Part 1 - PROPHETIC, PROGRESSIVE EVENTS

By Ron Foutz

FAITH OF JESUS, PROGRESSIVE EVENTS

Revelation 14:12
"Here is the patience of the saints:
here are they that keep the commandments
of God, and the faith of Jesus."  

 	All denominations- faith in Jesus. 

This faith is important for salvation. 
Our trust in His sacrifice must be the foremost foundation of  our belief. 
How did Jesus endure the cross?
What exactly is the faith of Jesus? 
And how did Jesus get this faith? 
There are many different aspects to this, yet to serve this particular study, we will discuss one certain aspect.

John 2:4
"Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come."

Matthew 26:45
 	"Then cometh He to His disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners."

John 12:23
	"And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified."

John 4:25-26
   "The woman saith unto Him, I know that the Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when He come, He will tell us all things.
	"Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am  He."

 	Jesus was not given any special advantage or special strengths to overcome sin that we cannot receive. 

Desire of Ages, 70
     “The child Jesus did not receive instruction in the synagogue schools. His mother was His first human teacher. From her lips and from the scrolls of the prophets, He learned of heavenly things. The very words which He Himself had spoken to Moses for Israel He was now taught at His mother's knee. As He advanced from childhood to youth, He did not seek the schools of the rabbis. He needed not the education to be obtained from such sources; for God was His instructor...  
      “Every child may gain knowledge as Jesus did.”

How did He know that He was the Messiah? 
How did He know that  his hour had not yet come? 
And when it did come, how did He know?
 
Hated and persecuted by His own people.
He sweat great drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane.
He was in Pilate's judgment hall.
It was His faith that He depended on. 

While hanging on the cross, when He asked, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?",
Hearing the people say, "If He be the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him".
What kept Him up on the cross. 
His faith. 
This is the faith of Jesus. 
This is the same faith we are to have in the last days. 
It will be with this faith that we will be able to endure the persecutions without an Intercessor.

But how did Jesus get this faith? 
He pointed this out to His disciples, so that they could have understanding.

Luke 24:44-46
 	"And He said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning Me.
  	"Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
		"And said unto them, Thus it is written...." 
                                                                  
Luke 2:51-52
	"And He went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them:but His mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
	"And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man."
                                                                                                                                            
 	Jesus studied the prophecies that did and would concern Him. 
As He studied, He came into a faith that He could rely on in His time of trouble. 
These were the current events concerning His day. 
Should we also do as Jesus did to gain this particular type of faith that we know we will need? 
He knew the terrible things that He was to endure. 
He also knew the signs of the times. 
He knew what and when these things were to happen.

	We have an opportunity to also study the prophecies concerning our day, and the current events, so we too can be aware of the signs of the times. 
Jesus spoke of reading and understanding the book of Daniel. Matt. 24:15.
The last few verses of chapter 11 and verse 12 in its entirety deal with our day. 
The prophecies that were shut up are now open for our study and understanding. 
Could this knowledge that is spoken of in Daniel 12:4 be an increase of awareness of today's current events? 
Do current events verify the fulfillment of prophecy? 
Do we have an opportunity to gain this same faith that Jesus had? 
Could this faith help us in the 'time of trouble' which is soon to come upon the world? 
And is this faith of Jesus important to receiving the seal of God?  

Rev. 6:17 - Who shall be able to stand?

Daniel Chapter 8

Prophets and Kings, p.554
	"Through another vision further light was thrown upon the events of the future; and it was at the close of this vision that Daniel heard "one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision?" Daniel 8:13. The answer that was given, "Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed" (verse 14), filled him with perplexity. Earnestly he sought for the meaning of the vision. He could not understand the relation sustained by the seventy years' captivity, as foretold through Jeremiah, to the twenty-three hundred years that in vision he heard the heavenly visitant declare should elapse before the cleansing of God's sanctuary. The angel Gabriel gave him a partial interpretation; yet when the prophet heard the words, "The vision . . . shall be for many days," he fainted away. "I Daniel fainted," he records of his experience, "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.
	"Still burdened in behalf of Israel, Daniel studied anew the prophecies of Jeremiah....
	"With faith founded on the sure word of prophecy, Daniel pleaded with the Lord for the speedy fulfillment of these promises. He pleaded for the honor of God to be preserved. In his petition he identified himself fully with those who had fallen short of the divine purpose, confessing their sins as his own."

