what does he try to do?
Revelation 12:9. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the devil, and _______.

Revelation 12:4 The dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.

Answer :  ____________________

NOTE:   The dragon is Satan, who at the time of Jesus' birth was working through the pagan Roman Empire. Satan influenced Herod, a ruler under Rome, to try to murder baby Jesus by killing all the infants in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16).

3. What happens after Satan fails to destroy Jesus?
Revelation 12:5. And her child was caught __ unto God, and to his throne.

Answer :  ____________________

NOTE:   After His resurrection, Jesus ascended up to heaven and to God's throne (Acts 1:9-11), where He was beyond the reach of Satan.

4. After Jesus was caught up to heaven, what did Satan do to the church?
Revelation 12:13. When the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he ________ the woman which brought forth the man child.

Answer :  ____________________

NOTE:   When Satan could no longer vent his hatred on Jesus, he decided to hurt Jesus by turning his fury against the church.

5. Where did the woman go during this terrifying period of persecution? How long did it last?
Revelation 12:6. And the woman fled into the _________, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

Answer :  ____________________

NOTE:   The woman (God's church) fled into the wilderness (the remote places of earth) to hide from her enemies. It is a well-known historical fact that during the Dark Ages, God's people fled to the caves and solitary places of earth, including the shores of America, to seek religious freedom and protection from papal persecution. The 1,260 days (also described in the Bible as 42 months or as three and a half years) refers to the terrible 1,260-year period of persecution during which millions died for their faith. During this time period, God's church was alive but was not identifiable as an official, visible organization. (See the supplement entitled "Years of Persecution.")

6. What are two other identifying marks of God's true church?
Revelation 12:17. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the ____________ of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Answer :  ____________________

NOTE:   God's remnant church, into which He is calling all His people, will keep God's Ten Commandments (including the Sabbath). It will also have the testimony of Jesus, which is the spirit, or gift, of prophecy (Revelation 19:10). God calls His end-time church "the remnant," because it is identical in doctrine and characteristics to the apostolic church. A "remnant" is the last remaining portion of a bolt of cloth. It is exactly like the first piece from the same bolt.

7. How did Jesus say that we demonstrate our love for Him?
John 14:15. If ye love me, _____ my commandments.

1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.

Answer :  ____________________

NOTE:   In our opening story, Solomon was able to identify the true mother by her genuine display of love. In the same way, God's true church will be recognized by its sacrificial love and its willingness to obey His commandments.

8. What three angelic messages will God's end-time church be preaching?
Revelation 14:7. Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his ___________ is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

Revelation 14:8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.

Revelation 14:9, 10 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God.

Answer :  ____________________

NOTE:   These three angelic statements represent the three urgent messages that God's church will preach before Jesus returns.

9. To whom will God's church preach these messages?
Revelation 14:6. Having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to _____ nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.

Answer :  ____________________

NOTE:   God's end-time church will preach this great three-point message to every nation on earth.

10. What specifications has God given in His Word to help us positively identify His end-time church?
Revelation 12:17. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the ______ of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

1. It will appear and do its visible work after it emerges from the wilderness in 1798 (Revelation 12:6, 13-17).

2. It will teach the same truths the apostles taught, and all of its teachings will agree with the Bible (Revelation 12:17).

3. It will keep the Ten Commandments, including the Bible Sabbath (Revelation 12:17).

4. It will have the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 12:17; 19:10).

5. It will proclaim God's three end-time messages with a loud voice (Revelation 14:6-14).

6. It will be a worldwide movement (Revelation 14:6).

7. It will teach the everlasting gospel, which is salvation through Jesus Christ alone (Revelation 14:6).

Answer :  ____________________

NOTE:   Many lovely Christians are members of churches that do not meet the above seven specifications. However, no such church can be God's remnant into which He is calling all His sincere children, because His end-time church must meet all seven specifications.

11. Jesus gives you these seven prophetic identification points and then says, "Go and find My church." What does He promise regarding your search?
Luke 11:9. Seek, and ye shall ______.

Answer :  ____________________

12. How many church organizations in the world will fit these seven points?
Ephesians 4:5. One Lord, one _____, one baptism.

Answer :  ____________________

NOTE:   Only one church in the entire world fits all of these specifications--the Seventh-day Adventist church, which is bringing you these seminar messages. It is right now preaching the great three angels' messages of Revelation 14:6-12 all over the world. Millions are responding.

