Luke 21:8

Christian, Be Not Deceived!

CHAPTER FIVE 

JESUS AS JEHOVAH KEEPS HIS COVENANT WITH HIS PEOPLE: THE MOST IMPORTANT MESSAGE OF REVELATION 17: GOD'S ASSURANCE OF HIS INTIMATE KNOWLEDGE OF EACH MEMBER OF THE REMNANT CHURCH AND THE ASSURANCE OF HIS PROTECTION. 

In "The Moral Purpose of Prophecy" the writer has shown that the Revelation, in the ultimate, is written for individual members of the church of the Lord Jesus. This fact is again brought to view in the study of Rev. 17. The glorious promise of victory given in each of the messages to the seven churches, is addressed to the individual: "To him that overcometh" (Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21). Seven times in chapters two an three we read: "He that hath an ear, let him hear." It should be carefully observed that we do not read this expression anywhere else in the Apocalypse except in Rev. 13:9. That the messages to the seven churches are of the utmost importance none will dispute, a fact which we point to in order to confirm our belief that Rev. 13:9 also contains an important message for the individual believer at the time to which we are directed in that prophecy. 

The Revelator employs this expression, calling upon each believer to give ear to what is being said, in connection with his solemn statement that "all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If any man have an ear, let him hear" (Rev. 13:8, 9). The connection between this prophecy and that given in Rev. 17 may be readily discerned by comparing Rev. 13:8, 9 with Rev. 17:8. For the sake of clarity we place them together so that it may be readily seen that the two passages are almost identical. 

Thus it will be seen at a glance that the Lord's appeal to the listening ear of each individual is especially directed to those who will live through that period of intense conflict which will exist when all the world, wondering after the beast, joins in with this cruel, rapacious monster, in persecuting the people of God. Thus the study of Rev. 17 becomes one of intense interest to the remnant church, being of special importance to each believer. 

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Why does the Lord so obviously arrest the attention of all His people to give careful study to the prophecy of Rev. 17 with particular reference to the time when the beast's deadly wound is healed and all the world wonder after the beast? An analysis of the connection the Lord makes between Rev. 17 and Rev. 13 reveals that the main emphasis in Rev. 17 is upon the restoration of the persecuting power of the beast when God's people will face the full fury of the combined forces of all earthly powers. When this solemn fact is realized, the loving reason for the Lord's special mention of each member having his name recorded in the Book of Life is seen to be the outbreathing of His loving interest and care over each one. Before considering the significance of the Lord's loving mention that each one of His faithful children in the last days has his name written in the Book of Life, we present brief extracts from the pen of the Lord's servant concerning the greatness of the coining struggle: "It is often the case that trouble is greater in anticipation than in reality; but this is not true of the crisis before us. The most vivid representation cannot reach the magnitude of the ordeal. In that time of trial, every soul must stand for himself before God" (GC. 622). "The scenes to be enacted in our world are not yet even dreamed of" (5T. 753). 

"The great controversy between good and evil will increase in intensity to the very close of time. . . . All the depths of Satanic skill and subtlety acquired, all the cruelty developed, during these struggles of the ages, will be brought to bear against God's people in the final conflict.... The coming struggle will be marked with a terrible intensity such as the world has never witnessed" (GC.9, 10). 

For His children who will pass through this coming, unprecedented conflict, the Lord has written the message of His love, assuring each individual member of His remnant church that, far from being overlooked (as the temptation might come in the darkness of the hour and the fierceness of the storm), each name is written in the Book of Life. Furthermore, each name is not only written in the Book of Life, but it has been written there "from the foundation of the world", (Rev. 17:8). The hymn writer says: 

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There does not seem any reason for thinking this statement 

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that our Lord thought of each of us while hanging on the cross of Calvary to be anything else than a calm statement of fact. The text we are considering (Rev. 17:8), however, goes beyond the cross of Calvary to the very "foundation of the world", where Jesus, as the Omnipotent Lord, thought of those Whom His precious blood would eventually redeem. 

