By John Thiel, The Last Generation Conference, Study 2, mp3

Our last study was an in-depth search of the words of Jesus. We came away with abundance of proof that the seed of the veterans of the Second World War, that generation will not pass until all things shall be fulfilled. We are confronted with a truth today that Jesus specifically addresses us here now. He spoke to the disciples of His time and He took them through the whole vast line-up of prophecies to our moment now. Let us reflect on His words. He said I am with you even unto the end of the world. He is speaking to you His disciples in the last days as well. The ‘you’ embraces His disciples back there, and His disciples today. Here today Jesus is speaking directly to you and me. What is He saying?

Luke 21:32 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.

He is speaking to you and me.

Luke 21:33 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. 34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and [so] that day come upon you unawares.

He could not have been saying that to the disciples back there as it is speaking to us directly now because He said this generation will not pass away and this generation is living in a time in which you become giddy. When a person is drunk what are they? Giddy with profusion, surfeiting and in having all this wealth. We are surrounded with so much more than the people in Africa. I was there and can testify.

When I was having a conference like this it was at the back of a cow stable with hessian bags over the top. Here we have surfeiting, plenty, no shortage of money or food but gain and all the cares of this life. Jesus is saying take heed to yourselves that your heart is not overcharged so that the day comes upon you unawares.

Luke 21:35 For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

I thrill with the personal application of the words that are written and are upon us today. Are we taking it in? Jesus is speaking to you and me? To us directly applies the warning. The warning is there with other material. All the different gospels highlight certain points and if you bring it altogether, you get the whole picture of what Jesus said.

Matthew 24:42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

For Jesus to have said this generation shall not pass, He didn’t give the day and hour did He? He just said in this generation it will be happening and in this generation He is saying take heed to yourself because it’s going to happen like a thief. We will see what is meant with the thief coming. It is unexpected because we are in danger of becoming preoccupied with all sorts of things which surround us at the present time rendering us unconscious when the real thing happens. What is the real thing? This warning of being caught unawares is qualified. Jesus is speaking through John and speaks in reference to Armageddon.

Revelation 16:15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed [is] he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.

That was couched in between verse 14 and 16 which spoke of Armageddon which is an event that will catch them by surprise. Armageddon isn’t the literal coming of Jesus in the clouds. What is meant that we may know the actual meaning and be in tune with the events that will catch us unawares if we are not watching? Watching by the study of God’s word in prophecy. Why are we most in danger? For so long the preaching has been the coming of Jesus through the watches. One has passed away and then another watch and people begin to become overwhelmed not only with the surfeiting and drunkenness but our forefathers have died maybe the same thing will happen to us. The Adventist servant who has been preaching the coming of Jesus says in his heart, my Lord delays his coming. Are we in less danger of doing that? That is what Jesus is warning us about.

The Fig Tree

We now know definitely it’s the Jewish nation as they shot again as a tree with all the other nations since 1948. We reiterate this and we want to reflect again.

Matthew 24:32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer [is] nigh: 33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, [even] at the doors. 34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

Our focus is all these things. What is Jesus speaking of? All these things be fulfilled. What is comprised by all these things? It opens up a mind question of, “Lord, how many things are you talking about?” Jesus had outlined the events that they had asked the question on, what is the sign of your coming? He had outlined the experience of this planet from their time through to the end. As you look at this you discover He makes three overviews throughout Matthew 24. The first starts from verse 4 to 14. He starts in verse 4.

Matthew 24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all [these things] must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

He is telling them the Roman Empire is going to be conquered by wars and there will be rumours of wars. That is the fall of the western and eastern roman empire. Wars from that time onwards. But it’s not the end yet, He is giving an overview.

Matthew 24:7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8 All these [are] the beginning of sorrows. 9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.

Isn’t that the dark ages He is talking about? It is so specific that today we can know what He is talking about.

Matthew 24:10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

False prophets, teachers? Many different churches?

Matthew 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

Can you see what He has just done? He has done a sweeping presentation from His time to the end. He then refers back to the event to take place soon after He left.

Matthew 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:

What is He talking about? He is talking about Cestus and Titus with the armies of Rome surrounding Jerusalem. He then describes as soon as they see the sign they must escape.

Matthew 24:20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.

From the time that they were escaping Jerusalem, there would be the pagan and the papal persecution in an overview that He gives here. Those days should be shortened otherwise there would be no Christian left anymore.