13. Many denominations call themselves Christian. Does that make them God's true church?
Isaiah 4:1. And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own _______ and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.

Answer :  ____________________

NOTE:   Bread is a symbol of the Word of God (John 6:35, 51, 52, 63), and apparel is a symbol of righteousness (Revelation 19:8). The seven women in this prophecy have their own bread (concept of truth) and want to keep their own clothing (righteousness). They do not want the spotless robes of Christ's righteousness. All they want is to take the name of Jesus, probably because the Bible says, "There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Acts 4:12.

14. Once a person discovers God's true end-time church, is it necessary to become a member?
Acts 2:47. And the Lord _____ to the church daily such as should be saved.

Answer :  ____________________

NOTE:   Yes, membership in God's end-time church is imperative. Notice how clearly God answers this question about membership:



--We are all called into one body (Colossians 3:15).

--That body is the church (Colossians 1:18).

--We enter that body by baptism (1 Corinthians 12:13).



It is just as imperative to enter God's church today as it was to enter the ark in Noah's day. The Lord says, "Come thou and all thy house into the ark." Genesis 7:1.

15. How many ways of escape were there in Noah's day?
Hebrews 11:7. By faith Noah ... prepared an ___ to the saving of his house.

Answer :  ____________________

NOTE:   Jesus says that the time just before His second coming will be like Noah's day (Luke 17:26). There will be only one way of escape, just as there was only one ark in Noah's day.

16. Since there are many faithful Christians in other churches and since God has only one true remnant, what will happen to these sincere Christians?
John 10:16. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall _____ my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

Revelation 18:2, 4 Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen. ... come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

Answer :  ____________________

NOTE:   Jesus will call all of His faithful, honest followers to come out of Babylon. They will hear His voice, respond, and enter His one true, end-time church.

17. Jesus is calling you today to enter the safety of His great end-time church. You are very precious to Him. Will you respond now to His call?

Answer :  ____________________

Supplemental Study
Years of Persecution
The 1,260 years of tribulation is repeatedly mentioned in the Bible, because historically it was the worst ever to face God's people (Matthew 24:21). It is referred to as 1,260 days, 42 months, and three and one-half times, or years (Revelation 12:6, 14 13:5 Daniel 7:25). Using the Jewish calendar, which had 360 days in a year, all three add up to the same amount of time - 1,260 years. One prophetic day equals one literal year (Ezekiel 4:6 Numbers 14:34).

History clearly shows that the papacy was the power which persecuted for 1,260 years. The period began in A.D. 538, when papal power became supreme in Christendom according to the decree of Roman Emperor Justinian. In it, he acknowledged the bishop of Rome as the head of all churches. This letter became a part of Justinian's Code, the fundamental law of the empire. The period ended in 1798 when Napoleon's general, Alexander Berthier, took the pope captive. At least 50 million Christians died for their faith during this period of persecution.

Three Crucial Points
Three facts of utmost importance to God's people are established in Revelation 12:10-12. These facts are:

1. Jesus defeated Satan, the accuser of the brethren, at the cross.

2. All of us can overcome him through the blood of Jesus and by sharing our testimonies.

3. The devil is infuriated because he knows that his time is short. We cannot expect him to behave like a gentleman. He is our bitterest enemy.

The message is that Jesus, who has defeated Satan, offers His matchless power to us as a free gift. With Jesus' power in our lives, we cannot fail. Satan's fury need not affect us. He is a defeated foe. He was defeated in the war in heaven and cast out. He was defeated by Jesus at the cross and lost his dominion. He will be defeated legally in his case in the judgment, and he will again be defeated when he attacks God's holy city. Finally, he will suffer the defeat of being blotted from the face of the earth in the lake of fire. And, most wonderful of all, Jesus promises that he will be defeated in his bitter fight to destroy you and me. What a tremendous message of hope from Jesus!

Angel Messages From Outer Space

Angels are real! Sometimes called cherubim or seraphim, these powerful ministering spirits appear all through Bible history. Often they are seen protecting and guiding God's people, and sometimes punishing evil - but one of their most important missions is to reveal and explain prophecy. Did you know God has said something special through His angels to the stressed out people of our hectic world? In Revelation 14, God reveals some awesome last-day messages coded in the symbolism of three flying angels. So significant are these messages, that when they are completed, Jesus returns! This Guide will give you an eye-opening overview, and the following eight guides will present the incredible details. Hold on to your seat... God's personal message to you is about to be explained!

