By John Thiel, Facing Last Day Perils Conference, Study 1, mp3    

Scripture reading: Daniel 8:11 Yea, he magnified [himself] even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily [sacrifice] was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. 12 And an host was given [him] against the daily [sacrifice] by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practiced, and prospered. 19 And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end [shall be]. 

What is your lamp, what is the lamp that has to be burning? Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, so it is the Word. That Word needs to be burning in our hearts so we understand what it is, how it enlightens our life. We are here at this time of earth’s history realising that things are not as they used to be. The people in the world know this. That there is an ominous sense that something is going to happen. Those who know their Bible, know that we are living at the end. Our message is to look at the Scriptures and find the heralds of the end. Who are the people, who are the heralds that declare the end of the world? When did they start coming onto the scene? The purpose of our conference is to become enlightened as to how to meet the last days.

Daniel 8:19 I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation.

That suggests that in the last days God’s indignation is going to be released. How are we going to meet and how are we meeting the devastations of that indignation? That is what the whole concept of our theme; meeting the perils of the last days. Let’s ask God what those perils are. What are we to expect in the last end of the indignation? People look forward to the coming of Jesus but the coming of Jesus has something to do with indignation.

Amos 5:18-20 Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end [is] it for you? the day of the LORD [is] darkness, and not light. As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. [Shall] not the day of the LORD [be] darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?

I let my imagination roam on this picture that is created here; running away from a lion, the lion is chasing you and you are running away from it and you think I am managing to get away. You come around the corner and there is a bear. No! You run in the opposite direction and you see a house so you run for the house to get away from the lion and the bear. You come into the house and lean up against the post and there’s a snake!  That is the picture that is described here. That is what the day of the Lord is like.

Amos 5:10 They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.

This is a time in which those who are speaking pure truth are not liked. The people don’t like to hear upright things. The moment that you raise your voice in expressing what the Bible says, people howl you down. The extreme of that are the laws that are being passed in different countries about same sex marriages. If you were to raise your voice according to the Scripture, how would you fare? They hate him that rebuketh in the gate.

Amos 5:12 For I know your manifold transgressions, and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate [from their right].

This is what happens in these times.

Amos 5:13 Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it [is] an evil time.

If you are a wise and prudent person and you know that if you are going to rebuke in the gate and tell the world how wrong they are, they’re going to hate you for it. Are you going to be so foolish as to create persecution upon yourself unnecessarily? The prudent will be silent in that time. Talking about the people not receiving justice, the description of the end by God is further described in Isaiah.

Isaiah 59:9 Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity;

The day of the Lord is darkness and not light. We wait for light. Please Lord, give us some light. All you get is obscurity.

Isaiah 59:9 …for brightness, but we walk in darkness. 10 We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if [we had] no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the night; [we are] in desolate places as dead [men]. 11 We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgment, but [there is] none; for salvation, [but] it is far off from us. 12 For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions [are] with us; and [as for] our iniquities, we know them; 13 In transgressing and lying against the LORD, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. 14 And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. 15 Yea, truth faileth; and he [that] departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw [it], and it displeased him that [there was] no judgment.

Here is the description. As you carefully read through those Scriptures and you look at the life and the hopes and dashed hopes and the confusion of what really is truth in these times, it is overwhelming to us. Everybody is preaching; everybody is sharing information from the Bible; they think they’re sharing information and yet they are all speaking differences. What is truth? Is there such a thing as exact truth today in what you hear? It is bewilderment. This is what the time of the end is.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

As you meditate on 2 Timothy 3:1-5, you realise oh dear, this is serious. The concepts that are expressed have serious repercussions that indeed there is no more justice. As the younger generations come into positions of rulership in the world, oh dear, what do we see?

2 Timothy 3:1This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

What we were reading in the Old Testament, the New Testament says it is peril; it is darkness. You’re groping for the wall; you are looking for light and its obscurity, peril. Why?

2 Timothy 3:1 For men shall be lovers of their own selves,

What does that mean? If a person loves himself, he looks for satisfaction for himself;. He wants to have pleasure at the expense of another person. That is the reality. You see this. If you think carefully you know this is true. Selfishness and looking for self is going to walk over the top of others.

