The
Fellowship of Christ
continued
If
a person sacrifices the fellowship
with Christ for the fellowship of
“the church,” or even the
fellowship of the family, he will be
lost. Jesus said, He cannot be My
disciple. Luke 14:26.
The Effect on the Soul
of Being in an Environment of Spiritual
Confusion
Placing
one’s self-unbidden in the midst of
spiritual confusion can put the soul in a
state of spiritual confusion, or
spiritual disorientation. Then
the soul becomes a victim of
circumstances-the circumstances of
demonic control and disorientation. The
person becomes the plaything of the
devil, and drifts wherever the spiritual
influences of the environment may lead
him.
The Necessity of Being
Separate From Those Who are Daily
Imbedding New Errors
“I
was shown the necessity of those
who believe that we are having the last
message of mercy, being separate from
those who are daily imbibing new errors. I
saw that neither young nor old should
attend their meetings; for it is
wrong to thus encourage them while they
teach error that is a deadly poison to
the soul and teach the doctrines the
commandments of men. The influence of
such gatherings is not good. If God has
delivered us from such darkness and
error, we should stand fast in the
liberty wherewith He has set us free and
rejoice in the truth. God is
displeased with us when we go to listen
to error, without being obliged to go;
for unless He sends us to these meetings
where error is forced home to the people
by the power of the will, He
will not keep us. The angels
cease their watchful care over us, and we
are left to the buffeting of the enemy,
to be darkened and weakened by him and
the power of the evil angels; and the
light around us becomes contaminated with
the darkness.” EW
124, 125.
Spiritual Clarity
John
the Baptist is a good case to study in
this regard. He had to keep control of
his spiritual powers-therefore he had to
have the spiritual clarity
that came from seeking God alone in the
wilderness. As he focused his soul
and spirit and mind on God, something
very wonderful happened: He was filled
with the glorious vision of Christ.
The Night of Extermination
In
the Great Controversy, the Lord
has revealed what is going to happen.
Satan’s anger against God’s
true people will rise to open fever
pitch. God’s true
commandment-keeping people will be all
declared to be outlaws. Those who are
primarily concerned about what other
people think about them will never be
able to negotiate this. That is another
practical reason for practicing true
discipleship now, and seeking the honor
that comes from God only.
The
faithful will be placed outside the
protection of human law, and declared to
be fair game for anyone who would put
them to death. Just as in the time of
Queen Ester, just as in St.
Bartholomew’s massacre, it will be
determined to wipe them out in one
night. Companies of armed men will
seek to carry this mission out. At that
very night, at that very hour, God will
intervene:
Declared Outlaws, Decisive
One-night Blow Determined
“When
the protection of human laws shall be
withdrawn from those who honor the law of
God, there will be, in
different lands, a simultaneous movement
for their destruction. As the
time appointed in the decree draws
near, the people will conspire to root
out the hated sect. It will be
determined to strike in one night a
decisive blow, which shall utterly
silence the voice of dissent and reproof.
Companies of Armed Men in
Every Quarter
“The
people of God-some in prison cells some
hidden in solitary retreats in the
forests and the mountains-still plead for
divine protection, while in every
quarter companies of armed men, urged on
by hosts of evil angels, are preparing
for the work of death. It is
now, in the hour of utmost extremity that
the God of Israel will interpose for the
deliverance of His chosen. Saith
the Lord; “Ye shall have a song, as
in the night when the holy solemnity is
kept; and gladness of heart, as when one
goeth… to come into the mountain of
the Lord, to the Mighty One of Israel.
And the Lord shall cause His glorious
voice to be heard, and shall show the
lightening down His arm, with the
indignation of His anger, and with the
flame of a devouring fire, with
scattering, and tempest, and
hailstones.” Isaiah 30: 29,
30.” GC 635.
Private Military
Contractors
It
is interesting to note what is happening
in the world’s military forces right
now. The military is turning more and
more to private military contractors to
provide trained mercenaries to do work
that the military would rather not do. Of
course, there is no military chain of
command with these private contractors,
so you can imagine what kind of work they
are hired to do.
