By John Thiel, Removing Delusions and Fallacies Series, mp3

Scripture reading: 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.

When errors come into our ranks, we are not to enter into controversy over them. We are to present the message of reproof and then lead the minds of the people away from fanciful, erroneous ideas, presenting the truth in contrast with error. {20MR 307.3}

Let those who have been deluded give up all their fallacies. The love of Jesus will not endure such rivals. {20MR 307.5}

As we scan prophecy in regards to what people hold on to as their church, there is something which we are in danger of doing as well: just because we hold to a certain tenet of Scripture and certain ideas we might begin to think that, This is the church that will go through to the end. How carefully then we must examine this subject not to be deluded. We are to put away our fanciful delusions and fallacies, and have a correct appreciation.

A Time That Will Never Come

Are we hoping to see the whole church revived? That time will never come. {1SM 122.1}

There are persons in the church who are not converted, and who will not unite in earnest, prevailing prayer. We must enter upon the work individually. We must pray more, and talk less. {1SM 122.2}

Some hold to the belief that there is going to be a church organisation where the whole church is revived. This is a delusion. That time will never come.

Prophecy helps us to come out of this delusion; the word of God helps us to put away this fallacy. God speaks here to the true follower of Jesus:

Isaiah 8:13 Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and [let] him [be] your fear, and [let] him [be] your dread. 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.

Do you notice something interesting here? Both the houses of Israel will stumble. The Lord will be “for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel.” In the time of the Old Testament, Israel was the church, and it came to a certain point where the church split up and there was the ten tribes on one side and the two tribes on the other. Judah and Benjamin had their capital in Jerusalem; they were the true faithful ones. The other ten tribes had become very corrupt. But according to this statement these two houses would find a stumbling stone, a rock of offense, in the Lord; He would be “for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.”

Isaiah 8:15 And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.

This Old Testament lineup of the two houses of Israel is an interesting ongoing reality in the progressive years of God’s church from the time of the Israelites and the national church through to the Christian churches.

Striking Parallels

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}

The present movements 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. So when it speaks of the two houses of Israel, as we go through history, there is a parallel for us to acknowledge and appreciate in the present time. For the experience of the church at the present time the experience of the church in the past has something to display before our mind’s eye.

Salvation is of the Jews

The woman at the well came from Samaria, which was the capital of the fallen tribes. She said to Jesus:

John 4:19 …Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. 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. 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. 24 God [is] a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship [him] in spirit and in truth.

Here lies a very important guideline in regards to the two houses of Israel and the history of the church ever since in parallel to this. Jesus declared that the Jewish church at that time knew what they worshipped, and He said that “salvation is of the Jews.” So Jesus said that the Jews as a church brought salvation to the people. But then He said, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth.”

So neither in the mountain of Jerusalem nor in the mountain of Samaria will there be salvation ultimately; but it will be with those who worship the Lord in spirit and in truth. This announcement of Jesus was the launching out of the Christian church that was soon to take its path. As the early Christian church came to prominence as an organised company, ultimately that faithful discipleship died and the new generation came up and it finally developed into the papacy – the Roman Catholic Church. And then, as the history continued, just like the organisations of Samaria (the ten fallen tribes) and of the Jewish church (the faithful ones) both continued, so the papal church became a fallen house, and the faithful disciples continued.

But then, in the midst of the Middle Ages, came the Protestants, and they arose and stood faithful, like the faithful souls who, all along, had always been holding on to the pure truth and proclaiming it under persecution. So you have then two houses, the Catholics, the papal church, and the Protestant churches.

Then, as history continues, papal and Protestant churches both fall; this is the period of Sardis: You have a name that you live, and are dead. Protestantism loses its position, and ‘Babylon is fallen’ applies to them as well. And up arises the Adventist people, and they become an organised church. So now you have them as God’s church. But then this church also becomes corrupted. And up arises during the First World War the Seventh-day Adventist Reform Movement. Now you have a fallen Seventh-day Adventist people and a faithful Seventh-day Adventist people – two houses again.

As we move on from that time, we then end up at the very end with these two Adventists churches, and what else is to happen? What does the prophecy say? The two houses will both stumble.

If Jesus was asked by a mainstream Seventh-day Adventist today, like He was asked by the woman at the well, which of these two organisations was the right one, what would Jesus answer? How would Jesus answer that question? Which church would He be with? Would He not say, The day is coming that neither in this mountain nor in that mountain you will worship God?

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.

Until when? Unto the end of the world. When Jesus said this, it was the birth of the faithful people. These words of Isaiah are applicable to this:

Isaiah 8:16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.

