When should we do that?

Isaiah 8:12 Say ye not, A confederacy, to all [them to] whom this people shall say, A confederacy;

“Join the church! Be part of this confederation.” No, don’t get too excited about confederacy, he says, Fear the Lord. Don’t fear these organisations. Fear the Lord.

Isaiah 8:14 And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 

We have seen it now. It happened when Jesus was there; He was a stumbling block. It happened when the reformers were there; Jesus was a stumbling block in them. We saw it in the Adventist people; He was a stumbling block to both the houses: to the one that went apostate, and the one that was the church of God of Protestant faith until they cast out the Philadelphian people.

Then we saw two houses of Israel since 1844: the Seventh-day Adventist church organisation was then split. As we quoted from E. G. White’s writings, that was directly Isaiah 8 again (See The Church of the Three Angels: Review and Herald, July 18, 1907, par. 6-7). Therefore we have now two houses of Israel – one is like Samaria, the other is God’s church militant still.

The work of God in the earth presents, from age to age, a striking similarity in every great reformation or religious movement. The principles of God’s dealing with men are ever the same. The important movements of the present have their parallel in those of the past, and the experience of the church in former ages has lessons of great value for our own time. {GC 343.1}

If Jesus was asked today by a mainstream Adventist lady which mountain is the right one, between the Seventh-day Adventist church and the SDA Reform Movement, what would Jesus say? Can you see the exact same situation? There is one church claiming to be the Seventh-day Adventist church, and there is the other one claiming to be the Seventh-day Adventist church. What would Jesus say if He was told by a modern-day Samaritan lady, Our fathers tell us that this is where we are to worship, and you people in the SDA Reform say we should worship here? We will see whether we can conclude at the end of this study what He would say.

In Spirit and in Truth

Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen.

Who was He speaking to, in the light of His words to the woman of Samaria? Those who worship in spirit and in truth. He is speaking to these people. To these people who worship Him in spirit and in truth, He says, “Go ye therefore … and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” With whom is Jesus always? With those who worship Him in spirit and in truth. The sealing of the 144,000 commenced with the faithful ones of Philadelphia. Who are then the 144,000 in the last generation? Those who worship Him in spirit and in truth. He says, I am with you who worship Me in spirit and in truth, right to the very end. They are the ones we want to look at – the one of Revelation 3:20.

Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock:

Who is He knocking for?

Revelation 3:20 …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.

The any man. Who was it that didn’t follow in the demise of the Laodicean angel? The any man. That is the one who Jesus is with. Who did this angel become? Revelation 18:1.

The people who were supposed to be giving the third angel’s message and to be speaking loudly, had become tame and voiceless. Another angel had to come which were the people who opened their hearts – the any man – the people in 1888 who opened their hearts to Jesus. The men in leading positions rejected it, and after the outbreak of the First World War the faithful ones arose without shepherds – they were the any men who opened their hearts to Jesus (cf. The Church of That Other Angel: Railroad depot statement). They were the Revelation 18 organisation, the ones who received Jesus, similarly to the ones who received Him when He was on earth.

A Pure, Perfect Organisation?

The organisation of 1914 onwards (The Seventh-day Adventist Church Reform Movement), is that a perfect people? Is this organisation a pure, perfect organisation?

Let every one who is seeking to live a Christian life, remember that the church militant is not the church triumphant. Those who are carnally minded will be found in the church. {FE 294.2}

Is this true of the IMS (International Missionary Society Seventh-day Adventist Church Reform Movement)? Yes, there are very faulty people in the IMS. There is the church that is an organisation which has been separated from the other organisation; there is Samaria and Judah, two houses. The Samaritan one has become corrupted, so God’s faithful church, the militant church, is the Reform.

Has God no living church? He has a church, but it is the church militant, not the church triumphant. {TM 45.1}

The living church that God has now (and we have identified it through our study) is not the church triumphant. It is the church militant.

We are sorry that there are defective members, that there are tares amid the wheat. {TM 45.1}

We are sorry.

The church of Christ on earth will be imperfect, but God does not destroy His church because of its imperfection. {TM 46.1}

That is applicable to the IMS.