CNN
has been carrying a series on these
private military contractors. CNN,
6-18-06, revealed that private military
contractors now have 25,000 troops in
Iraq. They are unregulated, except by
their employers. These are British and
American companies such as Blackwater,
USA, which is in Fallujah. Four of its
men were captured and hung from a bridge.
At least one of these was Scott
Helvenston, a former US Navy SEAL, and
fitness expert. Blackwater USA had
heavily armed troops patrolling New
Orleans in the chaos after Katrina. There
are other companies such as Aegis.
CNN: They Can Get Away
Literally With Murder
CNN
reported that they can get away literally
with murder. None have ever been
prosecuted. But, the military can and
does sometimes revoke their contract.
However,
This
often happens to just give the contract
to a bigger private military contractor.
The private soldier can earn in 3 months
what would take him a year at home. If
they get into a firefight, all they have
to do is survive, they are told.
Private Prisons
Not
only are various military operations
being privatized, but also more and more
private contractors are running the prisons
as private enterprises.
The
Southern Border
July
5, 2006, a House of Representatives
Subcommittee on International Terrorism
held a field hearing – Border
Vulnerabilities to Terrorist Threats, at
the Imperial Beach Border Patrol Station,
the border with Mexico, with three
Sheriffs – one each from Webb
County, Texas (the area of Laredo), Los
Angeles County, and San Diego County.
The
sheriff from Los Angeles County stated
that there are 86,000 gang members in LA
County, with MS-13 among them. One of the
representatives quoted a source that
declared that MS-13 is not a gang, it is
an army.
Sheriff
Flores, from the Laredo area of Texas,
was questioned about incursions into
America in his county. Sheriff Flores
described two hour gun battles: “We
are having gunfights lasting tow hours
right across the border, and the police
nor the military respond to be able to
stop that siege. What is that telling
you? That the Mexican government is in on
the narco trafficking and human
smuggling. They are getting paid
off.
“Is
this something new? This has been going
on for decades. This has been going on
since Mexico is Mexico.”
“It
is out of control; we do not have control
over the border.” It is in effect a
war zone.
Flores
described the Zedas. These are 37
defectors from the Mexican military. They
are the equivalent of Mexican Special
Forces who went to be trained at Ft.
Benning by the United States in the most
advanced fighting techniques for fighting
the drug war. Once finished with
their training, they went back to Mexico,
defected from the Mexican army, and went
to work for the drug
cartels-the narco terrorists, the Gulf
Cartel who pays four times the
rate of the Mexican military. They have
satellite phones, while the sheriff only
has Cingular or Verizon. They have
global positioning satellite cell phones
operating the routes taken by the
coyotes.
An FBI agent in the Laredo
area got a phone call from a man who said
he was commander of the Zedas in that
sector. The Zeda commander told the FBI
agent on his personal cell phone,
“Listen, you may have heard talk
that you have been targeted for
assassination. We just want to put your
mind at ease. We do not operate that way.
We know the guy spreading that rumor, and
we will be happy to rub him out if you
would like.
The Zedas have a
database of fluent families, judges,
prosecutors, businessmen, politicians,
elected officials, Sheriff Flores stated.
Three law enforcement
officers, two miles from the Imperial
Beach Border Patrol Station where the
hearings took place, were decapitated
two weeks ago.
There is a concern that
MS-13 may bring in terrorists to so their
bidding as a business proposition.
Laredo is the largest
inland port of entry, perhaps in the
world. 6,000 to 7,000 eighteen-wheelers
cross the border from Nuevo Laredo,
Mexico, to Laredo, Texas, every
day.
Texas Ranger Holdrich
says that at Laredo and Nuevo Laredo it
gets “Western.” This means,
Sheriff Flores said, “As soon as the
sun goes down you hear the gunshots and
the automatic weapons going off, 50
caliber weapons, this is the kind of
weaponry used by the
narco-traffickers.”