As the two houses of Israel crumble and are broken and snared, His disciples are there. And Jesus said, I am with My true disciples to the end of the world. Through the history the falling and the breaking and the snaring of the two houses of Israel has been repeated through every generation, and we come now to the last generation, where there are two houses of Adventism, two Seventh-day organisations.

Jesus said, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” What would He answer in reference to those two churches? Is the church of Judah and Benjamin the Reform, or is there anything else? To the angel of the church of the Laodiceans Jesus says, You do not know that you are poor, wretched, blind. As Sr. White clearly identifies, the Laodicean condition applies to the Seventh-day Adventist church. This is a church that is in a stumbling state. But then there is the any man, and Jesus stands at the door and knocks:

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.

Is this the church that He is with – the any man? Are these the ones of whom He can say, Salvation is of this people? Then comes the other angel, not the third, but the fourth:

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.

Here is another movement after the third angel movement. This is pointed by the Spirit of God at a people who have separated from a fallen, Laodicean people in the First World War. Sister White says this other angel commenced in 1888. As we reached the turn of the century, the picture developed into a war in Europe and a separation of Seventh-day Adventists one from another – the people who appreciated the seriousness of the message of 1888, and those who did not.

The Church Militant

Is this church of 1888, those faithful people, perfect?

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}

A church, as an organisation, has in it imperfect members and others who are faithfully following the Lord. There are faulty members in the church. Therefore, will there ever be an organised church that is absolutely pure?

Has God no living church? He has a church, but it is the church militant, not the church triumphant. We are sorry that there are defective members, that there are tares amid the wheat. {TM 45.1}

The church of Christ on earth will be imperfect, but God does not destroy His church because of its imperfection. There have been and will be those who are filled with zeal not according to knowledge, who would purify the church, and uproot the tares from the midst of the wheat. But Christ has given special light as to how to deal with those who are erring, and with those who are unconverted in the church. {TM 46.1}

The church from 1888 through to the separation in 1914 is still not a perfect church; it is not the church triumphant. It has members in there that are imperfect.

Although there are evils existing in the church, and will be until the end of the world, the church in these last days is to be the light of the world that is polluted and demoralized by sin. {TM 49.1}

These are Jesus’ answers in regards to the church. In Sr. White’s time the church was not perfect, and yet, just like the Jews, Jesus said, Salvation is of this church.

Now we come to the split because of the war issue, we come to all the degeneracy and the falling of the Seventh-day Adventist church, and that church which was separated in 1914 continues and develops into an organisation, and again the same principle happens. This church is still enfeebled and defective, but salvation is of the Jews.

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

As we live in these last days and the organisation of reforming Seventh-day Adventists comes to the last close of time, what would we expect? False brethren will be found in the church till the close of time. So we want to examine very closely to see how prophecy deals with this problem, and how God wants His church to stand one day as a church triumphant.

Jesus said, Salvation is of the Jews; but the Jewish church had leaders of a very objectionable character.

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

This was the leadership of the church in Jesus’ day, the very church which He had declared to be the source of salvation. They sit in Moses’ seat; they actually bid you to do things which Jesus says you should do, because “salvation is of the Jews.” They are leaders that are themselves corrupt, and at that time Jesus was saying, Although they are corrupt, do as they say; just don’t do as they do. How could Jesus say that? And how could He say it in reference to today’s churches that have also become corrupted in the leadership?

Zephaniah 3:1 Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city! 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. 4 Her prophets [are] light [and] treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.

The description of this state of thing is shocking; but then God says:

Zephaniah 3:5 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. 

When in the times of Zephaniah the Jewish church was there in its corruptions, God said, “I am still here in the midst thereof. I will not do iniquity. While they fail, salvation is still of the Jews; I am not throwing them out yet;” just like He did not throw Judas out, and just like He didn’t throw Ananias and Sapphira out. He was patiently longsuffering with the Jewish church, until He would come in person. But He was there in the midst of them through the Holy Spirit. It is His church militant. He and His body are within the church militant. And so it is in each generation – there is spiritual decay and the arising of the faithful, and again, decay and the arising of the faithful. The oppression in each particular decaying church is extreme.

A Remnant

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.

In the midst of these churches, as generation went on, the faithful ones were in their midst. And then there came a point in time when these people were removed out of their midst; and that was when the church totally fell and they were no longer God’s church. This is what happened to the Jews. They eradicated out of their midst the disciples, and they became a fallen church, so much so that they are no longer the people of whom God can say, Salvation is of the Jews. They weren’t relevant anymore. But at the time when Jesus was speaking they were the place where salvation could be found. So it is repeated generation after generation.

