A Colossal Study of Colossians 2

This moving conversation is based on Part Three of the book Seventh Month Revival.

And here is also a brief video overview (BUT PLEASE DON’T MISS THE AUDIO ABOVE):

NOTE:
This article should be read after the Festival of Shouting Reading (an excerpt from Discovery Segment #9 of Discovering Mysteries of the Lost Calendar)

Anciently, the nations understood that tassels represented royalty, as only nobility wore them. But Israel was peculiar. Everyone was elevated to wear them, for they were to serve the nations as kings of righteousness, for it is by living in full compliance to the Torah that they ruled under Jehovah. This gave them authority over all the nations, which could destroyed if they did not reform after repeated warnings. Yet in the times that Israel failed to walk in the Torah, they succumbed to the nations, having lost their royalty.

But more than this, the thread of blue represented priesthood, for the priests of Israel wore much blue. They were set apart, or holy, in this way. Thus, Israel was to be a light to the nations, ministering the gospel to them in types. Together, the tassels and the blue strand they contain, convey royal priesthood. But just like modern Seventh-day Adventists, they forgot that their purpose was to serve the nations. They took pride in their nation, that they were the remnant favored by Elohim.

But for many centuries, non-Messianic Jews no longer wear blue on their tassels. Why is this? It is because of the judgments of Elohim: the two Roman wars left them so much in poverty, they could not even afford one thread of blue. They providentially lost their priesthood! It is now the Messianic Jews, who largely come from the nations, that are to wear the priestly blue. We are purposely set apart from the world (nations) unto holiness; and that is for the purpose of serving the nations as priests (mediators) between Elohim and man. We are to show them the Way.

Currently the Kingdom of Elohim (where the Son co-reigns with the Father) is of grace; it is an internal kingdom (“within you,” Luke 17:21)—by the reign of the Messiah’s righteousness, which we especially attain through the Supper of the Lord (partaking of Him, His sacrifice). But on the Day of Covering (aka. Atonement) probation closes, the wedding takes place. Grace is no more. The Father hands over their shared Kingdom to the class=”names”>Son, who shall reign with Israel over the whole earth. It is set up in stages through the seventh month shabbaton holy days. On the Day of Shouting (aka. Trumpets) it is made manifest to the nations when the 144,000 all gather to hear the words of the eternal covenant. It is the official fall of the nations, who must give up their reign.

Remember the whole purpose of John the Baptist’s message and of the Messiah. It was the coming of the Kingdom of Elohim. The reign of Elohim‘s righteousness was made known to Israel. They had a choice to be royal priests or not. They chose not. And after the Roman wars, their blue was taken away, and they lost knowledge of it.

Today we can wear our tassels of blue with a full knowledge of these things, knowing that we are priests to minister the grace of Elohim (the gospel) to the nations by proclaiming it to them; it is not a purity commandment that is no longer in force but, like the Sabbath and holy days, is a testimony for every generation that is born or adopted into Israel. The end goal is for the grace to produce the glory of the Kingdom in the seventh month. The nations are invited to join the royalty of Israel, where every member is elevated to royal priesthood. Elohim‘s way of equality is to lift everyone up, not to bring anyone down to a lower status.

The nations will recognize us by our tassels of blue and our Advent Festival of Tabernacles, and the honest among them will flock to us that they may learn the Sabbath truth, for they will see the beauty of holiness in our good works. So, our tassels are to remind us of who we are. As Israelites of the covenant, we are the royalty of Jehovah; His Royal Torah commandments being written in our hearts makes it so.

As kings, we are to take dominion of this earth by gaining territory little by little until each and every place on earth has a Sabbath memorial—a sign indicating the meeting place of a Sabbath fellowship set up to claim it. I do not believe every memorial will have a designated building associated with it, nor should that be, though every situation is unique. If there is a designated building erected, it should be very simple, like a metal garage or a hut, due to massive increases of building and property expenses since the 1800s; but as long as the sign is up, the fellowship table can be moveable—especially outdoors when the weather cooperates, such as by a lake or in some other scenic natural area, befitting for the Sabbath theme of creation. Our time and resources should be dedicated to planting many memorials declaring the Kingdom unto the glory of Elohim.

It is the sign of the place of worship that is most meaningful, because it is a display of the Sabbath sign. ‘sabbath’ or ‘seventh-day’ should always be part of the wording, and a good way to do this is just to have the name of the city or town followed by ‘sabbath Fellowship’. They can be engraved in stone to denote permanency (though this may not always be able to be done), and there can be blue to denote the royal purpose of the fellowship. The significance of the Sabbath is that it reveals Jehovah as the One whose territory is the heavens, earth, and sea, with the purpose of the Assembly to reclaim it for Him, which He will then give to His class=”names”>Son.

Thus is our work as kings, reigning in righteousness from our Sabbath fellowship thrones. Four corners mark a property, and the four tassels on the edges of our garments indicate both that we are acknowledging ourselves as the property of Jehovah and that we are here to reclaim His property of this earth from the nations and worldly powers of Satan that now control it. As kings of Messiah‘s Kingdom, now in the phase of grace, we are to enlarge the Kingdom, and as His priests we are to seek to administer that grace through the gospel to give everyone an opportunity to be part of the Kingdom.

Let us each day wear our royal blue of nobility as a reminder of who we are and why we are here and how we are to live. Everything we do should be in reference to the Kingdom. And since that Kingdom reigns through the Messiah‘s Torah righteousness, we have no right to wear the royal blue without that righteousness.

Elohim shares His sapphire blue throne with His righteous saints, and as a token of this, through the tassel commandment, He gives each one four blue strands. We are on a mission that Satan has wanted us to completely forget. We are not here to live to please ourselves or to just “go to church” or even to merely share our faith in acts of kindness. Our very practical goal is to raise up a local assembly in every city area, with Sabbath fellowships scattered throughout it in various townships or villages. Don’t think that Elohim‘s people will be too small to accomplish this, for we now know that 144,000 is only representative of the great multitude that will be sealed in the end, including a multitude of just Jews. And don’t think that there is not enough time for this to happen before the end either. No matter how much we may think the mark of the beast is about to be enforced and that we are just preaching that and waiting for it to happen, none of it will until the world has first been warned of it—and this through Sabbath memorials set up all over the world, for it means that Elohim has His noble representatives claiming the territory as belonging to His Kingdom.