1844 Disappointment

The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4, p.241-242
    "When the year 1843 entirely passed away unmarked by the advent of Jesus, those who had looked in faith for His appearing were for a time left in doubt and perplexity. But not withstanding their disappointment, many continued to search the Scriptures, examining anew the evidences of their faith, and carefully studying the prophecies to obtain further light. Signs which could not be mistaken pointed to the coming of Christ as near. The believers could not explain their disappointment; yet they felt assured that God had led them in their past experience.
    "Their faith was greatly strengthened by the direct and forcible application of those Scriptures which set forth a tarrying time... 
    "The waiting ones rejoiced that He who knows the end from the beginning had looked down through the ages, and, foreseeing their disappointment, had given them words of courage and hope. Had it not been for such portions of Scripture, showing that they were in the right path, their faith would have failed in that trying hour."
		
B.C. vol. 7, p.970
	“Strive to Be Among the 144,000. (Rev. 7:9-17 quoted.) Those whom the Lamb shall lead by the fountains of
living waters, and from whose eyes He shall wipe away all tears, will be those now receiving the knowledge and understanding revealed in the Bible, the Word of God.”

How did they find these portions of scripture? They STUDIED.
Prophecies
5Testimonies, p.452
   "God has revealed what is to take place in the last days, that [1] His people may be prepared to stand against the tempest of opposition and wrath [personal preparation]. Those who have been warned of the events before them are not to sit in calm expectation of the coming storm, comforting themselves that the Lord will shelter His faithful ones in the day of trouble.  [2] We are to be as men waiting for their Lord, not in idle expectancy, but in earnest work, with unwavering faith [warning the world]."    

Seal of God
Early Writings  85,86
     This view was given in 1847 when there were but very few of the Advent brethren observing the Sabbath, and of these but few supposed that its observance was of sufficient importance to draw a line between the people of God and unbelievers. Now the fulfilment of that view is beginning to be seen. "The commencement of that time of trouble," here mentioned does not refer to the time when the plagues shall begin to be poured out, but to a short period just before they are poured out, while Christ is in the sanctuary. At that time, while the work of salvation is closing, trouble will be coming on the earth, and the nations will be angry, yet held in check so as not to prevent the work of the third angel. At that time the "latter rain," or refreshing from the presence of the Lord, will come, [1] to give power to the loud voice of the third angel, and [2] prepare the saints to stand in the period when the seven last plagues shall be poured out.

END-TIME PROPHECIES AND EVENTS
                                                                                                                                                                                     Revelation 3:13-22                                                   
   We are to have a revival in the Seventh-Day Adventist church.

Selected Messages
book 1, p.121
 	"A revival of true Godliness among us is the greatest and most urgent of all our needs. To seek this should be our first work."      
                                                                                               
Review and Herald
   Feb. 25, 1902
   "A revival and a reformation must take place, under the ministration of the Holy Spirit. Revival and reformation are two different things. Revival signifies a renewal of spiritual life, a quickening of the powers of mind and heart, a resurrection from spiritual death. Reformation signifies a reorganization, a change in ideas and theories, habits and practices. Reformation will not bring forth the good fruit of righteousness unless it is connected with a revival of the Spirit. Revival and reformation are to do their appointed work, and in doing this work they must blend."

   This revival needs to be accompanied with a reformation. 
These two things will be accomplished through an understanding of the book Revelation. 
And what book is to be studied with Revelation? The book of Daniel. 
What are the topics that we are to understand? 
The topics contained in prophecies, as we will see. 
	The knowledge God blesses us with should instill the urgency for  
1) Personal preparation, and 
2) the urgency to take the three angel's message to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.
Revelation 1:3
Matt.24:15

Testimonies to Ministers, p.113
   "When we as a people understand what this book [Revelation] means to us, there will be seen among us a great revival." 