Matthew 24:23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here [is] Christ, or there; believe [it] not. 24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if [it were] possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

He is describing after the terrible time of tribulation there would be the rising of many false churches. This took place at the very time of the rise of the Adventist message, the latter day saints, Christadelphian’s, false prophets and the falling of the protestant churches. They all became false prophets. they would come and say here and there is Christ. That term doesn’t mean Jesus has come is here,, it means Jesus is among us, Jesus is the head of the church and we have Christ come to us and the head is Christ and we are the body. Come to us. This is what all these churches are saying. These are the warnings Jesus gives.

Matthew 24:26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, [he is] in the secret chambers; believe [it] not. 27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

He again has finished a second overview. Then He goes back to the time of tribulation and says;

Matthew 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

There are three overviews. After Jesus said all the things He just communicated, He then said that this generation shall not pass until all these things shall be fulfilled. Follow very carefully because all the things that He had delineated would come to their final fulfilment in their line to the very end as He had gone over it and over it again. Those who are living in the last generation can go over the material and examine it closely. If you are watching, you will know. What is He pointing at in these prophecies that need fulfilment? If you look at Matthew 24 the second part, you will read something about things that need fulfilling.

Matthew 24:7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

What events are these? Are they not the things of nature? They are things in nature that had to be fulfilled.

Matthew 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

What is addressed? Things of nature. While we are on nature, the same Jesus who is speaking in Matthew 24 was speaking in Revelation. Where in Revelation do you have other details on nature? The seven seals.

Events in Nature

A description of nature in the seven seals.

Revelation 6:12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; 13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. 14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; 16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Revelation 8:1 And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.

These are the seals that deal with the events in reference to what happens around us in nature. What do we see here that is to take place?

Matthew 24:10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

What’s this? Is this not social problems?

Matthew 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

Domestic and Social problems among the people.

Matthew 24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

What arena is this? The religious arena.

Matthew 24:9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.

Religious material will cause hatred.

Matthew 24:11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

Here is the description of events in the religious world.

Matthew 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. 23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here [is] Christ, or there; believe [it] not. 24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if [it were] possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 25 Behold, I have told you before. 26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, [he is] in the secret chambers; believe [it] not. 27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.

What was the tribulation? Tribulation under the papal attack on Gods faithful people that they regarded as heretics. Religious persecution continues under false prophets and teachers to verse 28.

Religious Teachers

What prophecies detail the religious experiences? Is it not the seven churches of Revelation 2 and 3? That is religious prophecy. If you look at the seven seals of Revelation 6, is there religious material?

In Revelation 6:1-11 You read about the four horsemen which is the story of the church in its demise. It starts with a pure white horse and ends up with a deathly one.

Political

What arena is this one? Wars and rumours of wars. This is the political arena.

Mathew 24:7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

Jesus again addresses the political and national attacks.

Matthew 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

This is the Romans attacking Jerusalem.

Matthew 24:16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: 17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: 18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:

Jesus describes the need to flee away from the destruction of that war. Where in Revelation do you read of warfare? Is it not the seven trumpets? Where are they found? Revelation 8 and 9. The seven trumpets is all to do with warfare and political scenes. In Daniel 2 you have nations interacting with one another and wars of the rising and fall of the empires and Daniel 7,8,11,12. Jesus covers all these things.

This is the scope of our continuing study to investigate all those things for us in this last generation because all these things will be fulfilled in this generation. The things that have happened in the past, continued to unravel for the things not happened yet and when we come to this last generation we will see everything completely fulfilled. We want to glean the impact at this time of all these things relevant to our generation.

Matthew 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

In between these verses, where are we? Are we not in between these verses?

The Sixth Seal

Where are we?

Revelation 6:12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; 13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. 14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

Where are we? In between verse 13 and 14. If you want to read the detail of the great earthquake in Lisbon look up the book Great Controversy page 304. In 1755 was the great Lisbon earthquake. The dark day was 1780 and can be read in Great Controversy page 306. The falling of the stars is in Great Controversy pages 33-34 and the year was 1833. After those signs, what was the next event according to this? The coming of Jesus. Here is a statement that is so serious that people are thinking that the stars fell and we thought that was a sign and Jesus didn’t come as it says Jesus comes straight after that and many Adventists are coming up with the idea that this will come again. That is being taught. What they are they doing? They are taking things that have been fulfilled in that time and applying it to the future

If we do this we will miss the importance that lies in our research in between those two texts. What happens in between? Revelation 6:13-14? There are other prophecies. We who dwell between those two texts, are in need of watching carefully and studying according to Gods direction. Is there prophetic detail that is to be fulfilled in between those texts? That apparent void between 1833 and 2011? So many people are not clear as to the line-up.