Where can you start? Establish your territory. If you don’t already have one, get a map of your area, and mark out borders. Here in America we have townships. Each one is locally governed, though there are still areas of unorganized territory. These all need Elohim‘s representatives living in them who attend a Sabbath fellowship. The Sabbath is His seal, so it denotes His kingly authority. When His people come together to have communion, it is a royal banquet. The fellowship (communion) table is their throne, for they are partaking of the sacrifice of the ROYAL Messiah; they are partaking of His righteousness that fulfills the Royal Torah. But more than this, as brought out in the study Proclaiming the Death of the Lord, the decree made at this holy throne is a collective resolution to sacrifice, and sin not, with the proclamations going forth being living testimonies of the glory of Elohim in their acts of agape love fulfilling their decree. This is made more clear in the closing quote of this article.

It is at the festival holy meal that the saints, at least ceremonially, receive reigning power—though their lives are but one continual feast on the Messiah and His righteousness, becoming what they partake of. And they are strengthened on Sabbath not just by that meal but by their sharing of testimonies proclaiming the goodness of Elohim. The kings’ proclamations of the Lord‘s death—as partakers of His sacrifice, to become it in action—are the proclamation of the Kingdom of the Messiah, which is His righteousness. A holy influence proceeds outward to the local communities—everywhere the saints go.

Biblically, Sabbath fellowships are not the local assembly, or ecclesiastical government. But the churches of modern Christendom makes no distinction. We need a revival of every divine ordinance. The word “church” fails to convey ‘ecclesia’, which literally means ‘called out ones’, implying an ‘assembly’. “Church” has come to usually mean that place down the road where people gather for worship, or a denominational sect, but this is not very biblical. We prefer using “Assembly” (capitalized) as it conveys to the mind ideas of order and unity and is etymologically more true to the original meaning of ‘Ecclesia’.

The biblical Ecclesia, or Assembly, is simply the collection of all believers who assemble themselves together as part of governed societies covering local areas, which can also be called ‘assemblies’ (lowercase); they are to govern concurrently within the worldly governmental jurisdictions (cities, townships, etc.) in order to administer the gospel of the Kingdom to them so that eventually the Kingdom takes their place as the representatives of righteousness win the war over evil. It especially refers to believers of the Messiah that are commandment-keepers organized for service. But it includes all in the world, regardless of organizational names they are a part of, who assemble themselves together for fellowship and are part of the body of the Messiah; both definitions are used in the Spirit of Prophecy, according to context. Whatever organization we belong to, we should not be bigoted to claim that we are the true church and that others who do not believe as we do are not part of Elohim‘s Assembly.

As far as local assemblies are concerned, again, they are not buildings. They are not even believers that meet in the same building or location every week. Throughout the New Testament Scriptures, it is evident that believers of the Messiah met in homes, and those who lived within the vicinity of a certain city were called by that city—such as “the Assembly of Elohim which is at Corinth” (1 Cor. 1:2)—and they were considered an assembly, or organized society, collectively, regardless of the house they frequently worshiped in.

This understanding of how the apostolic Assembly was structured is important, because assemblies should not form large weekly gatherings. They should spread out and have more influence by representing themselves in various locations, also being more personal so that everyone knows each other and they are closely-knit.

There is no need for the standard audience-seating arrangement for the chapel, and it would be far better to sit in a square (with three sides for seating and the fourth side for a leader, speaker, or musicians) so that everyone can see each other and connect. After all, the meetings are supposed to largely be social anyways, whether for the Sabbath School, the social testimony meeting, Bible studies, or the Supper of the Lord. Short and occasional sermons will work as well, as long as the fourth side of the square is free for the preacher. Tables can be lined up along the other three sides—forming a single table—so that people are encouraged to take notes and have their Bible open at the same time. The same table(s) can be used for the communion supper.

If more people join the Sabbath fellowship and space runs out, there can be multiple Sabbath services until another meeting location is secured in a different town or suburb or township, so that memorials are established in many places in the upbuilding of the Kingdom of Elohim. The Sabbath fellowship does not have to meet at the same location each Sabbath, so there can be a memorial in each of several townships, but it can be cycled as to which one is attended.

There can be a single assembly for every decent-sized city (big enough to have a hospital or a Walmart) and the district can be spread out to the surrounding area to border with other districts surrounding such cities, with the goal of having a Sabbath fellowship for each of the many townships in the district. This will allow for many elders, with preferably (but not necessarily) one or two for each Sabbath fellowship, creating balance and unity, for the many elders can council together. It also allows members to freely visit different meeting houses to get to know more people. A member would be of the assembly rather than the Sabbath fellowship.

Different areas within a local assembly district can be divided into ‘fields’ (as was done in the Seventh-day Adventist pioneer days). An elder can be assigned to one of the fields to both shepherd it and to lead out in working it each year in an organized way through missionary meetings, which can be held each New Moon, with all members in assembly attending, making for a large meeting, which will be a special blessing; but if it gets too large, just the members in a particular field can meet in such a New Moon meeting. There can also be time for music, prayer, and sharing testimonies, especially missionary ones. Such meetings could be held outdoors (weather permitting), in a large tent, or a rented hall or even Sunday church building, with longer sessions during the Christian feasts of Pesach and Pentecost. Smaller missionary meetings covering just a field may be held more frequently if necessary—weekly or biweekly.

The New Moon missionary meeting can also include a baptism session, so that all in the local assembly (or field if a large assembly) can witness it. And what more fitting time to have a baptism than on the covenantal day of renewal? Now, a word on baptism. It should not be long delayed. The Bible is clear that those who were baptized in the apostolic time were done soon after they became believers in the Son of Elohim, whom they were being baptized into. They would only then receive the mighty power of the Holy Spirit. If we are going to be able to reach the entire world quick enough, then people will need to be baptized, so that they too can soon be missionaries and the gospel can spread like wildfire.