2 Timothy 3:1 covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents,

 If a child does not learn obedience to its parents, as it grows up into an adult will they be obedient to God? Children learn obedience to God by first of all respecting their parents and obeying them. What is the condition today? Do people obey God? No, because they never learned to obey their parents. What are the repercussions? Do the children today express their gratitude for their parents’ sound upbringing? You have done it wrong; we have to teach you how to behave toward us, that is the way they behave.

2 Timothy 3:2 unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

When you make an agreement with somebody and it’s wonderful when everything goes well then all of a sudden; you can’t trust anybody any more. Have you ever been accused of something and you know it wasn’t the truth? Incontinent; what does that mean? When a child is incontinent it means it can’t control its bladder, but there are lots of other things we have to control in life today. Can they control themselves? Have you heard of road rage? They can’t control themselves. If you join incontinence with fierceness you have disaster.

1 Timothy 3:3 …despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

This is the peril of the last days. Are we in them? Say not it’s coming, it is here and we will see how we discover that we are not only in it; we have been in it for quite a long time. How soon is Jesus going to come? It is serious.

As we read some of these things, some people will say, come on, disobedience has been all the way down in the past. All these things have been in the past. This is nothing new. Problems have always existed of that nature. We were reading some of the Scriptures in Isaiah and that happened in the past already, so what is so special now?

In this time of trial we need to be encouraged and comforted by one another. The temptations of Satan are greater now than ever before, {EW 46.1}

This was written in the 1850’s and 60’s. How does it apply today in the year 2013? Is it worse than in the 1850’s? It is worse than ever before. The temptations of Satan are greater now than ever before.

…for he knows that his time is short and that very soon every case will be decided, either for life or for death. {EW 46.1}

People are making their decisions. As the pressures of life come upon them they are making decisions that they cannot return from and Satan knows that so he is making it extra hard.

It is no time now to sink down beneath discouragement and trial; we must bear up under all our afflictions and trust wholly in the Almighty God of Jacob. {EW 46.1}

How can you survive in this crazy time in which we are living? We must not submit to discouragement. There is plenty to discourage you. You are being chased by a lion, you come around the corner and there’s a bear; overwhelming dismay and then the snake. This is symbolic of what we have been reading in human relationships today. Isn’t that discouraging? Have you been discouraged over your circumstances? What do we do when we get discouraged? Don’t we usually say, too bad, I don’t care anymore? I am just going to live to please myself. We try to ameliorate our discouragement by replacing it with something to make me happy and forget about the rest. That is Satan’s effort; he wants us to become careless about anything that is good.

We must bear up under all our afflictions and trust wholly in the Almighty God of Jacob. Here is the introduction of the thought of how we must meet these perils. We need to understand what this means to trust wholly in the Almighty God of Jacob. When we talk about the God of Jacob, what was his experience? He was fighting what he was thinking was an enemy when it was actually the Lord. That is whom we must trust in and we will meet this experience if we haven’t met it already.

The Lord has shown me that His grace is sufficient for all our trials; and although they are greater than ever before, yet if we trust wholly in God, we can overcome every temptation and through His grace come off victorious. {EW 46.1}

Is God able to conquer these dilemmas that we are living in?  There is nothing impossible for Him. It’s the day of His indignation and who is He pouring His indignation upon? He is pouring it upon those who don’t want Him. For those that really sincerely want Him, He is able to conquer these horrifying circumstances. That is what our message is about so we know what we are meeting and we know how to meet it.

It is now much worse than the 1860’s when this was written. How much more do we need the Lord? This person who wrote this turns our mind to the subject of this hour right now because it turns us to the realisation that this person gave us an insight into the kind of experience that we have to meet. This is what we are looking at, the heralds of the end. If the end is coming, where do the heralds commence to announce the end? Is it at the end of the end, or at the beginning of the end? When somebody heralds something, it is right in front of them they are letting you know it is coming right now.

Who are the Heralds of the last time?

Who are the heralds of the last time and when did they commence identifying these things? Notice what the book of Daniel was concluded with.