The book of Revelation reveals Jesus in a unique manner.

1. Why are we studying Revelation? Isn't it sealed?
Answer:   There are six crucial reasons to study Revelation:

A. It never has been sealed (Revelation 22:10). The age long controversy between Christ and Satan, plus the devil's strategies and last-day devious plans, are exposed in Revelation. Satan cannot easily trap people who are aware of his lying deceptions in advance, so he hopes people will believe that Revelation is sealed.

B. The very name "Revelation" means "unveiling," "opening," or "revealing" the complete opposite of being sealed. It always has been wide open.

C. Revelation is Jesus' book in a unique way. It begins, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ." It even gives a word picture of Him in Revelation 1:13-16. No other book of the Bible reveals Jesus and His last-day instructions and plans for His work and His people as does Revelation.

D. Revelation is primarily written for and geared to the people of our day, just before Jesus' return (Revelation 1:1-3 3:11 22:6, 7, 12, 20).

E. A special blessing is pronounced upon those who read Revelation and heed its counsel (Revelation 1:3 22:7).

F. Revelation describes God's end-time people and church with startling clarity. It makes the Bible come to life when you see the last-day events depicted in Revelation taking place. It also tells precisely what God's church must be preaching in the last days (Revelation 14:6-14). This Study Guide will give an overview of that preaching so you will recognize it when you hear it.

Note: Before proceeding further, please open your Bible and read Revelation 14:6-14.

God uses angels to symbolize His final three-point message.

2. God commissioned His church to take the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). How does He symbolize this sacred work in Revelation?
"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach. ... And there followed another angel, saying ... . And the third angel followed them, saying ... . " Revelation 14:6-9.
Answer:   The word "angel" literally means "messenger," so it is fitting that God uses three angels to symbolize the preaching of His three-point gospel message for the last days. God uses the symbolism of angels to remind us that supernatural power will accompany
the messages.

God's end-time message of hope must be delivered to every person on earth.

3. What two crucial points does Revelation 14:6 reveal about God's message for the last days?
"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people." Revelation 14:6.
Answer:   The two crucial points are: (1) that it is "the everlasting gospel," and (2) that it must be preached to every person on earth. The three angels' messages stress the gospel, which makes it plain that people are saved by faith in -and acceptance of- Jesus Christ alone (Acts 4:12 Mark 10:26, 27). Since no other way to salvation exists, it is evil to claim that there is some other way.

Satan's Counterfeits
Satan's counterfeits, while many, include two very effective ones: (1) salvation by works, and (2) salvation in sin. These two counterfeits are uncovered and revealed in the three angels' messages. Many, without realizing it, have embraced one of these two errors and are trying to build their salvation upon it - an utterly impossible feat. We also must stress that no one is truly preaching the gospel of Jesus for the end time who does not include the three angels' messages.

Those who revere God will find pure joy in serving Him.

4. What four distinctive points does the first angel's message cover?
"Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." Revelation 14:7.
Answer:   A. Fear God. This means we should revere God and look upon Him with love, trust, and respect - eager to do His bidding. This keeps us from evil. "By the fear of the Lord men depart from evil." Proverbs 16:6. Solomon, the wise man, also said, "Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man." Ecclesiastes 12:13.

B. Give glory to God. We fulfill this command when we obey, praise, and thank God for His goodness to us. One of the major sins of the last days is un-thankfulness (2 Timothy 3:1, 2).

C. The hour of His judgment is come. This indicates that everyone is accountable to God, and it is a clear statement that the judgment is now in session. A number of translations say "has" come instead of "is" come.

D. Worship the Creator. This command rejects idolatry of all kinds -including self-worship- and totally repudiates evolution, which denies that God is Creator and Redeemer. (Many books and radio talk shows today overstress self-worth, which leads to self-worship. A Christian's self-worth is in Christ, who makes His children sons and daughters of the King of heaven.)

The gospel includes the creation and redemption of the world by the Lord God of heaven. Worshiping the Creator includes worshiping Him on the day He set aside as a memorial of Creation (the seventh-day Sabbath). That the reference in Revelation 14:7 is to the Sabbath is made clear by the fact that the words "made heaven, and earth, and the sea" were lifted right out of the Sabbath commandment (Exodus 20:11) and used here. Our true roots are found in God alone, who made us in His image in the beginning. Those who do not worship God as Creator, no matter what else they may worship,may never discover their real roots.

