Posts Tagged ark

My story began about 5 years before all of these major disasters began to increase in number and intensity.

When I prayed to learn the truth’s in God’s Word with an urgency and sincerity, the Lord answered. I believe He did because He knows our time is short. Just as the door of the ark was closed before the flood, our time will run out. The Bible says it will be as in the days of Noah.

Is it a coincidence that God brought me out of error into the Church that has the very mission of giving people  His very last message to the world?

The Great Controversy page 606 says, – Thus the message of the third angel will be proclaimed. As the time comes for it to be given with greatest power, the Lord will work through humble instruments, leading the minds of those who consecrate themselves to His service. The laborers will be qualified rather by the unction of His Spirit than by the training of literary institutions. {GC 606.2}

“There will be those among us who will always want to control the work of God, to dictate even what movements shall be made when the work goes forward under the direction of the angel who joins the third angel in the message to be given to the world. God will use ways and means by which it will be seen that He is taking the reins in His own hands. The workers will be surprised by the simple means that He will use to bring about and perfect His work of righteousness.”–Testimonies to Ministers, p. 300. (1885)

By looking back in history, we will see where and when God’s Truth has been gradually restored.

Why did it have to be restored?

“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.” Daniel 8:11

“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 practised, and prospered.” Daniel 8:12

“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?” Daniel 8:13

“And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” Daniel 8:14

New Living Translation says:  “then the Temple will be made right again.”
New American Standard states:  “then the holy place will be properly restored.”

Who was it that cast God’s truth to the ground?

The first beast of Revelation 13, the little horn, the antichrist power. Call it what you like. The Roman Church – The Papacy with the Pope at it’s leader.
Roman Catholic Church Casts Down the Heavenly Sanctuary
1) They cast down the altar of sacrifice, where we go to Jesus alone for forgiveness, by saying, “You need to come to us and ask our priests for forgiveness and you need to eat the eucharist” (which represented a CONTINUAL sacrifice of Christ – opposing the Bible truth about Christ being sacrificed ONCE ONLY).

2) They cast down the laver of water, representing Bible baptism by full emersion by saying, “We will “sprinkle” you as a baby with “holy” water to be saved.

3) They cast down the table of showbread, which represents the Word of God by trying to destroy the Bible during the dark ages, and said, “come to us and we will teach you, the church is ABOVE the Word of God”.

4) They cast down the seven branch candlestick, which represents God’s people shining the light of Jesus to the world, by chasing God’s people into the wilderness, persecuting them and killing them. Satan, through the Roman Catholic Church, during her 1260 year reign was trying to put out the light of God, by persecuting and killing God’s people or forcing them to reject Bible truth and bow down to Roman Church – The Papal authority.

5) They cast down the altar of incense, which represents the prayers of God’s people through Jesus Christ ALONE, by saying, “pray to the dead “saints” and pray to Mary, the “mother of God”.

6) The GRAND FINALE, they cast down the ark of the covenant in the most holy place where God dwells, which has God’s law, the ten commandments inside, with their own altered “version” of that law. They changed the Sabbath commandment from the 7th day to the first day, Sunday, and took away the second commandment to do with idols.

Also interestingly, the most holy place is where our Heavenly Father dwells, and yet the Roman Catholic Church also has a man at the head of the church called, “holy father”.
1. The Altar of Sacrifice (Justification by Faith) – Cast Down
2. The Laver of Water (Baptism by Full Emersion) – Cast Down
3. The Candlestick (True Gospel Witnessing) – Cast Down
4. The Table of Shewbread (Studying the Word of God) – Cast Down
5. The Altar of Incense (Praying only through Christ Jesus) – Cast Down
6. The Ark of the Covenant (Keeping the Ten Commandments) – Cast Down

Do you see what the Catholic church had done to the heavenly sanctuary, and the “daily” ministration of Christ Jesus our High Priest?

They cast it down to the ground and trampled upon it and treated it as an unholy thing. Through the Papal church,  Satan tried to do away with God’s plan of salvation and replace it with his own false version.
The Bible shows us that the earthly Old Testament sanctuary was abolished and Jesus started ministering in the ORIGINAL heavenly sanctuary, which is why God tells us to “seek those things which are above”. ( See Colossians 3:1)

But what did the Roman Church do?

They brought it back down to earth! And said to the people, “don’t look to heaven for salvation, LOOK TO US.“  Daniel 8:12 says, they ‘cast the truth to the ground and practised and prospered.’

Notice what else it says about the little horn … Daniel 8:24 …’ And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.’ … His power is mighty, BUT NOT BY HIS OWN POWER.

How was the Papacy so powerful during their reign?

They were just a bunch of priests! It’s because they had the backing of the government/civil powers! And the Papacy used the civil powers to destroy the “holy people” and replace the sanctuary message and the great plan of salvation!
Now, how long would this continue for?

In Daniel 7 it says that the little horn would continue for 1260 days (1260 literal years), which started in 538 and ended in 1798. Now God had a plan to restore the truth of His sanctuary. God always has a plan! But He wasn’t going to restore the full truth to one generation of people. He decided to do it in steps over a period of time through different people.