Daniel

Daniel 12:9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words [are] closed up and sealed till the time of the end.

What is the book of Daniel written for? Is the book of Daniel a herald for the time of the end to help us?

Daniel 12:13 But go thou thy way till the end [be]: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.

This is a very interesting statement. You Daniel, what you have written in the book of Daniel, you will stand in your place in the last days. In other words, you are the herald of the end. What you have written will stand as the herald for the people living at the end. Seal the book, close it up and when the time of the end comes, that is when you are going to come into your place. You will stand in your lot at the end of days.

The time has come for Daniel to stand in his lot. .{4BC 1174.4}

That was written back there at the beginning time of the end.

The time has come for the light given him to go to the world as never before. If those for whom the Lord has done so much will walk in the light, their knowledge of Christ and the prophecies relating to Him will be greatly increased as they near the close of this earth’s history (MS 176, 1899).{4BC 1174.4}

As they near the close of this earth’s history; as we go through our subjects we will see that these perils commenced back there in 1844. That is when the book of Daniel in 1833 after 1798 was opened. We will study that in detail. There was the beginning of the end. The time prophecy of Daniel takes us to exactly the end of the world period. I will make you understand what is the end of the indignation. Let’s explore that a little bit. The book of Daniel is the book that stands in its lot.

Daniel 8:19 And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end [shall be].

There is a time appointed, an actual point in time when the end shall be. That was given in the prophecy of Daniel chapter 8.

Daniel 8:13 Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain [saint] which spake, How long [shall be] the vision [concerning] the daily [sacrifice], and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?

Transgression making desolate from the marginal reading. How long is this going to go on for?

Daniel 8:14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. 15 And it came to pass, when I, [even] I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man. 16 And I heard a man’s voice between [the banks of] Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this [man] to understand the vision.

Gabriel

Here was a prophecy that pointed to the appointed time of the end. Daniel was told that you must stand in your place. Who was the one who was giving the explanation? Gabriel, go and explain the vision to this person.

Daniel 8:26 And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told [is] true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it [shall be] for many days. 27 And I Daniel fainted, and was sick [certain] days; afterward I rose up, and did the king’s business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood [it].

Gabriel came and explained the vision in chapter 9. He explained the exact detail of the 2300 day prophecy. Besides Daniel who else is here the herald of the end? Is it Gabriel? Was Gabriel the one who was the herald of the beginning of the end? The 2300 day prophecy had to be explained to Daniel by Gabriel, so the angel Gabriel was a herald of the last days.

Daniel 10:5 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins [were] girded with fine gold of Uphaz: 6 His body also [was] like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. 7 And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.

Here was Daniel entering into a vision and this being was standing in front of Him. As the Chaldean soothsayers were all around him because they were called the wise men of Babylon, they were trembling and they ran for their lives. When God comes into the presence of even the pagans they begin to tremble. That is the picture here.

Daniel 10:8 Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength. 9 Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground. 10 And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and [upon] the palms of my hands. 11 And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. 12 Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.

Daniel saw this vision of this being and he lost all power within himself. What do you know that when people began to lose their power in a particular vision of somebody, they lost all their power and all their strength, who were they looking at? What did Job say? All the goodness within me was gone because I saw God. When you see God as He is you lose all your power, you just wither away, you can’t look upon God and be proud. Daniel saw a being there and as he fainted, an angel came and touched him and said, get up and he lifted him up. Then he said I have come to give you understanding But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.

Jesus

Daniel 10:21 But I will show thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and [there is] none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince. 

In this vision of the last days that was given both in chapter 9 and in chapters 10 -12, there was Daniel who received the instruction and the guidance and there was Gabriel and Michael. Who is that? That’s Jesus. We are looking here at the heralds of the last days, the heralds of the end. In these visions are given to Daniel the explanation of the last days. Gabriel is one and Jesus is also a herald of the last days. That’s when you start reading Revelation because the book of Revelation is the Revelation of Jesus Christ. It is dealing with the entire spectrum of prophecy that leads to the last days and it is Jesus.