From the very beginning, the new disciple should be taught how to have personal devotions. The readings can go through the gospels and the disciple can receive a book that goes through the gospels in a consolidated way so that each event is covered by the gospel writer that expounds most fully, hastening the time to the baptism; the Torah and the prophecies, especially of Daniel and Revelation, can be linked to the gospel story, including such subjects as the state of the dead, the Judgment, the sanctuary, the second death, etc. Such a book is in development at the time of this writing, and the following quote from the Testimonies makes it clear that a study of the life of the Messiah is prerequisite to baptism:

Concurrently, the gospel worker can meet with the disciple at least twice a week to answer any questions the student may have of the readings. We must keep in mind that our main goal of the Assembly is to provide discipleship unto Jehoshua the Messiah, not mere indoctrination. This is what the great commission calls us to do, not mere proselytizing.

On the New Moon prior to a person’s expected New Moon baptism, it can be brought to the attention of the assembly who the baptismal candidates are so that everyone can be praying for them, and a weekly newsletter can keep members up to date with the progress of the students. Special prayers can be made where any candidates may be struggling to die to the world in areas such as diet, dress, entertainment, and speech. The earnest prayer for baptismal preparation and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit can replace what used to take many months for people to be prepared for baptism, and we can expect much greater power of the Holy Spirit in those who join the body of the Messiah! Let us expect a revival wherever the gospel goes!

If anyone is not quite ready to fully die to the world (symbolized by baptism), then they can be given an extra month for preparation. And upon baptism, each new member can be gifted a good Bible, and, if funding is available, Desire of Ages and the Testimonies for the Church, but for sure helping them learn how to access Ellen White’s writings online. Elders and deacons (for males) and deaconesses (for females) should especially be working closely with new members to get them established into the holy lifestyle.

Many of the Sabbath fellowships can be in rural areas where agriculture can be done to feed the poor members and elders so that the elders can work less hours, if not even working the farm for at least some of their employment, so that they have time, especially in the winter, for visiting members and training them for service, as well as leading out in meetings, which together may take many hours per week. Though they should not receive a salary like a minister (evangelist) would, tithe could be reserved to compensate for their regular traveling expenses to members’ homes (which is essential), for missionary endeavors (with the continual goal of planting new memorials in each surrounding township or community), and to elders meetings. Some elders might do part-time canvassing work. Some might work at an Adventist industry, such as a health food store or sanitarium. But they should not be working as many hours as the regular members.

But all members, unless distinctly directed by Elohim to do otherwise, should be encouraged not to work for worldly employers but to work for our own institutions, largely agriculturally-based (restaurants, health food stores, treatment centers, modest clothing textiles, publishing houses, etc.), for most worldly businesses either play worldly music or provide immoral goods and would not allow vacation time for Sabbaths, New Moons, holy days, and festivals. Neither should our children be attending worldly schools or go to college; many youth are lost in this way.

We need simple yet systematic training for elders, industry workers, teachers, and students; this can largely be done online and inexpensively. This system of independent education and industry will go a long ways in allowing us to quickly raise up Elohim‘s Kingdom around the world and prepare us for the time when we cannot buy or sell, for we will be independent of the world. It also allows us to better access the world with the gospel, for our products will be healthier, less expensive, and otherwise of higher excellence than those of the world; people will flock to our industries and we can freely share spiritual material with them in the process—which cannot be done at worldly businesses.

Elders should be fully dedicated to their work. They should not be involved with social media and other unnecessary hobbies. They have a very important work and should be well-cared for by the Assembly so that they need not spend much time with home maintenance and repair work. They also need time for their own training by ministers and conference teachers.

If these principles are followed, we will see amazing things take place, beyond anything that can be described in words. The gospel work will be completed!

But it must be remembered that fellowship is only for those who forsake sin. Elders are to continually visit members to encourage people to live faithfully and not in sin; known sins are not to be allowed to persist in our fellowship, though it may take a period of labor to help people to overcome. And for those that are not members, they should not be attending our Sabbath fellowship services, especially since the fellowship meal is the centerpiece of our services, which is for the Assembly, not the world, or worldly-minded “Christians.”

Instead, our Adventist pioneers had activities designated for non-members. They had a branch Sabbath School, which was largely dedicated to non-members, and they also often had first-day preaching services for the public. This is where they can more intimately get to know our people. A Torah Reading is a biblical alternative to the traditional Sabbath School, for the apostolic Assembly attended their local Jewish synagogue to hear the Torah and Prophets read, as well as discussed. Jews would allow Gentiles to come to the synagogues. And in our Torah readings we can also have a portion from the apostolic Scriptures as well as commentary, not limited to Ellen White’s. It can be made interesting with quiz and discussion questions as well as crossword puzzles. We have a Facebook chat group designated for this purpose.

Now that we have established a basic blueprint of building up the Messiah‘s Kingdom in a district, let us return back to the geographical aspect of it. The border can be drawn around a city area which might include dozens of whole townships (the building blocks of districts as they are the jurisdictions of land that each need representatives of Elohim intervening and ministering) as well as many smaller cities. Then, once an area is drawn out, the perimeter townships and cities can be claimed as territory—though not officially as belonging to the Kingdom until they are filled with memorials. How? Through visiting each one and claiming them through prayer as gospel territory. A loop can be driven that goes through each one, and then once the loop is closed, all the cities and townships within can be claimed as well. The drive may take a number of hours to complete—all the time in prayer. Existing churches can be prayed for. We can pray for revival to take place in them, so that hearts will be better prepared to receive the full gospel when it comes to them in the fourth angel’s message.

But that is only the beginning. Prayer should always be the foundation of our priestly ministry. We should follow the local news and events. Our weekly prayer meetings should be more outward than inward. We should be praying, earnestly praying, for what is happening in our local area and for the governing leaders or magistrates; our prayers should be very specific and intensive.

One or more persons can be appointed for especially following the news and just before the prayer meeting there can be a news rundown so the people know what to pray for. Events can be not just prayed for but evangelized, always circling around ahead of time to undo any curses and allow the Holy Spirit to work on hearts—the same can and should be done when circling the entire assembly district initially as well. We need to realize that as kings, we hold power and authority in the Name of Jehoshua, even over principalities and powers of darkness. Our prayers, which the angels bring up to the heavenly sanctuary, have mighty power. We can thus intervene in the affairs of men and thus assist in the upbuilding of the Kingdom. It is a spiritual warfare, and we need to study how spiritual warfare works and understand how to deal with it. Everywhere there are secret societies or meetings; curses are placed.

