Luke 21:8

Christian, Be Not Deceived!

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EPILOGUE - THOSE WHO WILL BE SEALED

“Those who overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil will be the favored ones who shall receive the seal of the living God. Only those who, in their attitude before God, are filling the position of those who are repenting and confessing their sins in the great anti typical day of atonement will he recognized and marked as worthy of God’s protection. The names of those who are steadfastly looking and

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waiting and watching for the appearing of the Savior - more earnestly and wishfully than they who wait for the morning - will be numbered with those who are sealed” (Testimonies to Ministers, page 445).

“Be zealous, therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me. To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with Me in My throne” (Revelation 3:19-21). The Day of Atonement was essentially a day of repentance. The Lord’s last-day appeal to His remnant people is to “be zealous, therefore, and repent”. “At every advance step in our Christian experience, our repentance will deepen” (Acts of the Apostles, page 561). Those who would make progress in the Christian life must repent and continue in an attitude of repentance until the end of the Day of Atonement. God can work wonders upon a softened heart, but cannot mold a heart of stone. Continued repentance brings in the power of God to operate upon prepared soil. It is the work of Jesus as High Priest to give repentance: “Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins” (Acts 5:31). Satan opposes this work by causing pride to arise in the heart, and where pride is there is no spiritual progress. “He who determines to enter the spiritual kingdom will find that all the powers and passions of an unregenerate nature, backed by the forces of the kingdom of darkness, are arrayed against him. Selfishness and pride will make a stand against anything that would show them to be sinful” (Mount of Blessings, page 203, 204).

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). “Those who would overcome must put to the tax every power of their being. They must agonize before God for divine power. Man may have a power to resist evil - a power that neither earth, nor death, nor hell can master; a power that will place them where they may overcome as Christ overcame. Divinity and humanity may be combined in them” (Review and Herald, 18 February, 1890).

“Then said one unto Him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And He said unto them, Strive [agonize] to enter it at the strait gate: for many, 1 say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able” (Luke 13:23, 24).

“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 I saw them hastening to the assistance of those who were struggling with all their energies to resist the evil angels, and trying, to help themselves by calling upon God with perseverance. The solemn testimony upon which the destiny of the church hangs has been lightly esteemed, if not entirely disregarded. This testimony must work deep repentance, and all that truly receive it will obey it and be purified” (1 Testimonies, page 180, 181; Early Writings, page 270). The reader is urged to read this chapter in Testimonies and Early Writings, page on “The Shaking”.

“Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly; gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders. Let priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare Thy people, O Lord, and give not your heritage to reproach, that the heathen [nations] should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?” (Joel 2:15-17).

“Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Drawn nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up” (James 4:7-10).

“Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired. Before the decree bring forth, before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the Lord’s anger come upon you. Seek you the Lord, all you meek of the earth, which have wrought His judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness; it may be he shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger” (Zephaniah 2:1-3).

“Men and women who profess to be disciples of Christ and to keep all the commandments of God will have to feel in their daily lives the true spirit of agonizing to enter in at the strait gate. The agonizing ones are the only ones who will urge their passage through the strait gate and narrow way that lead to life eternal, to fullness of joy and pleasures forever more. Those who merely seek to enter in will never be able. The entire Christian life of many will be spent in no greater effort than that of seeking, and their only reward will he to find it an utter impossibility for them to enter in at that strait gate” (2 Testimonies, page 480, 481).

“Jacob prevailed because lie was persevering and determined. His victory is evidence of the power of importunate prayer. All who will lay hold of God’s promises, as lie did, and be as earnest and

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persevering as he was, will succeed as he succeeded. Those who are unwilling to deny self, to agonize before God, to pray long and earnestly for His blessing, will not obtain it. Wrestling with God - how few know what it is! How few have ever had their souls drawn out after God with intensity of desire until every power is on the stretch!” (Great Controversy, Page 621).

“We must be much in prayer, if we would make progress in the divine life” (5 Testimonies, page 161). “He [Jesus] frequently, spent the entire night upon the damp ground in agonizing prayer” (1 Testimonies, page 505).

“God brings against ministers and people the heavy charge of spiritual feebleness. God calls for a spiritual revival and a spiritual reformation. Revival signifies a renewal of spiritual life, a quickening of the powers of mind and heart, a resurrection from spiritual death” (Review and Herald, 25 February, 1902).

“There is to be a resurrection from apparent death. By prayer and confession of sin we must clear the king’s highway. As we do this, the power of the Spirit will come upon us. We need Pentecostal energy. This will come; for the Lord has promised to send His Spirit as the all-conquering power” (Gospel Worker, page 307, 308).

“The sins of Israel must go to judgment beforehand. Ever), sin must be confessed at the sanctuary, then the work will move, it must be done now. The latter rain is coming on those that are pure - all, then, will receive it as formerly” (E. G. White, General Conference Bulletin, 1893, page 179).

“Are we striving with all our power to attain to the stature of men and women in Christ? Are we seeking for His fullness ever pressing toward the mark set before us the perfection of character? When the Lord’s people reach this mark they will be sealed in their foreheads. Filled with the Spirit, they will be complete in Christ, and the recording angel will declare, ‘It is finished” (Review and Herald 10 June, 1902).

“The whole heavenly treasure awaits our demand and reception- (Testimonies to Ministers 510). “His power awaits the demand of those who would overcome” (Ms. 26a, 1892). The reader is urged to obtain. “Power Unlimited. Righteousness by Faith and the Final ‘Conflict” for further study on how to receive renewed power from the inexhaustible supplies of Heaven” (Gospel Workers, page 112).

Dear reader, we have been considering themes of eternal import. The most important question is that of our personal relationship to the Savior. How is it with you? Have you a vital, living union with the great Life-Giver? Only in this way can we be prepared to stand the test of the judgment. We must obtain a fitness of character to live with God. Only “the pure in heart shall see God” (Matthew 5:8; Hebrews 12:8). “Holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). Purity of heart, seeks purity of doctrine; purity of doctrine upholds and develops Purity of heart: “You have purified your souls in obeying the truth” (1 Peter 1:22). God has ordained that by prayer and the, study of His Word we shall be “changed from glory to glory even as, by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18). “The perfection of character He [God] requires can be obtained only by becoming familiar with His Word” (“Counsels to Teachers”, page 454). “The Scriptures are the great agency in the transformation of character” (Christ Object Lessons, page 100). “The position that it is of no consequence what men believe is one of Satan’s most successful deceptions. He knows that the truth, received in the love of it, sanctifies the soul of the receiver; therefore he is constantly seeking to substitute false theories, fables, another gospel” (Great Controversy, Page 520). “Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy Word is truth” (John 17:17). “If you continue in My Word, then are you My disciples indeed; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31, 32). “The perception and appreciation of truth, He [Jesus] said, depends less upon the mind than upon the heart Truth must be received into the soul. Its reception depends upon the, renunciation of every sin that the Spirit of God reveals. To those who thus yield themselves to God, having an honest desire to know and to do His will, the truth is with them.