More Prophecy

Jesus gave us the same prophecy that Luke picked up that Matthew didn’t. He gives us a small summary of the in between bits.

Luke 21:25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;

Sr White was shown that after the second world war the following applied;

Luke 21:26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. 27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

Jesus did not leave that untouched. In between those texts He brought in that detail. Revelation 7 has a prophecy that fills in between those two texts. The angels with the winds of strife are ready to let go, that is the coming of Jesus, the final scenes. They are about to let go but the angel cries hold. There is an experience of between the two verses of Matthew 24 29 and 30 and Revelation 6:13 and 14. We have an event that fills in the gap. What other events in prophecy point to the in between those two texts? 1833 and after before the coming of Jesus. Jesus hasn’t come now in 2011 so there is some more prophecy.

Revelation 10:1-11 You read about the book in the hand of the angel and John was told to go and eat the book. The book that was closed is now open. What was that all about? The book of Daniel had to be read to be understood. It was closed until the time of the end. There is a prophecy that tells us we must study the books of Daniel and Revelation by Uriah Smith. People don’t want to do that. They think that what the pioneers had established in their line-up of prophecy is wrong but that is the fill in bit between those two verses.

Revelation 3:7-22 What is that talking about? Philadelphia and Laodicea. When was the beginning of the Philadelphian period; 1833. So that after the stars fell there is prophecy that details with the in-between. A huge field of study.

Revelation 14:6-20 This is the three angels messages. When did the first angels message commence preaching? 1833 and in 1844 was when third angel came. All these things. Can you see what Jesus is saying?

Revelation 18:1-3 This occurred in 1888. It goes all into the detail of the work of this angel. All these things. Between those two verses.

Matthew 24:45-5 This is the faithful and unfaithful servant are also the events in between that need to be understood. Jesus fills in the in-between bit. The midnight cry and all that was to take place. The faithful preachers preaching. A prophecy that needs to be understood.

Joel 2:28 And it shall come to pass afterward, [that] I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.

Is this something that happened between 1833 and 2011? Absolutely. The outpouring of the latter rain.

Revelation 11:15-19 records the seventh trumpet. When is the seventh trumpet relevant? 1833 to 1844 was the announcement of the opening into the most holy place and in the seventh trumpet it tells you. It identifies the warfare in that trumpet and what is to take place in that period.

Revelation 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become [the kingdoms] of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

Revelation 1:18 And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

Revelation 11:19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

When was the temple opened in heaven so you could see in the most holy place? 1844. Why were the angels called to hold the winds of strife in 1848? Because a war was going to break out and Gods people were not all sealed. War was about to break and all of a sudden it didn’t happen and then came the First World War and that was held back and then came the Second World War. This is the seventh trumpet with the interactivity of Christ. In the seventh trumpet the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdom of Christ when He comes to the ancient of days.

Daniel 7:13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, [one] like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion [is] an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom [that] which shall not be destroyed.

That was the seventh trumpet during the period of Jesus in the most holy place and there were the events of the unfolding of nations fighting with one another until finally they became subject to Christ. We will see what Jesus meant when He said all these things shall be fulfilled in that generation. What a vast field of illumination that God has given.

Conspiracy Theorists

We are living in a time today of mind occupation of many Adventists where they are conspiracy theorists who make conspiracy theories their study. What we will study, won’t even touch these and we will know much more than them. What Jesus has pointed out to us in His beautiful description in the last days is that you won’t have to listen to the conspiracy theories. They are mere theories, some are notions and others may have some merit.

All you need to know is the sharp realities of what Jesus says. If we uphold the beauty of God’s word, we will be able to hide under the radar of those who persecute us. We are going to see details that are far more thrilling than conspiracy theories but people seem to be charged up with those things. Don’t be deceived. We have something far more valuable in the words of Jesus.

Revelation 16:1-21 The plagues.

Daniel 12:1-3 Jesus finishes His work.