There are also people suffering everywhere and we should do all in our power to relieve human suffering—both through our prayers and hands and feet on the ground to bring comfort, sympathy, and aid; in fact, this is the most effective way to prepare people to be interested in receiving Bible studies, so this is really the next step after establishing territory through prayer. But even if winning souls through this means were not a possibility, we should always pray for and exercise love and sympathy for our fellowmen that the Messiah died for anyways. It should be our very nature.

Our people need to awake to kingly and priestly service! We are generally not doing any of these things! This is all the more reason to wear our tassels to remind us of who we are and our mission of proclaiming the love of Elohim by our actions, and thereby obtaining Bible study candidates and then baptismal candidates and then kingly representatives for the Kingdom of Elohim. And we are to reign not in a domineering way like the worldly nations do but through righteousness—supplying both the physical and spiritual needs of suffering communities, thus exalting our great resurrected King, Jehoshua the Messiah, and pointing all souls to Him!

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation

Called out from darkness into His marvelous light,
A chosen generation, shining bright,
A royal priesthood set apart,
To serve the nations with love in heart.

Tassels of blue upon our garments gleam,
Symbols of priestly dignity, a royal theme,
To lead the world in righteousness and grace,
And lift His praise in every place.

We bear our covenant, with humble hearts,
To carry His love to all of earth’s parts,
To serve, to love, to heal, to restore,
Till earth His forevermore.

In every city, across each land,
We build memorials with our hands,
A sign of Sabbath, sign of grace,
A beacon of hope in every place.

Our mission clear, our calling high,
To lift the fallen, heal the sick,
To feed the hungry, clothe the poor,
Reflect His love forevermore.

Priests to mediate, kings to reign,
In righteousness we stand again,
Building His kingdom with active hands,
Fulfilling divine commands.

Every act of kindness, every word of truth,
A testament to His everlasting booth,
Reflecting the Messiah’s pure, holy light,
Bringing darkness into sight.

Lift your voice in sacred praise,
Proclaim His kingdom all your days,
Royal priests, His chosen race,
Shining forth His saving grace.

Till earth is made His holy place,
His righteousness and love embrace,
We are His royal priesthood,
A holy nation, redeemed and true.

The Royal Thread of Blue

If you will hearken to My voice, indeed,
And keep the covenant which you have decreed,
Then you shall be My treasure, a peculiar prize,
For all the earth is Mine before Mine eyes.
A Kingdom of priests, a nation set apart,
To bear My holy law upon the heart.

Ye are a chosen generation, royal, holy, true,
Called out of darkness into marvelous light, in you.
No people once, but now the people of our Elohim,
Who have obtained mercy where once the lost had trod.
As strangers, pilgrims, from the flesh refrain,
Let your good works among the nations reign,
That seeing your beauty, they may glorify the Lord,
And find the King whose righteousness is poured.

The tassel on the border, a thread of azure hue,
To bid you look, remember, and all My precepts do.
To turn not to the eyes, nor after your own heart,
But be holy to your Elohim, set fully apart.
For royalty it spoke, a sign for all to see,
That every soul was elevated unto Me.
A royal priesthood set, a light to minister,
But when the blue was lost, the holy life did blur.

Now the Messianic seed, we wear the blue once more,
To be ambassadors of grace and open wide the door.
The Kingdom now is internal, the reign within,
By the Messiah‘s righteousness, triumphant over sin.
But at the Day of Covering, the wedding takes its start,
And the Father‘s shared domain is given to the class=”names”>Son’s own heart.
The twelve tribes gather, a voice for all the earth,
Proclaiming covenant’s power, the Kingdom’s sudden birth.

We wear the sign of nobility, knowing we are here,
To minister the gospel, and make the truth appear.
To plant the Sabbath memorial, a banner wide and strong,
To every city, village, where lost souls still belong.
The Sabbath is My seal, the sign that I create,
A place of holy rest, where we inaugurate
A royal fellowship table, a throne where grace is found,
Where righteousness is poured out and reigning power is crowned.

So wear your blue each day, for all you do and say,
Must point to the Kingdom, to the Truth, the Way.
To seek His righteousness before all earthly gain,
For this is peace and joy, where the Holy Spirit reigns.
We claim this earth’s territory, from darkness we reclaim,
A people awakened, in the Great King‘s holy Name.
Let our prayers be a warfare, our hands bring help and ease,
Until the world is flooded by the gospel’s perfect peace.

Behold your Elohim! The King’s reward is here,
His light of glory shining, and making all things clear.

The Four Words of the First Table of the Decalogue together teach the true worship of Jehovah Elohim. We should all know what they are. The Fourth Word has the seal of His authority, containing His Name (Jehovah), Title (Creator), and Territory (heavens and earth and sea and all that in them is). Interestingly, both the Four Words and the four parts of the seal (including the seal itself) correspond to the four angels’ messages. Let us begin to explore this.

The territory of the seal is repeated nearly word for word in the first angel’s message, which says before that to “worship Him who made” those things; hence, we see the connection to the First Word of the Decalogue teaching the worship of the true Elohim.

The second angel’s message deals with Babylon falling. This historically happened in 1844 CE in the rejection of the first angel’s message. In Great Controversy, Ellen White clearly expresses that Babylon refers especially to the Protestant bodies, with their conflicting creeds of confusion. The center of Protestantism is America, which, as the second beast of Revelation 13, will become the “image”—forbidden by the Second Word of the Decalogue—of the original beast when it allows the apostate church to legislate Rome’s practices. Recall that the first king of Babylon was Nebuchadnezzar. His kingdom, along with the successors, was depicted as an image, with the head of gold representing him. He later built an image of pure gold, which defiantly declared that his kingdom would be forever, as if denying kingdoms would succeed his. It was 60 cubits tall, 6 cubits wide—as reflected in the number of the beast, which combines the two numbers and magnifies it further to the third digit: 666. The character of the number of six being magnified is that of working but having no rest. Rome and its image can legislate all the laws it wants, and its adherents can practice them all they want, but they will not bring rest (signified by seven).