There are two opposing influences continually exerted on the members of the church. One influence is working for the purification of the church, and the other for the corrupting of the people of God. {TM 46.1}

This is happening in God’s church militant. That is very important. Understand this! Don’t become disheartened because in God’s church there are some very powerful influences working for the corrupting of the people of God.

Some people seem to think that upon entering the church they will have their expectations fulfilled, and meet only with those who are pure and perfect. They are zealous in their faith, and when they see faults in church members, they say, “We left the world in order to have no association with evil characters, but the evil is here also;” and they ask, as did the servants in the parable, “From whence then hath it tares?” But we need not be thus disappointed, for the Lord has not warranted us in coming to the conclusion that the church is perfect; and all our zeal will not be successful in making the church militant as pure as the church triumphant. {TM 47.1}

Does the church triumphant exist? No, it doesn’t exist now. The only church that exists at the moment is the church militant. Inside of the church militant are faithful souls, and influences for the corrupting of the people of God – carnal men and women. That is the existence of God’s church at the present time.

The world has no right to doubt the truth of Christianity because there are unworthy members in the church, nor should Christians become disheartened because of these false brethren. {COL 72.3}

Have you ever become disheartened because of some of the things you saw in the church, thinking, “This is God’s church? No, I think I’ve come to the wrong church”? Have you ever thought that way? Here is the correction of the Lord: You must not become disheartened because of these false brethren.

How was it with the early church? Ananias and Sapphira joined themselves to the disciples. Simon Magus was baptized. Demas, who forsook Paul, had been counted a believer. Judas Iscariot was numbered with the apostles. The Redeemer does not want to lose one soul; His experience with Judas is recorded to show His long patience with perverse human nature; and He bids us bear with it as He has borne. {COL 72.3}

This is the sufferings of Christ.

He has said that false brethren will be found in the church till the close of time. {COL 72.3}

I used to read these statements, and said, Lord? I can’t get my head around this one. What do you mean? Over a period of time He has shown me, and I am sharing it with you now.

Salvation is of the Jews

False brethren were in the church of God when Jesus was there, and they gave Him a hard time. They were on His track. Have you ever felt like someone was on your track all the time? He felt it. Yet in spite of it all, in His time Jesus said, Salvation is of the Jews. But what did He say regarding its leaders? What did He say to the people who were members of the church under these leaders?

Matthew 23:1 Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, 2 Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat:

What does that mean? Moses is the one that I have established as a leader in My church, and they sit in his seat.

Matthew 23:3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, [that] observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.

What they teach you to observe, do. Yes, they are still God’s church, and salvation is of the Jews. They are still teaching the Bible principles. What Moses had declared, what the Bible had declared, they are still teaching that. If you are looking for a church today that teaches exactly right in reference to the doctrines and creeds that have been established in the early Adventist church, the International Missionary Society teach them; it’s just that there are variations, as we saw in the previous study. It is just like the Pharisees: they did and they didn’t. Jesus differentiated between it, He said, Do as they teach you, but don’t do as they do. This is the important principle here in God’s church militant. How could Jesus say that with such a corrupt church as existed just before it was cast out? How can He say it today? How can he say that you should continue in the church and be subordinate to what is being taught? Why can He say that? There are these leaders that are corrupting the church, that are not doing. They are saying it – the doctrine is all there – but they are not really benefitting the church with their doctrine. What was the Jerusalem of Christ’s day doing? What have the churches of the past been doing to the faithful, to those who worship Him in spirit and in truth?

Zephaniah 3:1 Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city!

They dictate, they oppress the people.

Zephaniah 3:2 She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the LORD; she drew not near to her God. 3 Her princes within her [are] roaring lions; her judges [are] evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow.

We can deal with that tomorrow. We will kill the soul, and we will gnaw it tomorrow. We can buy our time. I have been told that directly, “Your turn is coming.”

Zephaniah 3:4 Her prophets [are] light [and] treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law. 5 The just LORD [is] in the midst thereof; he will not do iniquity: every morning doth he bring his judgment to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame.