Today we have those two houses, the one that broke the Sabbath entirely and the “Thou shalt not kill” in the First World War, and the one that went out back then. But now we are in the third and fourth generation of this Reform Movement that stood firm and faithful in the beginning. And what do we see the remnant doing in the midst of those organisations? We see here this sealing angel, and who is he sealing?

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. 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 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. 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:

Here is the church in the sealing time. The sealing comes to its conclusion, because these people who are the faithful ones in the church are sighing and crying for the sins that are done within the church. And we can see that they are living at the last end, because straight after that, the ones with the slaughter weapons kill every one.

Ezekiel 9:6 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.

This is a time at the very end when the corrupt church is being finally slaughtered; but before that happens there is a sealing of the faithful flock that is within, and what does prophecy continue to unfold?

The Little Company

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. 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}

There is a little company who are standing in the light, the remnant. They are sighing and crying for the abominations in the church, let alone in the land.

The earnest prayers of this faithful few will not be in vain. When the Lord comes forth as an avenger, He will also come as a protector of all those who have preserved the faith in its purity and kept themselves unspotted from the world. It is at this time that God has promised to avenge His own elect which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them. {5T 210.1}

We are coming to the very conclusion of the history of the church, and we see that there is a little company who stands faithful. It has preserved the faith in its purity, and they have kept themselves unspotted from the world. We want to understand exactly what they are doing. They are sighing and crying for the sins which are being committed, and they are upholding the pure doctrine and the faith.

What are the others who are corrupting themselves doing? What transpires with those who are deluded and who say, We are God’s people, in contrast to those who are faithful in every respect? The faithful ones are upholding the pure truth, preaching and receiving the power of the Holy Spirit; and as they do this, how do the others respond to them?

The baptism of the Holy Ghost as on the day of Pentecost will lead to a revival of true religion, and to the performance of many wonderful works. Heavenly intelligences will come among us, and men and women will speak as they are moved upon by the Holy Spirit of God. {CTr 371.4}

As we come to the end, the loud cry is given by those who receive the latter rain, the Holy Ghost; and as they receive it, they are faithful.

Experiences of Rejection

But should the Lord work upon people 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.” They would say of those who were filled with the Spirit, “They are filled with new wine”. {CTr 371.4}

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.” {CTr 371.5}

This is the picture of what God’s people will experience if they stand faithful and true, and how they are met by those who are in a state of moral fall in the organisation.

When angels of heaven come among us and work through human agents, there will be solid, substantial conversions, after the order of the conversions of the day of Pentecost. Now . . . be careful and do not go into 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. {CTr 371.6}

Here you see a distinction taking place, as it has in the past. What happened to the disciples? They were told by those who were in leadership and by those who were part of the recognised church at the time, You’ve been affected by new wine; you’re all fanatics! This is exactly the same scenario today.

The opposition which Christ received came from his own nation [His church], 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}

What happened in the time of Christ will happen at the very end again. After Christ had left, His disciples received the outpouring of the former rain, and now both He and they were rejected by the professed church. And as we have read, these experiences will be repeated time and time again.

Isaiah 66:2 For all those [things] hath mine hand made, and all those [things] have been, saith the LORD: but to this [man] will I look, [even] to [him that is] poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

To whom will God look? To the organisation? No; to those who are poor and contrite, a poor and afflicted people. What will happen to them again at this time?

Isaiah 66:5 Hear the word of the LORD, ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name’s sake, said, Let the LORD be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed.

Isn’t that what happened to the early church? They were cast out of their churches. So it is at the end. There is nothing new under the sun. This faithful company will not be tolerated in a church that has altered its doctrines and practice and ends up in the ways of the world.

The question is this, Why are they doing this? Why are they casting God’s people out for His name’s sake?

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. 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. 

Don’t say that. You see, this is the problem. “This is God’s church. What we teach and what we proclaim is true;” and those who don’t agree with them they will throw them out. “The temple of the Lord are we!” they say. Can you see the delusion, the fallacy? They claim to be God’s church and they dismantle those who are seeking to uphold pure doctrine. This is the unfolding of events.

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. 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}

They claimed to be the children of Abraham, they claimed to be the church; and yet they were disowned by God. Is this not the fallacy and the delusion of the churches of today? “The Seventh-day Adventist church is not God’s church anymore; we are,” says the Reform. This is the delusion: “We are the favoured ones.”