Prophecy after prophecy Jesus has given; study those prophecies and heed what Jesus says, “watch, don’t go to sleep”. Study and know the details and you will know precisely where you stand. You don’t have to get side tracked by anything else.

All these things shall be fulfilled in that generation. There is a lot of detail in all these things that this generation must watch out for and correctly understand the experience of them because Jesus said take heed to yourself because if you are not aware of all those prophecies, you will get caught out. I mean it, you will get caught out. My peers and I when I went to a Seventh Day Adventist school, were all under the same teachings, we went to big public outreaches by different preachers like Burnside and Colthart.

They sat there with me and I said wow as they still preached correctly the prophecies at that time but the young people were bored stiff and they didn’t think the prophecies were important anymore and in time they removed from out of my area of fellowship. My generation of preachers are preaching totally different to me but we heard the same thing from those old people – H M S Richard world evangelist said before he preached, he studied Daniel and Revelation by Uriah Smith again and again to present the reality. He preached Daniel and Revelation when I was a youth.

Where are they today who preach the same as I preach? I am only preaching what was giving to me by the older ministers. Are we watching? That is the problem. They have lost the zeal to study those prophetic studies. One Seventh Day Adventist minister when his son came to him after we had studied Daniel 11 saying, wow this is so interesting, his father said don’t worry about that, it is important to study Jesus, Daniel is not important. But he said, dad I found Jesus in Daniel 11. That is the problem today. People don’t see Jesus in the prophecies. They are just arguments and problems of disagreement, why should we have to worry about that ? Jesus is going to save us from that. The reality is He won’t. The warning of Jesus has been ignored when He said be careful take heed. Watch what? Watch the events in harmony with what I am talking about. People haven’t been doing that.

I found it necessary to study and keep my mind alert. While others are getting excited about other things I am standing there going, what is that to get excited for when Jesus is something to get excited about? Could it be that this generation is riding along blissfully and not heeding Christs urgent warning? While they are occupied with all these conspiracy theories and new ideas they think are so important and looking to the future, they don’t realise what is happening right under their nose. What is happening right under their nose that they are missing out on? What did Jesus mean when he said it will come upon you as a thief? He is not talking about his coming in the heaven to find people asleep.

What time is here referred to? Not to the revelation of Christ in the clouds of heaven to find a people asleep. No; but to His return from His ministration in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary, when He lays off His priestly attire and clothes Himself with garments of vengeance, and when the mandate goes forth: “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still.” {2T 190.1}

What are the people doing if they are concentrating on all those other things and not concentrating on this? When Jesus finishes His work in the most holy place, they will not be holy. That is the importance of the prophecy. Not merely to say look at what is happening and mean while we are not doing what we should be doing.

When Jesus ceases to plead for man, the cases of all are forever decided. This is the time of reckoning with His servants. To those who have neglected the preparation of purity and holiness, which fits them to be waiting ones to welcome their Lord, the sun sets in gloom and darkness, and rises not again. Probation closes; Christ’s intercessions cease in heaven. This time finally comes suddenly upon all, and those who have neglected to purify their souls by obeying the truth are found sleeping. {2T 191.1}

Blissfully thinking the latter rain hasn’t happened and the plagues haven’t fallen and everything is fine and when they do fall it is all too late. They can’t purify their souls by obeying the truth anymore.

They became weary of waiting and watching; they became indifferent in regard to the coming of their Master. They longed not for His appearing, and thought there was no need of such continued, persevering watching. They had been disappointed in their expectations and might be again. They concluded that there was time enough yet to arouse. {2T 191.1}

Some say, we’ll have another twenty years maybe. Very dangerous thinking as we must now pay careful attention to the words of Jesus. You will be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness.

They would be sure not to lose the opportunity of securing an earthly treasure. It would be safe to get all of this world they could. And in securing this object, they lost all anxiety and interest in the appearing of the Master. They became indifferent and careless, as though His coming were yet in the distance. But while their interest was buried up in their worldly gains, the work closed in the heavenly sanctuary, and they were unprepared. {2T 191.1}

Is that what has happened? I tremble inside when I see that this is precisely what is happening. Some think I get too heavy in my anxiety for souls. But this is no time to become careless. We are right on the very cusp of the finishing of the work and if my life is not ready then I am lost. Right now we are in that position. If I am not preaching the word of God as I should, I am going to be like the servant who says in his heart my Lord delays his coming. Meat in due season is needed now. There is no time to waste. We are not only the last generation but this generation is nearly ready to die. People of my age are dying. People die in their 50’s and 60’s, there is only a few that continue to live. The fact is we are not waiting for death, we are waiting to be perfect and the Lord has been holding back the winds of strife too long. The importance of these studies are extreme that we should know what we ought to know.