The third angel’s message deals with Babylon breaking the Third Word of the Decalogue. This is more challenging, but notice these words included in it: “and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.” Here we see the four counterfeit principles of false worship: (1) worship of the beast (counterfeiting the true Elohim); (2) worship of the image; (3) the name of the beast; and (4) the mark of the name.

Let us focus on the third one, and this is a key word in the third angel’s message: “name.” Another word that links to it is here: “If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead” (v. 9). Where does “forehead” appear before this? In the first verse:

Here we see both key words: “Name” and “foreheads.”

Now, here is what the Third Word of the Decalogue says:

The 144,000 have the Name of Jehovah in their foreheads (as well as that of His SON), denoting character. But in place of this, the rest of the world has the name of the beast, thus bringing to naught the Name of Jehovah; and the mark of that name is Sunday—the eighth day (as the early Catholic fathers called it), similar to how the first king of separated Israel, Jeroboam, instituted a festival in the eighth month to replace the Tabernacles of the seventh month. Sunday is the mark of the beast of Rome, containing the name of ‘Blasphemy’, for it is written of the beast that “upon his heads” is written “the name of ‘Blasphemy’ ” (Revelation 13:1). That is its generic name, but the literal name of the Papacy is Vicarius Filii Dei (Vicar of the Son of Elohim)—the number of which (v. 17) is 666 in Latin. But the Son of Elohim is all the fullness of the Deity, and to usurp that role, even by legislating laws against His Father’s laws, is clearly blasphemy.

But there is one more Word left: Principle of the Sabbath. This must correspond to another angel. Which one? None other than the fourth one to the first three: “After these things I saw another angel (or messenger) coming down out of the sky, having great authority; and the earth was lightened from his glory” (Rev. 18:1). Seeing how the three angels of Revelation 14 correspond to the first three Words of the Decalogue, this one must correspond to the Fourth Word—the Sabbath.

But here we do not see the seventh day. We see something much greater. Let’s read first from Ellen White:

There is a Sabbath truth that nominal Adventists, who know the seventh day Sabbath, will not understand. It has “brightness, glory, and power”—a message that was a mystery to Ellen White and her colleagues. But it is no longer a mystery. Remember, the seventh-day Sabbath is a “sign” (Ex. 31:13-17). It is not the actual thing. The actual thing being signified is the glory that that fourth angel’s message brings.

Now here is more from EGW; this is from a raw vision, as recorded by Joseph Bates:

“That truth is the seal.” What truth? “The Sabbath truth.” It is depicted as a glorious light, shining like the sun. It cannot be the seventh day itself but what it signifies. What is that truth? Why is it so mysterious and glorious?

I want to tell you. I hate sin (repeated three times). I am charged to tell our people, that some do not realize, that the devil has device after device, and he carries them out in ways that they do not expect. Satan’s agencies will invent ways to make sinners out of saints.

I tell you now, that when I am laid to rest, great changes will take place. I do not know when I shall be taken; and I desire to warn all against the devices of the devil. I want the people to know that I warned them fully before my death. I do not know especially what changes will take place; but they should watch every conceivable sin that Satan will try to immortalize.

— Ellen G. White, Manuscript 1, 1915

Those were the last words of testimony that Sister White gave several months before she passed away, which was on July 16, 1915 CE. Some changes had already started the previous year (1914 CE), when WWI began in Europe and two percent of Seventh-day Adventists were disfellowshipped there for not joining the military and were forced to reorganize in the Seventh-day Adventist Reform Movement, which would hold true to the “commandments of God and the faith of Jehoshua” (Revelation 14:12). Is it okay to join the military? Here is what the Spirit of Prophecy had to say about the previous major war in Ellen White’s lifetime—the U.S. Civil War:

I was shown that God’s people, who are His peculiar treasure, cannot engage in this perplexing war, for it is opposed to every principle of their faith. In the army they cannot obey the truth and at the same time obey the requirements of their officers. There would be a continual violation of conscience. Worldly men are governed by worldly principles. They can appreciate no other. Worldly policy and public opinion comprise the principle of action that governs them and leads them to practice the form of rightdoing. But God’s people cannot be governed by these motives. The words and commands of God, written in the soul, are spirit and life, and there is power in them to bring into subjection and enforce obedience. The ten precepts of Jehovah are the foundation of all righteous and good laws. Those who love God’s commandments will conform to every good law of the land. But if the requirements of the rulers are such as conflict with the laws of God, the only question to be settled is: Shall we obey God, or man?

— Ellen G. White, 1 Testimonies, p. 361

So, big changes were already starting to take place in the shaking and sifting of the Assembly in Europe, but these are not the ones that Sister White was referring to, though they are related, for the Reform Movement would accept marriage reform so as to not allow for remarriage except in the case of death of the spouse, according to words of our Messiah. The key here is marriage and its destruction. World War I violently tore it apart due to the separation of families as many men joined the military and the devastation of war causing a mental and moral breakdown among the soldiers. Obedience to God would have protected men from this breakdown and the searing of their conscience in war, which is why it is so important to be conscientious objectors as the Spirit of Prophecy promotes.

Men and women were expected to be mutually bound by their service to their country, whether as loyal wives and mothers or warriors. Their sexual instincts were supposed to be suspended while both sexes dedicated their energies to fulfilling their mutual roles for the nation. Poems and feature articles in front newspapers, both those produced by military officials and by soldiers, were filled with tributes to loyal women who, along with God and faith in the fatherland, gave men the psychological strength to fight bravely. Women were expected to play an almost mythical role as sacred, waiting figures. Australian newspapers bolstered an image of women who, like those in ancient Greece, sent their men off to war without complaint or any mention of personal needs. This image of the patient and loyal woman on the home front was supposed to serve as a fantasy for lonely soldiers, and military and civil authorities tried to reassure men that dreaming of idealized women at home provided enough sexual satisfaction. In their letters from the front, especially in the first year of the war, soldiers reinforced the home front’s perception that they remained sexually “pure” while on the front lines, and they reassured their wives and girlfriends that “foreign” girls did not tempt them to stray.