God's people must come out of Babylon.

5. What solemn statement does the second angel make about Babylon? What does the angel of Revelation 18 command God's people to do?
"And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen." Revelation 14:8. "I saw another angel come down from heaven. ... And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen. ... And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people." Revelation 18:1-4.
Answer:   The second angel solemnly states that "Babylon is fallen," and the voice from heaven urges all of God's people to come out of Babylon at once. Unless you know what Babylon is, you could easily end up in it. Think about it. Could you possibly be in Babylon now?

Those who worship the beast and receive his mark will be destroyed by God.

6. Against what does the third angel's message solemnly warn?
"And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God." Revelation 14:9, 10.
Answer:   The third angel's message warns people against worshiping the beast and his image and receiving the mark of the beast in their foreheads or hands. The first angel commands true worship. The third angel tells of the awesome consequences connected with false worship. Do you know for certain who the beast is? And what is his mark? Unless you know positively who the beast is and what his mark is, you may end up worshiping him without realizing it.

The Lord's end-time saints will find their greatest happiness in pleasing Him.

7. What four-point description does God give in Revelation 14:12 of His people who accept and follow the three angels' messages?
"Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Revelation 14:12.
Answer:   A. They are patient, persevering, and faithful to the enda big order for a "do it now" generation. God's people reveal Him by their patient, loving conduct.

B. They are saints, or holy ones, because they are fully on God's side.

C. They keep the commandments of God. These people of God happily obey His Ten Commandments and all other commandments He has given them. Their first aim is to please Him, whom they love (1 John 3:22).

D. They have the faith of Jesus. This also can be translated "faith in Jesus." In either case, God's people fully follow Jesus and fully trust Him.

When all have heard Jesus' end-time message, He will return to earth to take His people with Him to heaven.

8. What happens immediately following the teaching of the three angels' messages to all people?
"And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown."
Revelation 14:14.
Answer:   Immediately after the teaching of the three angels' messages to every person, Jesus will return in the clouds (His second advent) to take His people to their heavenly home. At His appearing, the great 1,000-year blackout of Revelation chapter 20 will begin.

9. In 2 Peter 1:12, the apostle speaks of "present truth." What does he mean?
Answer:   Present truth is an aspect of the everlasting gospel that has particular urgency for a certain time. Examples are:

A. Noah's message of the Flood (Genesis 6 and 7 2 Peter 2:5). Noah was a preacher of righteousness. He taught God's love as he warned of a coming flood that would destroy the world. The Flood message was "present truth" for that time. Its urgent cry was "get into the boat." And it was so important that it would have been immoral not to preach it.

B. Jonah's message to Nineveh (Jonah 3:4). Jonah's "present truth" was that Nineveh would be destroyed in 40 days. Jonah also uplifted the Saviour, and the city repented. To omit, however, the 40-day warning would have been unfaithful and unforgivable. It was present truth. It fitted that time in a special way.

C. John the Baptist's message (Matthew 3:1-3 Luke 1:17). John's "present truth" was that Jesus, the Messiah, was about to appear. His work was to present the gospel and prepare people for Jesus' first coming. To have omitted that first-coming element of the gospel for his day would have been unthinkable.

D. The three angels' messages (Revelation 14:6-14). God's "present truth" for today is contained in the three angels' messages. Of course, salvation through Jesus Christ alone is central to these messages. However, the "present truth" of the three angels also has been given to prepare people for Jesus' second coming and to open their eyes to Satan's brilliant and highly convincing deceptions. Unless people understand these messages, Satan will indeed capture and destroy them. Jesus knew we needed these three special messages, so in loving kindness He has given them. They must not be omitted. Please pray earnestly as you examine them point by point in the next eight Study Guides.

Some of your discoveries may be almost shocking. But all will be satisfying. Your heart will be tremendously stirred. You will sense Jesus speaking to you! After all, they are His messages.

10. Who does the Bible say will come to give a "present truth" message before the great day of the Lord?
"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord." Malachi 4:5.
Answer:   Elijah the prophet. There is something significant about Elijah and his message, as we shall see in the next few questions.

God's end-time messages are also called the "Elijah" message. They call for a decision.