No less a personage than the Son of God appeared to Daniel. This description is similar to that given by John when Christ was revealed to him upon the Isle of Patmos. Our Lord now comes with another heavenly messenger to teach Daniel what would take place in the latter days. This knowledge was given to Daniel and recorded by Inspiration for us upon whom the ends of the world are come (RH Feb. 8, 1881). {4BC 1173.2}

Christ, Gabriel, Daniel, are heralds of the last days.

Revelation 10:1 And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow [was] upon his head, and his face [was] as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: 2 And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and [his] left [foot] on the earth, 3 And cried with a loud voice, as [when] a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. Revelation 10:5 And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, 6 And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer:

What does that suggest? It is the end. We notice that this angel that is described is none other but Jesus Himself. This is what was revealed to John.

Revelation 1:13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks [one] like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. 14 His head and [his] hairs [were] white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes [were] as a flame of fire; 15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

Isn’t that what Daniel experienced? This is the same person none other but the Son of God. These heavenly heralds Gabriel, Jesus and Daniel were joined by other heavenly heralds. This book was opened in the hands of the angel, it was the book of Daniel. When at the time he said there will be time no longer. The book of Daniel would be closed until the end of time and now it is opened. That was chapter 10 of Revelation. Unto 2300 days then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. What does that mean? In the Hebrew sanctuary when the sanctuary was cleansed, what did that mean to the Hebrews? It was the Day of Atonement; it was a day of judgment. When it says then shall the sanctuary be cleansed, it was the commencement of the time of judgment, the judgment of the planet. In Revelation 14 there are the perils of this closing scene.

Angels (ministering spirits)

Revelation 14:6-7 And I saw another angel fly 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, Saying with a loud voice, 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.

Here is a herald of the commencement of the judgment which was written in Daniel chapter 7 where the judgment was set and the books were opened. Unto 2300 days then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. It was a particular point in time. Now is the beginning of the indignation of the Lord and it started back there under the messages of the first angel of Revelation 14. He is actually heralding the day of judgement.

Revelation 14:8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.

This world will be fraught with lack of truth and judgment under Babylon.

Revelation 14:9-10 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive [his] mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:

What was it called? It was called the beginning of the indignation, God’s wrath. Here is an angel that is heralding God’s wrath and the terrible days

There were the heralds. Not only Gabriel, not only Jesus, not only Daniel, but the angels who were coming with a message to proclaim to the whole world about this  horrible time in which we live.

Have you ever seen angels preaching in the heavens? I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach. Have you ever seen angels flying in the sky preaching to all the nations? This is very clearly an interconnection of the heavenly host with human beings.

During the past fifty years of my life, I have had precious opportunities to obtain an experience. I have had an experience in the first, second, and third angels’ messages.  {2SM 387.1}

The angels are represented as flying in the midst of heaven, proclaiming to the world a message of warning, and having a direct bearing upon the people living in the last days of this earth’s history. No one hears the voice of these angels, for they are a symbol to represent the people of God who are working in harmony with the universe of heaven. Men and women, enlightened by the Spirit of God and sanctified through the truth, proclaim the three messages in their order. {2SM 387.1}

There are people who are working with the universe of heaven. The angels in the universe are communicating as they always have to the people on the planet. Are they not all ministering spirits as it says in Hebrews? Who are they ministering to? They are ministering to humanity. As humanity harmonises with the work of the angels, what is written here about the angels flying in the midst of heaven and preaching means that the people that are working in unison with the universe of heaven are the preachers on earth. They are representing what the angels are showing them.

We are getting quite a number of heralds of the last days. There are Daniel, Gabriel, Jesus, the three angels and the people on earth who are the heralds. When did all this commence? When were the heralds coming into action? They were coming at the time appointed. They were beginning to present that this is now the beginning of the end. When was that? 1844 when the 2300 day prophecy came to its time appointed, when it came to its fulfilment. From that point onwards we are hearing a people proclaiming, using the book of Daniel (he is in his lot now), using the book of Revelation and all that is written in there is heralding the details of that time to the very coming of Jesus. They are the heralds of the end. The people stimulated by some of the prophecies of the heralds of Daniel, Gabriel. Jesus was the herald.

Nature

Matthew 24:29-31 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: 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. 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.