The propaganda image of men as abstinent heroes dedicated to the nation was undermined by a crisis that served as a flashpoint for sexual tensions between combat and home fronts. The spread of venereal disease (VD) reflected the reality that sexual adventure proved to be a popular relief from the stress of the front for millions of men dislocated from home and distant from traditional social structures. Hospitals in cities like Freiburg, Germany, where soldiers in transit to the front mixed with an ever-expanding market for prostitutes, overflowed with infected men and women to such a degree that beds for VD patients had to be set up in lecture halls and makeshift clinics. In a March 1915 letter exchange with the state secretary of the interior, German Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg (1856-1921) declared that the VD crisis had reached such an epic scale that it weakened the German army’s fighting strength and required “an energetic state intervention” to protect against the disease’s spread.

Militaries organized systems to regulate sexual behavior. The German military organized a system of regulated brothels just behind the lines, with medical examinations of prostitutes. The French military also expanded a system of maisons tolerées (tolerated houses) where prostitution was carefully regulated.

— Crouthamel, Jason: “Sexuality, Sexual Relations, Homosexuality.” International Encyclopedia of the First World War. (Full article)

[Note: All emphases in the quotes in this article are my own.]

The government-legalized prostitution, which was meant to guard the health of the troops, encouraged men, who otherwise would not have ventured in brothels, to do so. And this news made its way out to the world, which incensed women on the home front. They became encouraged to be unfaithful to their war-torn husbands—many of which remained innocent—hearing that their men were engaging in prostitution, even though some of the reports were exaggerated.

This rebellion of many women was likely inspired by Satan, and few likely recognized the permanent repercussions this would have in reshaping society. And the media—largely magazines at the time—sensationalized and glorified the sexuality, which, at that time, meant women flirting and exposing her ankles, and even more if she were to lift her dress, which was being suggested in pictures. Before that time (during the lifetime of Sister White and millennia before), women’s ankles were modestly covered with clothing, since desensitization had not occurred yet and any part of the leg of a woman was considered sexual. And in the years to come, more and more of the leg would be exposed. The media thus multiplied the rebellion.

French popular media was filled with images of the “Flirt 1914,” women who displayed greater sexual freedom, especially in urban scenes where the dislocation caused by war made it possible to explore spaces and behaviors that were once taboo. Paul Géraldy’s (1885-1983) popular war novel, La Guerre, Madam (The War, Madam), depicted a soldier returning to Paris shocked by war widows who flaunted their sexuality and seemed more interested in their own material pleasures and gratification than the reality of the war. French soldiers’ newspapers also expressed resentment towards women enjoying themselves and seeking illicit sexual liaisons while their husbands sacrificed themselves at the front. These resentments intensified and further damaged relations between men and women as the traumatic experience of the war unfolded.

While French soldiers expressed resentment about women at home flaunting their sexuality, they were also incensed by reports of sexual violence inflicted by German soldiers on French women in occupied territories. Rape became a nationalized issue in the context of total war. In September 1914, the French government set up a commission, similar to government inquiries in Britain and Belgium, to investigate reports of rape committed by German soldiers. Testimonies to the commission revealed the brutality of rape, as French women reported the humiliation and violence they suffered at the hands of the occupying army…

In propaganda illustrations of rape, stories often implicitly humiliated French husbands and spurred them on to fight more aggressively. Rape narratives were used to justify the war. The British government tried to “market the war” and ultimately generated a gendered language about “just war,” as historian Nicoletta F. Gullace has argued, by reporting German atrocities.

— Ibid.

Thus, the media war propaganda shifted from depicting and promoting chaste behavior, which is what pre-WWI society expected, to dramatizing and exaggerating the rape to make the Germans look evil. But the problems went beyond heterosexual issues. New problems arose, again with war excuses (“relief from the stress of war”) for implementing new devises and trends, that to this day are plaguing society.

As emotional connections with women were strained, men sought other paths of support. Front newspapers depicted men who were loyal comrades and devoted to the nation. But soldiers who wrote in these newspapers also expressed fantasies about gender transgression, disillusionment with the emotionally stifling expectations of the masculine ideal, and desires for nurturing and love, even with other men. Recently, historians studying front newspapers have emphasized the predominance of a hegemonic masculine image defined against the deviant, effeminate male “other.” However, men writing for front newspapers, especially the frontline trench newspapers, also mocked the hegemonic masculine image and explored new emotions and behaviors, even those deemed “effeminate” and “deviant.” They portrayed loving other men as a desirable and acceptable component of the front experience…

Seeking emotional support, including love and tenderness, men “replaced” women by taking on feminine roles, emotionally and even sexually. Soldiers’ newspapers depicted men acting as surrogate women in a variety of ways, including building a domestic sphere at the front. However, front soldiers did not just want to emulate missing women for psychological and emotional relief. They also fantasized about escaping their male gender roles and expectations by changing genders…

When otherwise heterosexual comrades dressed as women in the context of entertainment, military authorities tolerated this as a temporary act of relief from the stress of war. Theater groups, for example, regularly dressed men as women to comedic effect. Soldiers performed plays for wounded comrades just behind the lines, and these were enthusiastically embraced by the military as good for morale. But front newspapers contained numerous articles by soldiers who suggested playing with new gender roles stemmed from more than just the need for entertainment. They offered poems and cartoons in which they fantasized about taking on feminine characteristics like love and nurturing.

— Ibid.

Here was the postwar societal aftermath:

In 1921, Hirschfeld and Stöcker organized a Berlin meeting of international organizations at the World League for Sexual Reform, where the agenda included lectures on dysfunctional heterosexual relationships and lectures on homosexuality as a natural phenomenon. Women’s rights and homosexual rights activists shared resources in lobbying Weimar’s health and interior ministries to reform sex crimes laws. This meant abolishing Paragraphs 184.3, 218 and 175 of the legal code, which restricted access to birth control and criminalized abortion and homosexuality, respectively, though they were not successful in dismantling these laws.

— Ibid.