So when did this restoration project begin?
In 1382 with a man named John Wycliffe, (the morning star of the reformation) who translated the Bible into the common language so that the masses could find out the truth for themselves. What article of furniture in the sanctuary did this restore? The table of showbread (Word of God).

Then in the early 1500′s God raised up a man called Martin Luther, who preached the truth about Justification by faith. This restored the altar of sacrifice, having faith in the sacrifice of Jesus for salvation.

In the 1530′s a man named John Calvin joined the reformation and one of his main focuses was the importance of prayer. This restored the altar of incense.

Then in 1609 the Baptist church was founded by a man called John Smith. And guess what article of furniture in the sanctuary they restored?  The laver of water (baptism by full emersion).

Then in the 1700′s John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church, with strong emphasis on evangelism, restored the seven branch candlestick (witnessing, a light to the world).

1. The Table of Shewbread (Studying the Word of God) – RESTORED!
2. The Altar of Sacrifice (Justification by Faith) – RESTORED!
3. The Altar of Incense (Praying only through Christ Jesus) – RESTORED!
4. The Laver of Water (Baptism by Full Emersion) – RESTORED!
5. The Candlestick (True Gospel Witnessing) – RESTORED!

From the pen of inspiration – “God permitted great light to shine upon the minds of these chosen men, revealing to them many of the errors of Rome; but they did not receive all the light that was to be given to the world. Through these, His servants, God was leading the people out of the darkness of Romanism; but there were many and great obstacles for them to meet, and He led them on, step by step, as they could bear it.
They were not prepared to receive all the light at once. Like the full glory of the noon-tide sun to those who have long dwelt in darkness, it would, if presented, have caused them to turn away.
Therefore He revealed it to the leaders little by little, as it could be received by the people. From century to century, other faithful workers were to follow, to lead the people on still further in the path of reform.” (The Great Controversy – page 103)
So now we only have one more article of furniture to be restored, the ark of the covenant, with God’s law. With this restored, God would have a church with the FULL truth of the plan of salvation.

A church that could go to the world in these end times and preach the fully restored truth before Jesus returns.

So what is this church?

Well, let’s just take a look at how long Daniel was told that his vision would be for:

Daniel 8:14 …’ And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.’

The 2300 years started the same year as the 70 weeks of Daniel 9 which was 457 BC.

How do we know this?

Because Gabriel in Daniel 9 says that he has come to give Daniel understanding about the vision.

What vision?

The 2300 day vision. And it says the 70 weeks are “determined”, which means to “cut off”. Cut off from what? The only vision in question, which was the 2300 day prophecy. Which means the 70 weeks are part of the 2300 day prophecy, and Gabriel only gives one starting point, “the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem“. This starting date is 457BC.
So going from 457BC and counting 2300 days or literal years, where do we end up?

The year 1844.

What happened in 1844?

A group of people known as the Advent movement, understood the prophecy of Daniel 8, that the sanctuary being cleansed (or RESTORED) was the sanctuary in Heaven where Jesus was. And they understood the importance of God’s law, the Ten Commandments and that we were about to be judged according to that law.

So they started preaching the message that judgment had begun, and that obedience to God’s law (including the Sabbath) was still a requirement for God’s people. This restored the ark of the covenant, and now, God had a church that had the FULL truth about the sanctuary message of salvation and His truth could once again go to the world!!
6. The Ark of the Covenant (Keeping the Ten Commandments) – RESTORED!

What does this show us?

That the Seventh Day Adventist church is God’s true end time remnant church!The Seventh Day Adventist church is the ONLY church that preaches this FULL plan of salvation. The Seventh Day Adventist church is the ONLY church that preaches present truth for our time. The Seventh Day Adventist church is the ONLY church with ALL the restored truths that were lost during the reign of the Papacy, including:

The Ten Commandments with the seventh day Sabbath,

Justification by faith, baptism by full immersion,

Doctrine based on the Word of God alone (sola scripture), the importance of prayer and being a light to the world for Christ. The Seventh Day Adventist church is the only church that has a united “spirit” for Bible prophecy (Rev. 19:10)

This is why it says in Revelation 14:12 that the saints are those who KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS of God AND the faith of Jesus. They accept the FULL plan of salvation and take the journey through the heavenly sanctuary into the presence of God!

(Education page 179) – The present is a time of overwhelming interest to all living. Rulers and statesmen, men who occupy positions of trust and authority, thinking men and women of all classes, have their attention fixed upon the events taking place about us. They are watching the strained, restless relations that exist among the nations. They observe the intensity that is taking possession of every earthly element, and they recognize that something great and decisive is about to take place–that the world is on the verge of a stupendous crisis. {Ed 179.5}

So, is it a coincidence that God brought me out of error into the Church that has the very mission of giving people  His very last message to the world? No, it’s not a coincidence!

What is God’s last message to the world?

To be continued in my next post . . .