In the last days there are not only going to be people preaching but even nature will be preaching. Even nature will be a herald of the last days. Previous to verse 29 He gave the terrible experience of the Middle Ages. He described the Dark Ages, the tribulation in which the papacy which Pope John Paul himself apologised for, was responsible for. We are sorry for what we have done to all the people in the Middle Ages. They admit that they were the ones who created havoc in the Middle Ages.

What did Jesus say would herald the preliminaries to the time of Jesus’ return? The sun would be darkened, the moon shall be as blood and the stars will be falling from heaven.

Revelation 6:12-16 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; 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. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 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; 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:

Here is the time immediately after the persecution of the Middle Ages. What was this great earthquake that covered a huge area of this world and what time did that earthquake happen? 1755. The Portuguese still acknowledge that particular date of the great Lisbon earthquake. Here it is in Biblical prophecy. It was a herald for the last days. I was interested to hear that the Portuguese people still commemorate that date today because this was an enormous event. It covered 4 million square miles. It was a fulfilment of prophecy. Then came the Dark Day of May 19 1780. There was the dark day that covered the entire space of the United States of America. The sun rose by about 10 o’clock in the morning there was absolute blackness. It was so pitch black that you couldn’t read anything in front of your nose. That night the moon become blood red. In 1833 there was the falling of the stars from heaven. It happened in the same area because that was the Protestant area where the Protestants had escaped from Europe because of papal persecution and now God was speaking. The stars fell from heaven as a fig tree casting her untimely figs. From one end of the heavens, the stars shot out all over the sky continuously. These were the heralds of the last days.

Elijah the Prophet

To meet the dire conditions that were heralded from that time onwards, right through to the very end where we stand today, we are today the people who are living who are receiving the brunt of everything that was heralded back there. To receive understanding and help from these perils that were announced, we read in 2 Timothy 3, in the last days perilous times shall come. They will be disobedient to parents. Because that would happen, what would God do to help them?

Malachi 4:5-6 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

God says this is the time of my indignation but to help My people, I am going to send Elijah the prophet so that the generation gap that would take place in these times would be corrected. Doesn’t that exist? Is this generation gap to exist in God’s church? It is not meant to exist. He will send Elijah the prophet to turn the hearts of the older generation to the younger generation.

Luke 1:17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

What would God send? He would send Elijah the prophet to do what? Because we are living in the days where the children are disobedient to their parents, in God’s church He wants to prepare a people who will be able to stand in the day of the Lord in this terrible dark day, so He gives a prophet to help the disobedient generation and their fathers to have a relationship together in the church to prepare for the coming of the Lord. That is the picture that we are reading. This is the work that God’s church on earth must handle. The prophet would deal with that.

Back in the period of 1780, 1833, 1844, what transpired? The heralds of the three angels’ messages were being groomed and prepared. There was William Miller and his associates under the first and second angels’ messages then the great disappointment, then up came the message of the third angel. As they were experiencing that, there was a very capable preacher whose name was William Foy. He received visions. The visions were declaring the time of the end to him and he was happy to say yes, this is it. He was actually proclaiming what he saw. He was a good preacher and he proclaimed these messages as they were given in his vision. They expected Jesus to come in 1844 and that was where they made their terrible mistake. God gave him the vision to say no, there is the first platform that you are expecting but then there is a second platform and then a third platform, talking about the three angels’ messages.

William Foy thought that Jesus is coming in 1844 so that can’t be right, so he stopped preaching what he saw in the vision. They were disappointed but the Lord sent a prophet; He sent a message to him through his visions to show what was to happen. He didn’t do it. Just before the disappointment this man stopped so another man was given the same vision, Hazen Foss. Again, because they expected Jesus to come he proclaimed the first part and then he said, no I can’t do this, it doesn’t agree with me. So he stifled the vision. After the disappointment because they made this terrible mistake expecting Jesus to come in 1844, so God left them to be disappointed. It was interesting that Hazen Foss came to E.G. White and said I have rejected the vision and you have exactly the same visions that I have. You make sure you go ahead, don’t do what I did. That happened after the disappointment.

