“The temple of
God was opened in heaven, and there
was seen in His temple the ark of
His testament.” Revelation
11:19. In the sanctuary in heaven,
within the holy of holies, the great
original of the divine law is
sacredly enshrined – the law
that was spoken by God Himself amid
the thunders of Sinai, written with
His own finger on tables of stone and
recorded by Moses in the Pentateuch.
Those who arrive at
the understanding of this important
point will be led to see the sacred,
unchanging character of the divine
law. They will see, as never before,
the force of the Savior’s words,
“Till heaven and earth pass, one
jot or one tittle shall in no wise
pass from the law.” Matthew
5:18. The law of God, being a
revelation of His will and a
transcript of His character, endures
forever, “as a faithful witness
in heaven.” Not one command has
been annulled; not a jot or tittle
has been changed. Says the psalmist:
“Forever, O Lord, Thy word is
settled in heaven.” “All
His commandments are sure. They stand
fast forever and ever.” Psalm
119: 89; 111: 7,8.
From the
very beginning of the great
controversy in heaven, it has been
Satan’s purpose to overthrow the
law of God. It was to accomplish this
that he entered upon his rebellion
against the Creator; and though he
was cast out of heaven, he has
continued the same warfare upon the
earth.
To deceive
men, and lead them to join his
rebellion and transgress God’s
law, is the object that he has
steadfastly pursued. Whether this is
accomplished by casting aside the law
altogether, or by rejecting one of
its precepts, the result will
ultimately by the same. He that
offends “in one point,”
manifests contempt for the whole law
and he becomes “guilty of
all.” James 2:10.
The great
deceiver has cast contempt upon the
divine statutes. The last great
conflict between truth and error is
but the final struggle of the
long-standing controversy concerning
the law of God. Upon this battle we
are now entering – a battle
between the laws of men and the
precepts of God, between the religion
of the Bible and the religion of
fable and tradition.
Many have come to
deny doctrines, which are the very pillars
of the Christian faith. The great
facts of creation as presented by the
inspired writers, the fall of man,
the atonement, and the perpetuity of
the law of God, are practically
rejected, either wholly or in part,
by a large share of the professedly
Christian world.
Too many ministers are
teaching their people, and too many
professors and teachers are
instructing their students, that the
law of God has been changed or
abrogated; and that those who regard
its requirements as still valid and
to be literally obeyed, deserve only
ridicule or contempt.
Every nation has its
laws, which command respect and
obedience; no government could exist
without them. Can it be conceived
that the Creator of the heavens and
the earth has no law to govern the
beings He has made? Suppose that
prominent ministers were publicly to
teach that the statutes that govern
their land and protect the rights of
its citizens were not obligatory
– that they restricted the
liberties of the people, and
therefore ought not to be obeyed; how
long would such men be tolerated in
the pulpit? However, it is a graver
offense to disregard the laws of
states and nations than to trample
upon those Divine precepts that are
the foundations of all government.
No error accepted by
the Christian world strikes more
boldly against the authority of
Heaven, none is more directly opposed
to the dictates of reason, none is
more pernicious in its results, than
the modern doctrine that God’s
law is no longer binding upon men. It
would be far more consistent for
nations to abolish their statutes,
and permit people to do as they
please, than for the Ruler of the
universe to annul His law, and leave
the world without a standard to
condemn the guilty or justify the
obedient.
Would we know the
result of making void the law of God?
Those who teach people
to lightly regard the commandments of
God sow, and will reap, disobedience.
Let the restraint imposed by
God’s law be wholly cast aside,
and human laws would soon be
disregarded and people would practice
the sins which brought plagues upon
the heathen.
Because God forbids
dishonest practices, coveting, lying,
and defrauding, men are ready to
trample upon His statutes, as a
hindrance to their worldly
prosperity; but the results of
banishing these precepts will be such
as they do not anticipate.
“Whosoever committeth sin
transgresseth also the law; for sin
is the trangression of the law.”
1 John
Whenever the divine
precepts are rejected, sin ceases to
appear sinful, or righteousness
desirable. Already the doctrine that
men are released from the obedience
to God’s requirements has
weakened the force of moral
obligation, and opened the floodgates
of iniquity.
Lawlessness,
intemperance, and corruption are
sweeping in upon us like an
overwhelming tide. In the family,
Satan is at work. His banner waves,
even in professedly Christian
households. The line of distinction
between professed Christians and the
ungodly is now hardly
distinguishable. Church members love
what the world loves.
The whole system of
religious principles and doctrines,
which should form the foundation and
framework of society, seems to be a
tottering mass, ready to fall. Courts
of justice are corrupt. Jurists are
perverted and bribed. Dishonesty of
every sort is found among those who
administer the laws. The vilest
criminals, when thrown into prison,
are often made the recipients of
gifts and attentions, as if they had
attained an enviable distinction.
Great publicity is given to their
character and crimes. The press
publishes the revolting details of
crimes committed, thereby initiating
others into the practice of fraud,
robbery, and murder. The infatuation
of vice, the wanton taking of life,
the staggering increase of addition
and wickedness of every order and
degree, should arouse all who fear
God, to inquire what can be done to
stay the tide of evil.
Many religious
teachers assert that Christ by His
death abolished the law, and men are
henceforth free from its
requirements. There are some who
represent it as a grievous yoke, and
in contrast to the bondage of the
law, they present the liberty to be
enjoyed under the gospel.
However, the prophets
and apostles do not agree with this
assertion regarding the Law of God.
The Apostle James, who wrote after
the death of Christ, refers to the
Decalogue as the “royal
law,” and the “perfect law
of liberty.” James 2:8; 1:25.
John the Revelator, half a century
after the crucifixion, pronounces a
blessing upon them “that do His
commandments, that they may have the
right to the tree of life, and may
enter in through the gates in to the
city.” Revelation 22:14.
No error accepted
by the Christian world strikes more boldly
against the authority of Heaven, none
is more directly opposed to the
dictates of reason, none is more
pernicious in its results, than the
doctrine that God’s law is no
longer binding upon men.
It would
be far more consistent for nations to
abolish their statutes, and permit
people to do as they please, than the
Ruler of the universe to annul His
law, and leave the world without a
standard to condemn the guilty or
justify the obedient.
The
claim that Christ by His death
abolished His Father’s law, is
without foundation. Had it been
possible for the law to be changed or
set aside, then Christ need not have
died to save man from the penalty of
sin.
The death
of Christ, so far from abolishing the
law, proves that it is immutable!
The
Son of God came to “magnify the
law, and make it honorable.” Isaiah
42: 21. Jesus said, “Think not
that I am come to destroy the
law;” till heaven and earth
pass, on jot or one tittle shall in
no wise pass from the law.”
Matthew 5: 17, 18.
Those who
will accept the light of Scripture
concerning the mediation of Christ
and the perpetuity of the law of God,
will find these foundational truths
presented in Revelation, chapter 14.
The messages of this chapter
constitute a threefold warning, which
is to prepare the inhabitants of the
earth for the Lord’s second
coming.
A great religious
awakening, under the proclamation of
Christ’s soon return, is
foretold in the prophecy of the first
message of Revelation chapter 14. An
angel is seen flying “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.” “With
a loud voice” he proclaims the
message, “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: 6,7.
“For this
is the love of God, that we keep His
commandments.” I John 5:3