11. What did Elijah do that caused the Lord to focus on him?
Note: Please open your Bible and carefully read 1 Kings 18:17-40 before answering this question.
Answer:   Elijah urged the people to make up their minds whom they would serve (verse 21). The nation was almost wholly idolatrous. The people had forsaken the true God and His commandments. There was one prophet of God, Elijah, and 450 heathen prophets of Baal (verse 22). Elijah suggested that both he and the idolaters build altars and place wood and a bull on them. He then suggested they ask the true God to reveal Himself by setting fire to His altar. The heathen god did not answer, but the true God of Elijah sent fire from heaven and burned up Elijah's sacrifice.

The Message Demanded a Decision
Elijah's message came at a time of deep spiritual crisis and national apostasy. It came with such power from heaven above that it stopped "business as usual" and drew national attention. Elijah then insisted that people decide whom they would serve, God or Baal. Deeply moved and fully convinced, the people chose God (verse 39).

John the Baptist presented the "Elijah" message of his day. Those who preach Revelation 14:6-14 have the Elijah message for today.

12. The Elijah message has a twofold application. It applies to a "present truth" message to prepare people for Jesus' first advent and a "present truth" message to prepare people for Jesus' second advent. Who did Jesus say preached the Elijah message to prepare people for His first advent?
"There hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist." "And if ye will receive it, this is Elias [Elijah], which was for to come." Matthew 11:11, 14.
Answer:   Jesus called John's preaching to prepare people for His first advent "Elijah," or the Elijah message. John's message, as in Elijah's day, made truth very clear and then insisted on a decision. The Bible says of John the Baptist, "He shall go ... in the spirit and power of Elias [Elijah]." Luke 1:17.

13. How do we know the prophecy has a second application to our time just before the second advent?
"I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord." Malachi 4:5. "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come." Joel 2:31.
Answer:   Please take note that two events will occur before the coming of "the great and terrible day of the Lord" mentioned in Joel 2:31. One, the coming of Elijah. And two, the tremendous signs in the heavens. This helps us locate both events. The dark day occurred May 19, 1780. That same night, the moon appeared as blood. Matthew 24:29 includes one more sign, the falling of the stars, which took place November 13, 1833. From this, we know the end-time Elijah message must begin some time near or after 1833, before the coming of the great day of the Lord.

Second Elijah Message After Sky Signs
It is obvious that John's "Elijah message" does not apply to the second "Elijah message" because God's great sky signs appeared over 1,700 years after John preached his message. The Elijah message of Joel 2:31 had to begin after those sky signs in 1833 and must prepare people for Jesus' second advent. The threefold "present truth" message of Revelation 14:6-14 fits perfectly. It began around 1844 and is preparing people worldwide for Jesus' second advent (verse 14), which will take place after the threefold message has reached every person on earth.

The Message Demands a Decision
Elijah insisted evil be met head-on and that all decide whom they would serve. So it is with God's threefold message for us today. A decision must be made. God's threefold message unmasks Satan and his plans. It clearly reveals God's love and His requirements. God is calling people today back to true worship, worship of God alone. To knowingly serve and worship anyone or anything else in this crucial day amounts to disloyalty and will result in eternal death. God miraculously reached hearts in Elijah's day (1 Kings 18:37, 39) and in the days of John the Baptist. He will do the same in these last days as people respond to the three angels' messages (Revelation 18:1).

God's final Elijah message will bring families together in joy, love, and happiness.

14. What other wonderful blessing will the preaching of the Elijah (or the three angels') messages bring?
"Elijah ... shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers." Malachi 4:5, 6.
Answer:   Praise God! The Elijah message, or three angels' messages, will bring family members together in a loving, close, joyous, heavenly relationship. What a blessed promise!

The three angels' messages focus upon Jesus.

15. The word "gospel" means "good news." Do the three angels' messages of Revelation chapter 14 provide good news?
Answer:   Yes indeed! Let's review the good news we have found in this overview of the three angels' messages:

A. Every person will have an opportunity to hear and understand the last-day gospel. Not one will be passed by.

B. The devil's brilliant, powerful plans to trap and destroy people will be revealed to us, so we need not be ensnared.

C. Heaven's supernatural power will accompany the spreading of God's message in these last days.

D. God's people will be patient. He calls them "saints."

E. God's people will have the faith of Jesus.

F. God's people will, out of love, obey His commandments.

G. God loves us so much that He has sent a very special message to prepare us for Jesus' second coming.

H. God's message for these last days will bring family members together in love and unity.

I. The major emphasis of the three angels' messages is that salvation has been provided for everyone through Jesus Christ alone. He gives His righteousness to cover our past and miraculously imparts His righteousness to us daily so we will grow in grace and truly become like Him. With Him, we cannot fail. Without Him, we cannot succeed.