Why could He say to stay there? Why? They are gnawing your bones. They are doing all these things. Why could He say, Salvation is of the Jews; why can He say, Salvation is of the church militant of today? Because the just Lord is in the midst thereof. In the midst of these gnawing, bone-chewing people, these ravenous beasts, Jesus is there. That is why you stay there. He will not do iniquity. They might, but He will not. What will He do in His church? “Every morning doth he bring his judgment to light, he faileth not.” That is why. Was He there in the church? Yes, and He brought light to the darkness that the Pharisees were dispersing. He was in the midst of her. That is why salvation was of the Jews, because He was in the midst thereof. It is His church militant. He and His body are within the organisation. As in each generation the city of God’s organisation is oppressing, but He has a people in it:

Zephaniah 3:12 I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the LORD. 13 The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make [them] afraid.

Don’t fear the confederacy, fear the Lord. Let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread. He will be an offence to both the houses of Israel. Don’t worry. The remnant of Israel will not fear; they will lie down in the midst of her. That is what is written. He, with His remnant, is in the midst of her. What are they doing in the midst of such a church militant in this time of the end, the very last church according to prophecy? Yes, this is the very last church militant, there is no other. What are they doing within the church?

Ezekiel 9:1 He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man [with] his destroying weapon in his hand. 2 And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man among them [was] clothed with linen, with a writer’s inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brazen altar.

What was this man with the writer’s inkhorn by his side meant to be doing in the church militant?

Ezekiel 9:3 And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which [had] the writer’s inkhorn by his side; 4 And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city,

Through the midst of the church;

Ezekiel 9:4 …through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.

What are they doing? They are God’s remnant people with Jesus crying for the abominations that are done in His church.

Ezekiel 9:5 And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: 6 Slay utterly old [and] young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom [is] the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which [were] before the house.

We have identified that Zephaniah 3 encompasses the period when the plagues are happening (See Light in a Dark Place of the Church Militant), and just before the plagues there is this event of Ezekiel 9 – the sealing. The company of the 144,000 is being sealed. We are living in that ever since 1844 and onwards. God’s church that is still proclaiming the doctrines of 1844 onwards, is the church which is here being dealt with, because God’s people are within her, and He is in the midst of her. We have a vivid description of the experience of God’s people within this church:

The leaven of godliness has not entirely lost its power. At the time when the danger and depression of the church are greatest, the little company who are standing in the light will be sighing and crying for the abominations that are done in the land. {5T 209.3}

Do you see something here? The time of test was upon them already in 1888, and within the company of the Laodicean angel was the company that was holding on to Jesus – the little company in the light that has been going through. And now, at the very end, the little company who are standing in the light will be sighing and crying for the abominations that are done in the land.

But more especially will their prayers arise in behalf of the church because its members are doing after the manner of the world. {5T 209.3}

Is this not what we beheld in the last study? The church in the second generation is bringing in a flood of the customs and practices of the world in her. That is the reason why the faithful are weeping and crying.

The earnest prayers of this faithful few will not be in vain. {5T 210.1}

How many? Few.

These sighing, crying ones had been holding forth the words of life; they had reproved, counselled, and entreated. Some who had been dishonouring God repented and humbled their hearts before Him. But the glory of the Lord had departed from Israel; although many still continued the forms of religion, His power and presence were lacking. {5T 210.2}

Have you heard of a lack of the power and presence of the Lord within the church? Here was this faithful few; what were they doing? Reproving, counselling, and entreating. Some people woke up and got themselves right, but in the rest of the organisation the glory of the Lord had departed.

They mourn before God to see religion despised in the very homes of those who have had great light. {5T 210.3}

I still remember in the General Conference of Mexico 2007, the Brother of Angola. He really let it rip, but ever so nicely. “Our ministers’ wives are wearing pants,” he said, “Here you are brethren, ministers, look at you, how you are all behaving.” That was a man who was speaking from the throne of heaven. They are all around the world in God’s church. A few.

They lament and afflict their souls because pride, avarice, selfishness, and deception of almost every kind are in the church. The Spirit of God, which prompts to reproof, is trampled underfoot, while the servants of Satan triumph. God is dishonoured, the truth made of none effect. {5T 210.3}

The class who do not feel grieved over their own spiritual declension, nor mourn over the sins of others, will be left without the seal of God. The Lord commissions His messengers, the men with slaughtering weapons in their hands: “Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.” {5T 211.1}

Here we see that the church–the Lord’s sanctuary–was the first to feel the stroke of the wrath of God. The ancient men, those to whom God had given great light and who had stood as guardians of the spiritual interests of the people, had betrayed their trust. {5T 211.2}

Which church is this talking about? God’s last church militant. This is not talking about the Seventh-day Adventist Church. She is no longer the church militant, she is Samaria. This is talking about His church militant.