Acts of the Apostles, p.585
   "In the Revelation all the books of the Bible meet and end. Here is the complement of the book Daniel. One is a prophecy; the other a revelation."

The Faith I Live By, p. 345
   "When the books of Daniel and Revelation are better understood, believers will have an entirely different experience. They will be given such glimpses of the open gates of heaven that heart and mind will be impressed with the character that all must develop in order to realize the blessedness which is to be the reward of the pure in heart....One thing will certainly be understood from the study of Revelation--that the connection between God and His people is close and decided."

5Testimonies, p.452
   "God has revealed what is to take place in the last days, that His people may be prepared to stand against the tempest of opposition and wrath [personal preparation]. Those who have been warned of the events before them are not to sit in calm expectation of the coming storm, comforting themselves that the Lord will shelter His faithful ones in the day of trouble. We are to be as men waiting for their Lord, not in idle expectancy, but in earnest work, with unwavering faith [warning the world]. It is no time to allow our minds to be engrossed with things of minor importance. While men are sleeping, Satan is actively arranging matters so the Lord's people may not have mercy or justice. The Sunday movement is now making its way in darkness. The leaders are concealing the true issue, and many who unite in the movement do not themselves see whither the undercurrent is tending. Its professors are mild and apparently Christian,  but when it shall speak it will reveal the spirit of the dragon. It is our duty to do all in our power to advert the threatened danger. We should endeavor to disarm prejudice by placing ourselves in a proper light before the people. We should bring before them the real question at issue, thus interposing the most effectual protest against measures to restrict liberty of conscience. We should search the Scriptures and be able to give reason for our faith. Says the prophet: 'The wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand'."    

Selected Messages, 
book 2, p.105
   "The book that was sealed was not the book of Revelation, but that portion of the prophecy of Daniel which related to the last days. The Scripture says, 'But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.' Daniel 12:4. When the book was opened, the proclamation was made, 'Time shall be no longer.' See Revelation 10:6. The book of Daniel is now unsealed, and the revelation made by Christ to John is to come to all inhabitants of the earth. By the increase of knowledge a people is to be prepared to stand in the latter days."

   In the same book as quoted above, Sister White identifies one of the topics of which knowledge would be increased on.

Selected Messages,
book 2, p.106
   "In the first angel's message men are called upon to worship God, our Creator, who made the world and all things that are therein. They have paid homage to an institution of the Papacy, making of no effect the Law of Jehovah, but there is to be an increase of knowledge on this subject."

* Matt. 24:15 - stand in the Holy Place

Review and Herald
April 4, 1893
"The events of the future will be discerned by prophecy and will be understood."

Progressive Events

   The Sunday law that forces the conscience is the TEST of obedience that determines who receives the seal of God or the mark of the beast.

Manuscript 118, 1899
   "Sundaykeeping is not yet the mark of the beast, and will not be until the decree goes forth causing men to worship this idol sabbath. The time will come when this day will be the test, but that time has not come yet."

Evangelism 234-235
   "None are condemned until they have had the light and have seen the obligation [Matt. 28:19 - how will they see it?] of the Fourth Commandment. But when the decree shall go forth enforcing the counterfeit sabbath, and the loud cry of the third angel shall warn men against the worship of the beast and his image, the line will be clearly drawn between the false and the true. Then those who still continue in transgression will receive the mark of the beast." 

   When the papal sabbath, Sunday, becomes enacted legislation, it will then be the last test brought upon us as a test of faith.
Pass this test, receive the seal of God.
Fail this test, receive the mark of the beast. 
Since this is the final test, there must be other tests prior to this test. 

Great Controversy p.605
   "The Sabbath will be the great test of loyalty, for it is the point of truth especially controverted. When the final test shall be brought to bear upon men, then the line of distinction will be drawn between those who serve God and those who serve Him not."

   God has tests for His people that He allows to happen to prove how much His people believe in Him,  to build their faith in preparation for greater tests. 