A Further Word
Points of the three angels' messages that will be explained in upcoming Study Guides are:

A. God's judgment hour has arrived!

B. Come out of fallen Babylon.

C. Don't receive the mark of the beast.

Much more good news will be revealed as you prayerfully study these subjects in the next eight Study Guides. You will be surprised and gladdened at some things, shocked and saddened at others. Some points may be very hard to accept. But since Jesus sent a special message from heaven to help and guide each one of us personally in these last days, surely nothing could be more important than to hear it, understand it fully, and follow it.

16. I am relieved and thankful that Jesus has a special three-point message to guide and assist His people in these last days of earth.
Answer:  

Thought Questions
1. Will every person on earth be reached with the three angels' messages before Jesus returns? With billions of people now living, how can this be possible?
Yes, it will happen because God promised it (Mark 16:15). Paul says the gospel went "to every creature which is under heaven" in his day (Colossians 1:23). Jonah, by God's grace, reached the entire city of Nineveh in less than 40 days (Jonah 3:4-10). The Bible says God will finish the work and cut it short (Romans 9:28). Count on it. It will happen very quickly and in our day.
2. Did Moses and Elijah actually appear with Jesus at the transfiguration (Matthew 17:3) or was it only a vision?
The event was literal. The Greek word "horama", translated "vision" in verse 9, literally means "what had been seen". Moses was raised from the dead and taken to heaven (Jude 1:9), and Elijah was later translated without seeing death (2 Kings 2:1, 11, 12). These two men, who had been on earth and suffered terribly from the onslaughts of the devil and the rebellion of God's people, understood what Jesus was passing through. They came to encourage and remind Him of all who would be translated into His kingdom without seeing death (like Elijah) and raised to life from the grave to enter His kingdom (like Moses) because of His sacrifice for our sins.
3. Why did John say he was not Elijah (John 1:19-21) when Jesus said that he was (Matthew 11:10-14)?
The answer comes from Luke 1:3-17. The angel who announced John's coming birth said, "Thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. ... He shall be great in the sight of the Lord. ... And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." Verses 13-17. When Jesus referred to John as Elijah, He was referring to his life, spirit, power, and work being like that of Elijah. The same is true of the Elijah message of these last days. The emphasis is on the message, not the man. So John was not Elijah in person, but he was presenting the Elijah message. ("Elias" is the Greek form of "Elijah".)
4. Is it possible for someone to be preaching Jesus' full end-time truth for today without including the three angels' messages?
No! The three angels' messages must be included. In the book of Revelation, Jesus Himself reveals or stipulates His end-time message (Revelation 1:1) and says clearly that His people must keep on following what He has revealed in the book (Revelation 1:3 22:7). So faithful end-time clergymen must be preaching Jesus' messages from the book of Revelation. This, of course, includes preaching His special three-point message of Revelation 14:6-14. Notice that Jesus calls these messages the "everlasting gospel" in verse 6. He also says they must be taken to every person on earth before He returns for His people. Here are three solemn thoughts:

A. No one is truly preaching Jesus' "everlasting gospel" unless he includes the three angels' messages.

B. No one has the right to call his messages the everlasting gospel if he omits the three angels' messages.

C. The three angels' messages prepare people for Jesus' second coming (Revelation 14:12-14). Unless you hear, understand, and accept Jesus' three-point end-time messages, you may not be prepared for His second coming.

Special Messages for the End-time
Jesus, who knows what we need, gave us three special messages for the end-time. We must understand and follow them. The next eight Study Guides will make these messages clear to you.
5. Luke 1:17 says the Elijah message was to turn "the disobedient to the wisdom of the just". What does this mean?
"The just shall live by faith." Romans 1:17. The just have the wisdom to rest their salvation upon faith in the Saviour. "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Acts 4:12. John's message was to make this crystal clear to all. A faith that is anchored to anyone or anything other than Jesus Christ can never save people from sin and lead to a changed life. People must hear and understand this great point of truth. This truth is also the very heart of God's three-point Elijah message for today.