A comparison of Rev. 13:8 and Rev. 17:8 suggests that when Adam sinned, and the death of the Lord Jesus became necessary (in the execution of the plan of redemption previously conceived in the sublime counsels of the blessed Trinity), at that time were written in the Book of Life the names of those who would be saved as the result of the unfolding of the plan of redemption. Rev 13:8 refers to names being "written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world", while Rev. 17:8 refers to those "whose names" were "written in the book of life from the foundation of the world". In Rev. 13:8 the emphasis is upon the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world"; in Rev. 17:8 the emphasis is upon the people "whose names" "were written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world".  

Seventh-day Adventist Bible students have no need for any consideration to be given here to the theme of predestination. We all know that the names recorded in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world were not placed there arbitrarily, but simply that the Lord foresaw those who would avail themselves of the provisions of the plan of salvation. From the very beginning the Lord has known who would be saved–this grand fact was given for the encouragement of His children, and was certainly not given to engender human assumption and pride. 

Incidentally, perhaps it should be pointed out that all who make a profession of faith in Jesus will have their names recorded in the Book of Life as candidates for eternity, and that the investigative judgment considers these names. All who have not maintained their profession of faith, those who have not endured unto the end, have their names blotted out (see Ex. 32:33; Rev. 3:5) after which those that are left will be those that the Lord’s foreknowledge enabled Him to know would be saved "from the foundation of the world". 

The Lord says: "Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands; thy walls are continually before Me." A careful study of the context of this statement found in the book of Isaiah will reveal that the Lord gave this message in a special sense for His remnant church (though of course it has had a message for His people from the very day it was written); it was written especially to counteract the possibility of discouragements in days of darkness. "But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord 

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hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget he, sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the so, of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands; thy walls are continually before Me" (Isa. 49:14-16). Here we have a parallel verse to that of Rev. 17:8 in which we are told definitely the reason why the Lord has given this message: He has given it as an assurance that He knows all about each person; that He knows each name, and knows everything–all the circumstances, etc. –pertaining to each one, and declares that it is utterly impossible for Him to forget those who accept the provisions He has made for their salvation. A mother's love is proverbial, but "they may forget, yet will I not forget thee". 

Thus in a special sense Rev. 17:8 contains a loving message to each of His people to pay careful attention to His assurance that under no circumstance are they to think that He has forgotten or overlooked them. His care over them will be infinite, and to prove it He declares that He even thought of them away back at the foundation of the world and has had their salvation in mind down through all the millenniums, and that Calvary confirms this fact. Therefore, would He be likely to forget or overlook them right in the very hour when they needed Him most? 

In "The Fall of Babylon in Type and Antitype", we have shown that prophecies given by such prophets as Isaiah and Jeremiah concerning the overthrow of ancient Babylon were of a typical character: they applied to both ancient and modern Babylon. In that presentation it was pointed out that the Lord, in giving promises to ancient Israel concerning their deliverance from their Babylonian oppressors also, at that time and in those same promises gave assurance to His people at the end of time that they would also be delivered from their Babylonian oppressors in the last days. To those who have not given serious study to these ancient prophecies it comes as an amazing revelation to learn how the Lord away back in those days made a clear presentation of the many details concerning the persecution, peril and deliverance of His people in the very last days of earth's history. The details are really amazing. And a careful study of those ancient prophecies gives one a lively sense of the microscopic survey the Lord's infinite Mind has made of the final conflict. As one considers that that microscopic survey of the very last days was done thousands of years ago, there dawns the sweet consciousness that God knows all about everything and that no sudden emergency can overwhelm any one of His children for which He has not made ample provision. 

Employing the same principle of type and antitype which is 

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employed throughout the New Testament (1 Cor. 10:5, 11, margins, etc.), it is possible to examine the Old Testament records of Israel's experiences and from them learn the most astonishing details concerning the experiences of modern Israel from the rise of the Advent Movement in 1844 until the second coming of Christ. Some of these antitypical applications are well known among us, but many, many more are among the lesser known examples that could be quoted while pointing out that all these things tell of the Lord's infinite foreknowledge of the experiences of His people down to the very end of time. "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" Rom. 10:17 .  