Do we accept that He has our best interest in our growth in what He allows to happen to us? 
Do we use the blessings He gave us to accomplish His will? 
Do we search out the object lesson that is contained in these tests? 
Do we react to the test with the shortness of time, and the reward of eternity in mind? 
This is called purification. The Lord's chosen methods of discipline.   See Ministry of Healing, p.471

5Testimonies p.261
   "God tests men, some in one way, and some in another. He tests some by bestowing upon them His rich bounties, and others by withholding His favors. He proves the rich to see if they will love God, the Giver, and their neighbor as themselves. When man makes a right use of these bounties, God is pleased; He can then trust him with greater responsibilities. The Lord reveals Man's relative estimate of time and eternity, of earth and heaven."

 	Tests are progressive. 
One test prepares us for the next test, like little quizzes, ultimately leading up to the final test, which we receive either the seal of God, or the mark of the beast, depending on our reaction to this last test.

*****************************************

	The SUNDAY LAW is progressive, first being signed and enacted in the United States, then the other nations of the world follow.
Rev.13:11-14

6T 18    
"As America, the land of religious liberty, shall unite with the papacy in forcing the conscience and compelling men to honor the false sabbath, the people of every country on the globe will be led to follow her example."

6T 395
  "Foreign nations will follow the example of the United States. Though she leads out, yet the same crisis will come upon our people in all parts of the world."

*************************************************

	The PUNISHMENT for disobedience to the Sunday law is progressive, starting out mild, then becoming more severe.  
Rev. 13  --  can't buy or sell, progresses to death decree.
	
Maranatha, p.188
   "In the last conflict the Sabbath will be the special point of controversy throughout all Christendom. Secular rulers and religious leaders will unite to enforce the observance of the Sunday; and as milder measures fail, the most oppressive laws will be enacted. It will be urged that the few who stand in opposition to an institution of the church and a law of the land ought not to be tolerated."

***************************************************
Hebrews 9:27

   The  JUDGMENT is progressive, beginning with the dead, moving to the living.
When judgment of the living begins, it starts in the house of God, the Seventh-day Adventist church.

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."

1Peter 4:17
   "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?"

1)  Sunday law is progressive, beginning in the United States. 

2) Tests are progressive, ending with the National Sunday Law test (first in the United States), which will be the last test, determining our eternal destination.

3) Judgment of the living is progressive, beginning in the Seventh-day Adventist church. 

(A=B, & B=C, then A  also = C)

Putting these three truths together, judgment of the living must begin with those in the Seventh-day Adventist church located in the United States, around the time of the enactment of the National Sunday Law, being the final test.
Seventh-day Adventists in the United States are next in the book of life to be  judged. 

	It is at the time when those who receive the seal of God that they then receive the latter rain in full. 
Their (S.D.A. in the U.S.) probation has closed. 

Early Writings, 33
	“I saw that God had children who do not see and keep the Sabbath. They have not rejected the light upon it. And at the commencement of the time of trouble, we were filled with the Holy Ghost as we went forth and proclaimed the Sabbath more fully. This enraged the churches and nominal Adventists, as they could not refute the Sabbath truth. And at this time God's chosen all saw clearly that we had the truth, and they came out and endured the persecution with us.:

PAGE 85 in reference to p. 33
	" 'The commencement of that time of trouble,' here mentioned, does not refer to the time when the plagues shall begin to be poured out, but to a short period just before they are poured out, while Christ is in the sanctuary. At that time, while the work of salvation is closing, trouble will be coming on the earth, and the nations will be angry, yet held in check so as not to prevent the work of the third angel. At that time the 'latter rain,' or refreshing from the presence of the Lord, will come, to give power to the loud voice of the third angel, and prepare the saints to stand in the period when the seven last plagues shall be poured out."
It is at this time that they proclaim the Sabbath more fully and call God's sheep out of the other churches, whose probation is still open. 
This will be repeated again throughout the entire world as the Sunday law becomes world-wide.

5Testimonies, p. 214
   "Not one of us will ever receive the seal of God while our characters have one spot or stain upon them. It is left with us to remedy the defects in our characters, to cleanse the soul temple of every defilement. Then the latter rain will fall upon us as the early rain fell upon the disciples on the Day of Pentecost."

   Revelation 7:1-4
  Revelation 14:1-5

Part 2 -  The Image, The Law

Part 3 - Universal Image, Spiritualism