And what do they do with those who seek to stand faithful? They dismantle them. So we have a repetition of the two houses of Israel at the very end.

As the light and life of men was rejected by the ecclesiastical authorities in the days of Christ, so it has been rejected in every succeeding generation. Again and again the history of Christ’s withdrawal from Judea has been repeated. When the Reformers preached the word of God, they had no thought of separating themselves from the established church; but the religious leaders would not tolerate the light, and those that bore it were forced to seek another class, who were longing for the truth. In our day few of the professed followers of the Reformers are actuated by their spirit. Few are listening for the voice of God, and ready to accept truth in whatever guise it may be presented. Often those who follow in the steps of the Reformers are forced to turn away from the churches they love, in order to declare the plain teaching of the word of God. And many times those who are seeking for light are by the same teaching obliged to leave the church of their fathers, that they may render obedience. {DA 232.2}

This historic unfolding of events goes right through to the very detailed end when probation closes.

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, 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}

It happens right through to the end, and Jesus says, I am with you even unto the end. He is with those who will be disfellowshipped because they are not tolerated by the churches, and He will disown those who have become churches and claim, “The temple of the Lord are we, therefore you who do not agree with us have to be disfellowshipped.”

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. 4 For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live: 5 But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beersheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nought.

God’s people are clearly told, “You are going to be separated; don’t go to Bethel, because the city, the church, has fallen. Don’t go to Gilgal. Don’t go there! because they are in captivity; they will come to nought. Salvation is not from them.”

Three Steps of Separations

Let us see how prophecy proceeds in four different circumstances.

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. 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

The Adventist church comes ultimately to the point where He says, I have to leave them and go to any man.

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.

You have first the turning away from the Laodicean ministry to the any man. One is faithful, the other is not. But is that the end of the scenario? No.

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. 22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Here it is – three steps of separations. Adventists, spewed out; reformers of 1888, and then any man that opens the door. But out of that company, he that overcomes. This is one scenario: the angel of Laodicea, the any man, the overcomer.

Then we come to exactly the same prophetic layout:

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.

First you have the church/Laodicea, which is like the Jewish church, then the seed, which is the offspring of that organisation; but this is not the last one. It is the remnant of her seed. Three sections again. In the time of Israel you had the ten tribes of Israel, the two tribes, and the disciples.

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,

We have then the description of the terrible condition of the world that we can see today, and then:

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.

You have first the movement of the third angel, then comes the movement of the fourth angel, and then comes the voice from heaven.

The work is soon to close. The members of the church militant who have proved faithful will become the church triumphant. {Ev 707.1}

How?

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. {FE 179.3}

So the faithful ones will become the church triumphant, and the others who are Christlike must join the church triumphant. This is exactly the same as the picture of the ten virgins. The five wise ones will join the bridal party. Who are they? The bridal party are the faithful ones who are preaching the pure message, and the others join them. There it is in all its beauty.

My Dove, My Undefiled

Those who worship God in spirit and in truth will be identified at the very end in harmony with the following scripture. There are so many churches, so many organisations today that fit the picture exactly; and out of all these organisations there is one company that is standing in the light.

Song of Solomon 6:9 My dove, my undefiled is [but] one; she [is] the [only] one of her mother, she [is] the choice [one] of her that bare her. 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?

His dove, His undefiled; she was the seed of her mother. These faithful ones that come out at the very end are summarised here.

God has a church. It is not the great cathedral, neither is it the national establishment, neither is it the various denominations; 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” (Matthew 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} 

And when that church finally stands, it is called the church triumphant because they have triumphantly come through all their conflicts. What are we told in reference to this church at the end?

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

What sort of a people? Little known to the Catholics? All the organisations are well known to the Catholics; but these people have been so extricated by the pure truth (like the disciples were in the time of Christ) that they are very few in number, the remnant of the woman’s seed. They are the church triumphant; why? Because they have the love, compassion, and beauty of Christ, plus His truth; and they stand there little known to the Catholics. And when this obscure people stands in the courts because they have been brought face to face with the laws of the land, they will be the ones to give the last and final loud cry.

May God help us, because we see that we are living in this time; we cannot avoid it. It is a reality that calls upon us to focus upon our responsibility in the wonderful work of Jesus for our personal salvation. And while we still have some perfecting to do in our lives, we don’t go around claiming, The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are we! We simply uphold the truth and let the truth do the work; we don’t point to ourselves at all. May God help us to be that pure and obscure people.

Amen.

(Painting: The Shipwreck (Кораблекрушение) by Ivan Aivazovsky, 1884. Public Domain)