There was another fulfilment of a herald in the last days in the power of Elijah. Notice that God went to the men first and in these last days what has happened with the men? This is the most amazing thing I have watched over the last few years of my life, that somehow men get disappointed so badly when things don’t turn out the way they expect that they give up. That is what happened to William Foy and Hazen Foss, so who did God turn to? The words were to the weakest of the weak. What does the Bible declare the woman to be compared with a man? She is the weaker vessel. This woman wasn’t only the weaker vessel; she was the weakest of the weak. Those of you who know her experience know she was very weak. The Lord came to her, due to these men not receiving it to impart to her the exact same visions. When she went into vision she went through exactly the same experiences as the prophets of old. She stopped breathing, she fainted, she stood up under supernatural power and all those interesting revelations that are described in the Bible about the prophets. Then she received the vision for the last days.

I am going to read to you what Jesus told her in vision about choosing her to help us today in the power of Elijah.

One stood by my side and said: “God has raised you up and has given you words to speak to the people and to reach hearts as He has given to no other one. He has shaped your testimonies to meet cases that are in need of help. You must be unmoved by scorn, derision, reproach, and censure. {2T 607.4}

In other words, people are going to mistreat you, but don’t worry about it.  Don’t let yourself be moved.

In order to be God’s special instrument, you should lean to no one, but hang upon Him alone, and, like the clinging vine, let your tendrils entwine about Him. He will make you a means through which to communicate His light to the people. {2T 607.4}

In these dark times we will be groping around in the dark and God says, I am going to use you to illuminate the people who are in darkness and who want to see the light. We are studying here how to meet these perils. Here we have a wonderful answer.

You must daily gather strength from God in order to be fortified, that your surroundings may not dim or eclipse the light that He has permitted to shine upon His people through you. {2T 607.4}

She was going to be dwelling and living in a time of this darkness in the time of this terrible darkness. Don’t let these circumstances do that to you to put you into dimness, you persevere.

It is Satan’s special object to prevent this light from coming to the people of God, who so greatly need it amid the perils of these last days. {2T 607.4}

Do we need it in the perils of these last days? Jesus is telling her there that this is what you must do.

“God has given you your testimony, to set before the backslider and the sinner his true condition and the immense loss he is sustaining by continuing a life of sin. God has impressed this upon you by opening it before your vision as He has to no other one now living, and according to the light He has given you will He hold you responsible. ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.’ Lift up your voice like a trumpet, and show My people their transgressions, and the house of Israel their sins.” {2T 608.2}

This is the power of Elijah that was to come to help us. Here is a picture that is described for us to be encouraged to meet the difficulties that are around us.

Strange things will arise, and in your youth I set you apart to bear the message to the erring ones, to carry the word before unbelievers, and with pen and voice to reprove from the Word actions that are not right. Exhort from the Word. I will make My Word open to you. It shall not be as a strange language. {1SM 32.2}

People say today the King James Version is hard to read. He says it will not be a strange language it will be simple to understand.

In the true eloquence of simplicity, with voice and pen, the messages that I give shall be heard from one who has never learned in the schools. My Spirit and My power shall be with you. {1SM 32.2}

 Ellen White only attended primary school and that was it.

“Be not afraid of man, for My shield shall protect you. It is not you that speaketh: it is the Lord that giveth the messages of warning and reproof. Never deviate from the truth under any circumstances. Give the light I shall give you. The messages for these last days shall be written in books, and shall stand immortalized, to testify against those who have once rejoiced in the light, but who have been led to give it up because of the seductive influences of evil.” {1SM 32.3}

Those dark times in which we are living, what have people done with those messages? It has been written to show them and testify against them because they have been affected by the seductive influences of evil.

The message of Elijah has been given us to help us.

May the Holy Spirit come and prepare our hearts so that as we come to every message that we are gathered here we will hear with a clear voice from God what our dangers are and what we must do to avoid being swallowed up by them.

Revelation 19:10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See [thou do it] not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

That is what will help us in the spirit of Elijah to turn the hearts in God’s church of the parents to the children and the children to the parents and the disobedient to the hearts of the wise. May God help us that we will take hold of these messages and stand and be prepared for the coming of the Lord.

Amen.