The people who are receiving the counsel and are crying, the little company in the light, the ones that do not countenance any deviation, that are contending earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints, as they are empowered by the Holy Spirit in the last days doing missionary work within the church, as well as out of it, calling upon the few people in the church who might still respond; as they are so at work and empowered by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the latter rain, what are the others who are not with the power doing?

The baptism of the Holy Ghost as on the day of Pentecost will lead to a revival of true religion, and to the visitation of angels and the performance of many wonderful works. Heavenly intelligences will come among us, and men will speak as they are moved upon by the Holy Spirit of God. But should the Lord work upon men as he did on, and after the day of Pentecost, many who now claim to believe the truth, would know so very little of the operation of the Holy Spirit, that they would cry, “Beware of fanaticism.” {2SM 57.2}

That is what they are doing. The beautiful work of the Holy Spirit is going on, and they say, This is fanaticism. Beware. Don’t get too fanatical. Don’t follow those people that are in the church.

They would say of those who were filled with the Spirit, “These men are drunk with new wine.” … When souls long after Christ, and seek to become one with Him, then those who are content with the form of godliness, exclaim “Be careful, do not go to extremes.” {2SM 57.2}

Have you heard that?

When the angels of heaven come among us, and work through human agents, there will be solid, substantial conversions, after the order of the conversions after the day of Pentecost. {2SM 57.2}

What sort of conversion? Not these modern revivals of nowadays. Solid, substantial conversions.

Now brethren, be careful and do not go into or try to create human excitement. But while we should be careful not to go into human excitement, we should not be among those who will raise inquiries and cherish doubts in reference to the work of the Spirit of God; for there will be those who will question and criticize when the Spirit of God takes possession of men and women, because their own hearts are not moved, but are cold and unimpressible. –Letter 27, 1894. {2SM 57.3}

Here is a revelation of what we expect in God’s church militant when the Holy Spirit is poured out. God has said, “My doctrine shall drop as the rain … as the small rain upon the tender herb;” but all of a sudden the doctrine is too extreme for these people. What will these people do ultimately who are saying, This is fanaticism; don’t go to extremes? What will they do to this little company?

Our greatest trials will come from those who profess godliness. {RH, August 28, 1883 par. 13}

“We have far more to fear from within than from without.” (Selected Messages Book 1 122.3)

It was so with the world’s Redeemer; it will be so with his followers. I should doubt whether I were a child of God, if the world, or even all professed Christians, spoke well of me. Those who are in earnest to win the crown of eternal life need not be surprised or disheartened because at every step toward the heavenly Canaan they meet with obstacles and encounter trials. {RH, August 28, 1883 par. 13}

Don’t be surprised.

The opposition which Christ received came from his own nation, who would have been greatly blessed had they accepted him. In like manner the remnant church receive opposition from those who profess to be their brethren. {RH, August 28, 1883 par. 13}

Here you have the church, and the faithful company within the church, with Jesus in the midst thereof, and what is that called? The remnant church, which will be opposed by their brethren, just like it was in 1888. That was the Revelation 18 angel, and it was opposed by the church leadership. Is it going to be any different now? No. Why are they doing this? As the Spirit of Prophecy says, they are cold and are not affected by it, so they think it must be wrong. They think, If other people are getting excited, and we are not, well, we are the right people, they are just getting excited, they are going to extremes, so they would better listen to us. That is exactly what happened to the Pharisees. Here is the reason why they treat the company in the light this way:

Organisational Pride

The Jewish people cherished the idea that they were the favorites of heaven, and that they were always to be exalted as the church of God. {COL 294.2}

“We are God’s church. The church is the apple of His eye. We are the ones!” I have heard sermons being preached like that in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, “God’s church is the apple of His eye!” The organisation or the little company?

They were the children of Abraham, they declared, and so firm did the foundation of their prosperity seem to them that they defied earth and heaven to dispossess them of their rights. But by lives of unfaithfulness they were preparing for the condemnation of heaven and for separation from God. {COL 294.2}

Is that a mentality of organisational pride?