By living in constant communication with the Mind of God through the continual study of the Scriptures, one can enter into an inner sanctum and there glimpse the fact that the Lord knows the end from the beginning; that not one detail misses His all-seeing eye. Many Scriptures, of course, teach that the Lord's eye sees everything. see Ps. 139; etc. However, that which brings strong consolation and cheer to the pilgrim ever seeking to walk in the ways of God is not only that He sees everything day by day, but that God foresaw all these things thousands of years ago and that He has accordingly made ample provisions to meet all of life's emergencies. A careful study of the prophecies and types of the Old Testament cannot fail to impress one with the knowledge that every detail of the future of His people has been known by the Lord for thousands of years. Such a realization engenders faith and trust and restfulness in the arms of His infinite knowledge and power. It was to inculcate this confidence in Him by the remnant church, that the Lord has written the message concerning His foreknowledge in Rev. 17:8. Thus the Lord's love and consideration for His church is clearly revealed. 

The Lord's tender solicitude for His people may be seen in His words of encouragement spoken to the disciples on the night of His betrayal. He had informed them of His departure and sought to prepare their minds for the ordeal before them. He said: "Let not your heart be troubled," and proceeded to impart loving words of heavenly counsel for them in view of the deepening shadows already falling about them. He pointed them to the mansions He would prepare for them; He told them He would return and that then they would always be with Him. He proceeded to tell them that He would not leave them "orphans" (John 14:18, margin), for they would still have His presence with them through the almighty Holy Spirit, Whom Jesus called "another Comforter". In His tender love for His earth-born children, He also told them how the Father loved them and that His presence would be always with them (see vs. 16-23). Thus 

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the Lord manifested His thoughtfulness and His care for those who had accepted Him as their Saviour. He gave those messages, which today by His followers are esteemed as the best words the Master ever spoke. Jesus poured out His most encouraging words to meet the exigency of that terrible crisis hour when the faith of the disciples was tested to the utmost. The remnant church is to pass through a terrible hour of darkness similar to that through which the disciples passed, and as the Lord was constrained to impart special instruction and to give special words of assurance for them in that hour of trial, so the Lord has given precious words of comfort for the remnant church in order to strengthen His people to pass through the greatest time of test ever to come to the people of God in all the annals of church history. 

The gospel prophet Isaiah, pointing to the closing scenes in the great controversy between Christ and Satan, declared that the message, which will be borne by God's faithful messengers facing that great hour of test, will be, "Thy God reigneth" (Isa. 52:7, 8). While evidences of disintegration will be seen on all hands, and when it will seem that only disaster could come to the church of the Lord Jesus, the impelling presence of the Spirit of God will unfold the Holy Scriptures to faithful men, thus giving them the assurance that God's almighty hand is upon the helm and that everything is under His infinite control. 

The servant of the Lord has assured us that the books of Daniel and the Revelation will be "better understood", thus leading to eat revival". Again, the pen of God's servant declares: 
"When the books of Daniel and the Revelation are better understood, believers will have an entirely different religious experience . . . One thing will certainly be understood from the study of Revelation—that the connection between God and His people is close and decided" (TM. 113, 114). 

Thus we are definitely informed that "the one thing" –the big lesson–which will be learned "when the books of Daniel and Revelation are better understood", is that God has an infinite love and care over His people. As this is the most important feature brought to view in the prophecy of Rev. 17, it is obvious that this once-misunderstood chapter will be "better understood" and its essential lesson learned by those who will pass through the perilous period therein described. 

To strengthen the faith of "the Father of all them that believe", God condescended to make a covenant with Abraham in which He took an oath–this, according to the custom of those ancient days, was equivalent to staking His existence upon the fulfilment of His promise. Why did God thus deign to enter into this the 

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most solemn form of oath known to the ancients? Paul says: "For when God made promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no greater, He sware by Himself.... For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath" (Heb. 6:13-20). Why did God thus enter into this solemn oath? Because He loved Abraham, and loves those who exercise faith in the plan of salvation, ever seeking to take away any element of fear or of uncertainty, and to give them peace and joy as they rest their cares upon His almighty arm. It is the love of God that prompts Him to make these assurances to His children. He wants us to love Him and to trust in His goodness and kindness. It is for this reason that He caused John to pen the wonderful words found in Rev. 17:8. 