Al Quaeda is suspected
of setting up operations in Mexico. An
Air Marshal said to Sheriff Flores, You
look Middle Eastern. It’s very easy
for these people [Middle Easterners] to
go ahead and blend in Mexico, learn the
language, learn the culture, and
camouflage themselves as Mexicans and
cross the border.”
The Shekinah Glory
Protects God’s People
It
is simply wonderful that God has revealed
to us what is going to happen. The drama
unfolds: “With shouts of triumph,
jeering, and imprecation, throngs of evil
men are about to rush upon their prey,
when, lo, a dense blackness, deeper than
the darkness of the night, falls upon the
earth. Then a rainbow, shining with
the glory from the throne of God, spans
the heavens and seems to encircle each
praying company. The angry multitudes
are suddenly arrested. Their mocking
cries die away. The objects of their
murderous rage are forgotten. With
fearful forebodings they gaze upon the
symbol of God’s covenant and long to
be shielded from its overpowering
brightness.” GC 635. That rainbow
that shines with the glory from the
throne of God is the Shekinah glory.
Seeing the Glory of God
and the Son of Man
God’s
people look up and see the heavenly
vision: “By the people of God a
voice, clear and melodious, is heard,
saying, “Look up,” and lifting
their eyes to the heavens, they behold
the bow of promise. The black, angry
clouds that covered the firmament are
parted, and like Stephen thy look up
steadfastly into heaven and see the glory
of God and the Son of Man seated upon His
throne. In His divine form they
discern the marks of His humiliation; and
from His lips they hear the request
presented before His Father and the Holy
angels: “I will they also, whom Thou
hast given Me, be with Me where I
am.” John 17:24. Again, a voice,
musical and triumphant, is heard. Saying:
“They come! They come! Holy,
harmless, and undefiled. They have kept
the word of My patience; they shall walk
among the angels;” and the pale,
quivering lips of those who have held
fast their faith utter a shout of
victory.” GC 636.
God Delivers His People At
Midnight
Death
decrees which aim to wipe out an entire
people are often set to be implemented at
midnight: “It is at midnight that
God manifests His power for the
deliverance of His people. The sun
appears, shining in all its strength.
Signs and wonders follow in quick
succession. The wicked look with terror
and amazement upon the scene, while the
righteous behold with solemn joy the
tokens of their deliverance. Everything
in nature seems turned out of its course.
The streams cease to flow. Dark,
heavy clouds come up and clash against
each other. In the midst of the angry
heavens is one clear space of
indescribable glory, whence comes the
voice of God like the sound of many
waters, saying: “It is done.” Revelation
16:17.
God’s Voice Shatters
Earth’s Crust
“That
voice shakes the heavens and the earth.
There is a mighty earthquake, “such
as was not since men were upon the earth,
so mighty an earthquake, and so
great.” Verses 17,18.
The
firmament appears to open and shut. The
glory from the throne of God seems
flashing through. The mountains shake
like a reed in the wind, and ragged rocks
are scattered on every side. There is a
roar as of a coming tempest. The sea is
lashed into fury. There is heard the
shriek of a hurricane like the voice of
demons upon a mission of destruction. The
whole earth heaves and swells like the
waves of the sea. Its surface is breaking
up. It very foundations seem to be giving
way. Mountain chains are sinking.
Inhabited islands disappear. The seaports
that have become like Sodom for
wickedness are swallowed up by the angry
waters. Babylon the great has come in
remembrance before God, “to give
unto her the cup of the wine of the
fierceness of His wrath.” Great
hailstones, every one ‘about the
weight of a hailstone,” are doing
their work of destruction. Verses 19, 21.
The proudest cities of the earth are laid
low. The lordly palaces, upon which the
world’s great men have lavished
their wealth in order to glorify
themselves, are crumbling to ruin before
their eyes. Prison walls are torn
asunder, and God’s people, who have
been held in bondage for their faith, are
set free.” GC 636, 637.
The
Way of Truth
There is only one way to
heaven-the way of absolute self-surrender
to Christ. Every yoke of bondage to man,
including one’s own psyche, must be
broken, that Christ may be King of the
soul: “The definition of heaven is
the presence of Christ (Und. MS
58).” 7BC 989.
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