Jeremiah 7:1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2 Stand in the gate of the LORD’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all [ye of] Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the LORD. 

Who? Judah. Not the ten tribes.

Jeremiah 7:3 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. 4 Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, [are] these. 

Here they come, they are the leaders of God’s church, and they claim that this organisation, this temple, is God’s, and that they are the faithful. “How dare you make such a cardinal sin to denounce the church of God?” These are the exact words we heard. “Any sin against me I can forgive you, but if you say something against the church, that is a sin that you need to repent of.” That is what we were told. “The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these.” Lying words.

Jeremiah 7:5 For if ye thoroughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour; 6 [If] ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt: 7 Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever. 8 Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.

That is the reason why they mistreat the faithful company that is crying for the sins that are done in Israel. It is because they say, How can you say these things?? We are God’s church! You cannot correct us the way that you do! It is one more repetition of the two houses Israel. In every succeeding generation the same thing happens. The succeeding generations come right down to our time, and we can’t help but acknowledge that that is our experience. In every succeeding generation the people who didn’t want to leave their church were however compelled to stand up and defend the truth within their church and get thrown out.

The Lord Jesus will always have a chosen people to serve Him. When the Jewish people rejected Christ, the Prince of life, He took from them the kingdom of God and gave it unto the Gentiles. God will continue to work on this principle with every branch of His work. When a church proves unfaithful to the word of the Lord, whatever their position may be, however high and sacred their calling, the Lord can no longer work with them. Others are then chosen to bear important responsibilities. But, if these in turn do not purify their lives from every wrong action, {UL 131.3}

How many? Every wrong action, even if it was just one.

…if they do not establish pure and holy principles in all their borders, then the Lord will grievously afflict and humble them and, unless they repent, will remove them from their place and make them a reproach. . . .  {UL 131.3}

That is what Ezekiel 9 says. What are the words of Jesus once again to the woman at the well in today’s scenario? If a Seventh-day Adventist lady came to Jesus and said, Our ministers tell us that this is God’s church, but your ministers say that yours is God’s church; what would He say today?

John 4:20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. 21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.

Neither in the Seventh-day Adventist Church nor in the Reform Movement. The day is coming. Wouldn’t He say that today? It is not quite here yet, but it is very close.

John 4:22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

This is what Jesus would say today.

Amos 5:1 Hear ye this word which I take up against you, [even] a lamentation, O house of Israel. 2 The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is forsaken upon her land; [there is] none to raise her up. 3 For thus saith the Lord GOD; The city that went out [by] a thousand shall leave an hundred, and that which went forth [by] an hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel.

A Virgin

In every successive generation there was a virgin that then fell. As we come to the very last moments of this earth’s history, the last church militant that arose as a virgin, eventually falls in the second generation. What will the fallen men and women speak therein? “Don’t go too far. You are going to extremes. We are going to be rocked in the cradle of security for a bit longer yet.” That is what they are essentially saying. But the words of the prophet Amos tell us that, they might have started with a goodly number, but all that will be left is the little company. What do we see? As she falls the faithful ones arise again. Same history. But this is the last one.

First we have the angel of the church of the Laodiceans:

Revelation 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; 15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.

Then there is the any man of verse 20:

Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: 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.

And what does it say in verse 21? When Jesus says, “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;” is this the perfect people? No. But who is going to be the perfect person?

Revelation 3:21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

That is the disciples, the overcomers that come out of the virgin that has fallen – the little remnant, the faithful ones.

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 commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

The woman, the seed, and then the remnant of her seed. That is the prophetic lineup all the way through to the very last days.

The organisation of the third angel of Revelation 14 was split into the Revelation 18 angel.

Revelation 18:1 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. 2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. 3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

Then what does verse 4 say?

Revelation 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

What is this? A voice from heaven. “Come out of her, my people.” Who does the voice from heaven speak through? The voice from heaven speaks through the people who have received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit within the last church militant. He speaks through the overcomer, through the remnant. That is the voice from heaven.

The work is soon to close. {Ev 707.1}

How close are we to it?