The Danger of Misapplied Prophecy

We must see the danger of prophecy misapplied.

There are those now living who, in studying the prophecies of Daniel and John, received great light from God as they passed over the ground where special prophecies were in process of fulfillment in their order. They bore the message of time to the people. The truth shone out clearly as the sun at noonday. Historical events, showing the direct fulfillment of prophecy, were set before the people, and the prophecy was seen to be a figurative delineation of events leading down to the close of this earth’s history. The scenes connected with the working of the man of sin are the last features plainly revealed in this earth’s history. The people now have a special message to give to the world, the third angel’s message. Those who, in their experience, have passed over the ground, and acted a part in the proclamation of the first, second, and third angels’ messages, are not so liable to be led into false paths as are those who have not had an experimental knowledge of the people of God. . . . {2SM 102.1}

What is that telling us? Upstart John Thiel had better listen to the pioneers because I didn’t have their experience and we are told under inspiration they are far less liable to err than we.

There have been one and another who in studying their Bibles thought they discovered great light, and new theories, but these have not been correct. The Scripture is all true, but by misapplying the Scripture men arrive at wrong conclusions. We are engaged in a mighty conflict, and it will become more close and determined, as we near the final struggle. We have a sleepless adversary, and he is constantly at work upon human minds that have not had a personal experience in the teachings of the people of God for the past fifty years. Some will take the truth applicable to their time, and place it in the future. Events in the train of prophecy that had their fulfillment away in the past are made future, and thus by these theories the faith of some is undermined. {2SM 102.2}

We are in more intense a struggle than the pioneers were.

From the light that the Lord has been pleased to give me, you are in danger of doing the same work, presenting before others truths which have had their place and done their specific work for the time, in the history of the faith of the people of God. You recognize these facts in Bible history as true, but apply them to the future. They have their force still in their proper place, in the chain of events that have made us as a people what we are today, and as such, they are to be presented to those who are in the darkness of error. {2SM 102.3}

Don’t reapply them. Continue the chain of events to now in this last generation. They didn’t understand 1948 back then but they knew all the things that led up to it and so we are to stay on their platform and then come to 1948 and get the correct connection.

The true workers of Jesus Christ are to cooperate with their brethren who have had an experience in the work from the very rise of the third angel’s message. {2SM 102.3}

Are we cooperating with them? That is our responsibility.

These followed on step by step, receiving light and truth as they advanced, bearing one test after another, lifting the cross that lay directly in their pathway, {2SM 102.3}

If you follow these truths you will meet Jesus and you will meet the cross. You will make an experience in these truths.

…and pressing on to know the Lord, whose goings forth are prepared as the morning. {2SM 102.3}

We need to know the Lord and only as we do in conjunction with prophecies can we be saved.

You and other of our brethren must accept the truth as God has given it to His students of prophecy, as they have been led by genuine, living experience, advancing point by point, tested, proved, and tried, until the truth is to them a reality. {2SM 102.3}

We are to accept the truth that God has given to those before us and make that truth our own experience.

From their voices and pens the truth in bright, warm rays has gone to all parts of the world, and that which was to them testing truth, as brought by the Lord’s delegated messengers, is testing truth to all to whom this message is proclaimed. {2SM 102.3}

We have a danger to meet that we do not become in anyway dislodged from the experience of our early brethren and sisters in Advent faith. This is why I labour tenaciously and I pray we all can and watch the warnings continually what it means when he says you maybe overcharged. With all the conflicts and highly charged activities of modern man, they are so overcharged; are you under stress sometimes? Satan makes sure of that. He is going to throw everything at you and me so you become dislodged. He will use your relatives to fill you with anxiety and problems so you will be dislodged from focusing on what you should be focusing on. The third angel is binding in bundles for the heavenly garner. These things should occupy the whole mind and attention. Concentrate on the experience and the message of that experience of the early Adventists and we will understand very emphatically what we are studying now. May the Lord bless us as we continue to study these things.

Amen.