Down through the long corridors of human time the voice of God has continually urged His children onward to the everlasting Home, whispering ever and anon, "Let not your heart be troubled", "I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world". One's faith (Rom. 10:17) in God's love for His people is increased in the reading of the Old Testament records of the various crises that have come to them along the highway to the celestial city. The Lord preserved Israel from the plagues which were visited upon the Egyptians; He led them through the Red Sea; fed them with manna; caused the flinty rock to gush forth with copious cooling streams of water, and spread over them a cloud which sheltered them from the burning heat of the day and gave them light at night. Through the swollen Jordan He led them into the promised land. The walls of Jericho fell before their armies, and in all their history He revealed His loving care over them. 

The prophet Isaiah presents a resume of Israel's history, saying: 
"I will mention the lovingkindness of the Lord ... and the great goodness toward the house of Israel. . . In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them: in His love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He bare them, and carried them all the days of old" (Isa. 63:7-9). 

The Lord hearkened unto the voice of Joshua, and for Israel's sake He caused the sun and moon to stand still in the heavens. In the days of Hezekiah He turned the earth back upon its axis so that "the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down". This latter miracle was performed in fulfilment of the Lord's blessed assurance given earlier in the book of Isaiah that the Lord would deliver them from their foes. It was at that time that the name "Immanuel" first appears in the sacred Scriptures (Isa. 7:14; 8:8); this name is interpreted in Matt. 1:23 to mean "God with us". 

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This promise, given to Israel in the hour of one of her many crises, is the essence of the message given to God's people down through the murky passages of the great conflict. This is the essence of the message given in Rev: 17:8 for the remnant people of God as they face the darkest hours of all earthly time. Is there a better message that can be delivered to any trusting child of God in any hour of sorrow or of trial than this: "God is with us." How safe little children feel when father is with them. How much more does each child of God step out with confidence into the darkness of the stormy night when there is in his heart a calm realization that the Almighty Father is at hand and that His almighty power is exercised to protect and deliver him from all life's alarms. 

In a previous publication, "God Speaks—and Israel Triumphs", the writer sought to point out that all the details of prophecy relating to the last hours of the great conflict are all outlined for us by God in His great love for His people. It is because God loves His people that He informs them concerning the enforcement of Sunday laws being a sign of the imminence of the close of probation; it is His love for His people that causes Him to tell them that the death decree will be proclaimed against them and that that decree will be followed probably in less than twelve months by their wonderful deliverance; it is His love for them that causes Him to point forward to that great hour of triumph when those who have died in the message will be resurrected so that they will share in that hour of triumph and be living to witness the coming of the Lord; it is His love which causes Him to tell His people at that time the day and the hour when the coming of Christ will occur. 

The prophet Daniel, pointing down to the time when the remnant church will be faced with death at the hands of the infuriated king of the north Dan. 11:44), says: "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which standeth for the children of thy people" (Dan. 12:1). The Lord Jesus, seeing the peril facing His people, closes the door of mercy that He may deal with their merciless enemies without mercy; He stands up, or commences His reign, to exercise His almighty power on behalf of His people. The servant of the Lord says: "God's judgments will be visited upon those who are seeking to oppress and destroy His people" (GC. 627). The seven last plagues are poured out upon those who seek to harm the Lord's people, and when the plagues are studied with this thought in mind they will be seen as proofs of the love of God exercised on behalf of His people. 

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This is the "one thing" which the servant of the Lord says will be made clear to the remnant church "when the books of Daniel and the Revelation are better understood" (TM. 114).  When the prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation are studied as expressions of God's love for His people and that all that is recorded therein is for their sake, a sense of the fellowship with the Eternal will dawn upon their consciousness and give them strength to face the future with confidence, trusting in the certainty of the love of God that will cause Him to exercise His mighty power on their behalf to the dismay of their enemies. This is the most important message contained in the prophecy of Rev. 17.