The members of the church militant [the any man/the fourth angel/the seed] who have proved faithful will become the church triumphant.– Letter 32, 1892. {Ev 707.1}

What is going to happen? The church triumphant is not today in existence; there is only the little company in the church militant, but it hasn’t proven itself a perfect overcomer yet. As they are being tested and tried, they finally become the overcomer through whom God can speak; they will then be the remnant, the triumphant ones. At that future time this church is no longer imperfect; they are pure. The language is that they become the church triumphant. What does it mean when they become the church triumphant? What happens with the church militant? It is left behind, isn’t it? Just like all the other churches militant have been left behind. But the faithful few become a church, a little company who are worshipping in spirit and in truth.

The Church Triumphant Worship in Spirit and in Truth

These are thrilling revelations. They are the light in the darkness through which we are passing.

The life of Christ was a life charged with a divine message of the love of God, and he longed intensely to impart this love to others in rich measure. Compassion beamed from his countenance, and his conduct was characterized by grace, humility, truth, and love. Every member of his church militant must manifest the same qualities, if he would join the church triumphant. {CE 76.3}

What is this saying? This is a separate body from the other. Isn’t that what this is saying? The faithful members in the church militant will join the church triumphant. In other words, they will do the same thing as the others before them. They had no intention of leaving the church, it hurts them to consider that they would leave, but they are called to join the church triumphant. The latter rain does this work as it concludes with the final loud cry.

Song of Solomon 6:8 There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number.

But with all these churches that have come into existence through the ages, virgins without number, concubines and queens;

Song of Solomon 6:9 My dove, my undefiled is [but] one;

The church triumphant. They will not speak lies. At the very end, among all the churches that have accumulated as fallen churches, she is the only one.

Song of Solomon 6:9 …she [is] the [only] one of her mother, she [is] the choice [one] of her that bare her.

Who bore her? Who gave birth to her? The Reform Movement – the seed that gives birth to the remnant.

Song of Solomon 6:9 …The daughters saw her, and blessed her; [yea], the queens and the concubines, and they praised her. 10 Who [is] she [that] looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, [and] terrible as [an army] with banners?

They praised her? What did we read of Philadelphia? Those who claim to be Jews and are not, but are of the synagogue of Satan, what will they do? They will worship at her feet. They will praise her. When you and I are faithful and stand in the courts, and we are moved by the Holy Spirit to preach the truth for thousands to hear, the genuine memory of their past experience will come back to them. They will say, We remember; yes, you are right.

God has a church. It is not the great cathedral, neither is it the national establishment, neither is it the various denominations; {UL 315.5}

It is neither of all those.

…it is the people who love God and keep His commandments. “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matt. 18:20). Where Christ is even among the humble few, this is Christ’s church, for the presence of the High and Holy One who inhabiteth eternity can alone constitute a church. {UL 315.5}

Those who say, The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, are these; that is not the church. It houses the church, but the church triumphant, when it is in his little, humble few, gathered here and there all over the world, standing on the same principles, then that is God’s church; not the various denominations.

The saints then will be an obscure people, little known to the Catholics; {SpM 1.5}

Tell me, do you think the Catholics know the Reform Movement? Do you think they know the two reforms? Do you think they know the Seventh-day Adventist Church? Yes, they do. They are registered as organised movements, and the Catholic Church knows the record of every organised movement. But when those who worship God in spirit and in truth emerge, Who are these? Why are they preaching so powerfully? They don’t know who these are. They will be little known. They may have some inkling about it because they read the Great Controversy. The Pope read the Great Controversy; they know what is written in there. But those few faithful people will be little known to the Catholics.

There is much you can enlarge on this basis. The call for us now is to know what we should be doing in the light of what we have been studying. Just because we know this, it is not sufficient. We need to commit ourselves, and we need to consecrate ourselves to this reality. If we do, if we have our eyes open and we sigh and cry for the sins that are done in Israel, and we stand together as a people, learning to pass every test that comes upon us, then we will ultimately become the church triumphant.

How close do you think that is? We keep saying, Jesus is coming very soon. Jesus was coming in Sister White’s time. Where are we now? Are we not at the cusp of the final church triumphant? We are right on the edge of the wave and it’s about to break. We are right on the edge of the coming of Jesus.

Amen.