So far, we have read of government-supported prostitution and homosexuality in the name of health and war-coping strategy, which greatly increased sexual passions and later led to a post-war movement of sexual deforms (not reforms), including abortion. We also read of propaganda exaggerating German raping to increase the war passions. The following journal article explores how that propaganda effort went even a step further, which was a very tragically transformative step:

In order to make sense of the unprecedented sexual violence unfolding on its soil, France of the years 1914–1915 drew on diverse sources, not least its colonial imaginary, to reify the Germans as rapists. The acts of sexual violence, both real occurrences and exaggerated propaganda, became posited through a racialising binary pitting civilisation and barbarie. As Nicolas Beaupré (2015) has noted, the repeated wartime claim of French civilisation against German barbarie was also often underpinned by the anxiety – or the denial – that the war in itself transformed anyone into ‘barbares’, regardless of national identity. Through this fraught and traumatic historical configuration, France posited itself as the embodiment of civilisation while Germany embodied barbarie. In the media and literature of the period, sexual violence became a distinctive and racialised feature of the German-as-barbarian. Conversely, consensual sexual and amorous encounters became a distinctive feature of the French-as-civilised.

— Ibáñez Aristondo, A. (2022). Seduction, Aggression, and Frenchness in LA VIE PARISIENNE (1914–1918). French Cultural Studies, 33(1), 40-58. (Full article)

This was perhaps the single most influential change in world history—again, propaganda in the name of defeating the other side in war. As the article continues, this seems to have occurred right around the time Ellen White died:

The binary civilisation vs barbarie initially expounded a lexicon of hatred against the Germans. However, La Vie Parisienne was one of the first media that started conveying this binary primarily through narratives of love, seduction, and desire among the French from 1915 on.

The omnipresence and popularity of visual representations of sexualized relationships in La Vie Parisienne is a paradigmatic example of a broader shift in mass-entertainment occurring from mid-1915 onward, a time when ‘while depictions of trench life polarized into propagandist stereotypes and disturbingly realistic exposés, the home front became fascinated with the love life of the *poilu’ (Rearick, 1997: 24). [‘poilu’ were French infantry soldiers during WWI]

— Ibid.

From then on, constructed representations of norms of seduction and desire were intended to be a work of cultural embellishment, a constant celebration of Frenchness through sexual attractiveness and availability for women, and virile ability to flirt and seduce for men. In wartime La Vie Parisienne, nearly all representations of sexualized relationships were heterosexual and occurring outside marriage. Most of them involved French soldiers and young women.

— Ibid.

This was the beginning of an era of moral depravity, both in the world and, unfortunately, in Christendom. Volumes could be written about the massive change that came about, and yet because many do not know this history, we think that the way men and especially women dress (even conservative Christians) and act is perfectly normal. People who lived into the new era were so traumatized by war that the societal change seems to have been somewhat unnoticed, except by the Plain People (Amish, Hutterites and Mennonites) who, did not accept much of the change, since they were already somewhat detached from society in their own communities.

Adventists, on the other hand, and even Reform Adventists, accepted many of the new norms as everyone else did, especially in regard to dress, most likely because they had not taken Ellen White’s writings, particularly the Testimonies, seriously enough, including her appeal for a revival and reformation. A revival of true piety Godliness would have protected us from the change into the modern Western culture.

It should be understood that before World War I, no woman in the West (Europe and America) would leave the house without her legs completely covered and something covering her head. But culture is an extremely powerful force, and God’s people failed to recognize Satan’s plan to convert the Assembly to the world. And with immodesty in dress and behavior came much divorce and crime. So many evils came out of it, including the entertainment media.

During World War I and following, major film and entertainment companies established themselves to become the Hollywood that many still love and idolize today—Columbia, MGM, Warner Brothers, Paramount, etc. The founders of these companies were freemasons, as well as the father of American animation, James Stuart Blackton, who made the first propaganda film, for WWI, a few weeks after Ellen White died. Film became very popular after that, especially as a diversion from the severity of war. And media has been used ever since then to propagandize government and secret society agendas.

Even today, those who profess to be the remnant people of God are using this invention of animation and fast scene changes, which turn off the frontal lobe, all in the name of ministry. And then there is David Sarnoff, who was a 32nd degree freemason of the Scottish rite, and who invented radio and television (see p. 470 of this PDF). Satan was using all these men to take control of the masses, turning people away from God through addictions and distractions.

The Maybelline cosmetics company also started up 1915 CE, making mail orders available by the end of that year. Previous to this, obvious cosmetic use was only by prostitutes and performers, and even the more subtle “natural” style was only used by the wealthy (and not for the eyes). Thus, modern makeup was born to make women look sexy—no longer biblical housewives and homemakers, but sex objects for men (and also taking all the jobs due to the shortage of men). The women not being as much in the home and the wearing of makeup and baring of ankles with high-heel shoes gave the modern woman a new identity.

And in the 1920s—known as the ‘Roaring Twenties’—young women who dressed this way, and who, by then, had skirts nearly up to the knees, yet with boy-like “short” hair (not very short by modern standards), bare arms (which before was considered immodest for women), and danced to jazz music, were called ‘flappers.’ (A ‘flap’ was originally a slang word for a young prostitute and the later ‘flapper’ was termed for young women who dressed like prostitutes.) The forbidden knees could now be seen when women sat down or danced or when the wind blew. The conservatives early on thought it was scandalous, but later that decade even the conservatives were dressing similarly, thus showing how rapidly culture changed.

Today, Seventh-day Adventists think it is entirely appropriate to appear in the meeting house for worship dressed in this risqué way, even calling it “dress reform” (due to not wearing pants), but it is indeed dress deform to immodesty beyond what any woman publicly wore in Ellen White’s lifetime.

Another major uptick came in the full maturity of the sexual revolution in the 1960s. This is when pornographic material started coming into the mainstream. Cable TV allowed for movies with sex scenes to come into homes where even children could watch.

Later came the internet, and with that came a universal presence of pornography, which many, many professed Christians are addicted to and do not know how to break this thing that is destroying their spiritual lives; therefore, let us linger a bit on this important topic, and if it is not your sin, the same remedy we will look at works for any addiction, which we have all had experience with.

The most sure way is quit porn cold turkey. This can be achieved by cutting internet off completely—but that may not be desirable, or even good, for many people. Then there must be a firm resolution to not make the slightest advance toward viewing sexual material. It must be remembered that the sin of lust starts before the nudity is viewed. Any pursuit of it, through searches or otherwise, is already sin, because lust means desire, and it becomes sin as soon as there is a pursuit to fulfill it.

Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own desires, and enticed. Then the desire, when it hath conceived, beareth sin: and the sin, when it is fullgrown, bringeth forth death.

— James 1:14-15

Sinful desire is conceived as soon as a decision has been made to fulfill it, and this is confirmed by the first action toward it. This is important to realize, because porn addicts, especially Christian ones, often do not plan on viewing sinful material; there may just be a curious desire to see what a search may yield. But that is still lust. Sin is deceptive. One may at first feel in control, but the flesh only wants the stimulating feelings and chemicals associated with those feelings, and subconsciously this is what is driving the curiosity or lazy inquiry. It’s just like how one who once overcame alcohol may one day pass by a bar or go to a party, having no intention of tasting liquor. But once the path has started, it becomes easier to go all the way, and Satan already has an inlet to influence the soul. Therefore, the resolve must be to never once, under any circumstance, make the first advance toward sin.

But that is not all. A resolution alone is not enough to overcome sin and addiction. Resolutions can easily be broken. There must be a special power attached to them. It must be the greatest power known to the universe. To realize it, we must first realize the last concept in our James text: “sin … bringeth forth death.” The most obvious application is that if sin is not overcome, it will kill the soul, resulting in a death of which there is no resurrection. This permanence should cause one to tremble. But there is something that should cause one to tremble even more.

Every sin requires death. We may be forgiven after we sin and truly repent from it, but still someone must die; the Law requires it. One may think that he knows the gospel, but it must be applied specifically for where it is needed. It is not enough to know the gospel, but it must be actively assimilated.

Now, here is the power:

Hearts that have been the battleground of the conflict with Satan, and that have been rescued by the power of love, are more precious to the Redeemer than are those who have never fallen.

— Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 361

Love is power. Intellectual and moral strength are involved in this principle, and cannot be separated from it … Whatsoever is done out of pure love, be it ever so little or contemptible in the sight of men, is wholly fruitful; for God measures more with how much love one worketh, than the amount he doeth. Love is of God. The unconverted heart cannot originate nor produce this plant of heavenly growth, which lives alone, and flourishes only where Christ reigns. Love cannot live without action, and every act increases, strengthens, and extends it.

— Ellen G. White, Review and Herald, 5/11/1186

But it is not just any kind of love that we are interested in here.

The principle of worldlings is to get all they can of the perishable things of this life. Selfish love of gain is the ruling principle in their lives. But the purest joy is not found in riches nor where covetousness is always craving, but where contentment reigns and where self-sacrificing love is the ruling principle. There are thousands who are passing their lives in indulgence and whose hearts are filled with repining. They are victims of selfishness and discontent in the vain effort to satisfy their minds with indulgence. But unhappiness is stamped upon their very countenances, and behind them is a desert, because their course is not fruitful in good works.

In proportion as the love of Christ fills our hearts and controls our lives, covetousness, selfishness, and love of ease will be overcome, and it will be our pleasure to do the will of Christ, whose servants we claim to be. Our happiness will then be proportionate to our unselfish works, prompted by the love of Christ.

— Ellen G. White, 3 Testimonies, p. 382

This is the principle (called in the Greek in the New Testament, ‘agape’) that we are to live our entire lives by, but it is when we use it for our most cherished sin, sacrificing it on the altar of love, that it becomes the most powerful in our lives. The entire spiritual life will be transformed when the cherished, habitual sin is no more, because of this principle.

But the general study and appreciating of this love will not do. It must be specifically applied into the resolution made as the pure motive behind the resolution. And the practical reality of it on the cross must be seen, and this is very critical. If you have not read the study yet called The Mystery of the Mirror, you really should, because it explains what we are about to cover in much greater detail.

Here it is in a nutshell: The Messiah must face every sin we ever commit on the cross. He must feel the shame and the judgment for it. Why? Because He “became us” (Heb. 7:26). He did this as a voluntary sacrifice. He had to both experience the consequences of our sins, which is what truly killed Him, and the other reality of choosing not to do those sins—living our whole life perfectly for us with perfect decisions, creating the righteousness to impart to us (Eph. 2:10) if we will receive it.

He did all that so that we could be spared the suffering and be saved. But it requires a response from us. Love is to awaken love. As a response to His suffering for us, will we suffer a little—foregoing a cherished indulgence—so that He does not have to suffer for our sin, in feeling the wrath of God and dying on our part? This is the decision we must make. This is what empowers our resolution. And it is part of why the Torah requires sacrifice for sins, for it is a strong motivator to quit sin. If an innocent Victim must suffer so much for each and every sin, why put Him through it?

Here is the resolution we must all make: We will not put Him through it. We will not let Him suffer for a sin that it is in our power to not commit. We will not do our cherished sin, under any circumstance. This must be a firm and resolute decision. And the strongest addiction can be broken in this way, for there is nothing more powerful in the universe than self-sacrificing love.

The principle of sacrifice is portrayed all through the Torah. Commanded sacrifices are sprinkled throughout the other commandments. It not only teaches us that our righteousness to fulfill the commandments of duty must come from an innocent Victim but that the principle that would drive Him to sacrifice for us must be in us. The various commandments of righteousness to be fulfilled in us can only come through this principle of sacrifice being active in us. It is the strong motivator to do right and not do wrong. And we need not, and should not, even try to manufacture it. It has already been, not only exemplified, but provided, for us. If we ask for it, it is ours.

Many have asked for God to deliver them from their sinful habits but keep going back to them. This is why it is important to have an intelligent faith. We must not only believe in the righteousness of the Messiah but have its underlying principle of sacrifice acted upon by our will, with never a compromise or excuse to get anywhere on the path to the indulgence. We must choose to sacrifice for the sake of the Messiah, as He sacrificed for our sake. And that is the remedy, though is also important to have a healthy devotional life to God, replacing our old bad habits with new things we cherish—prayer, the Word of God, and sharing the gospel. Then we will not cherish the things we cherished before.

There are many different programs to stop porn, such as accountability programs; but these are not the remedy. They may work for some people, at least for a time, but they will not produce righteousness and remove sin; other indulgences, such as masturbation, will be sought, for the heart will be left unchanged. However, there are apps and services that are useful for blocking questionable content to avoid accidentally seeing nudity on otherwise normal websites, such as OpenDNS, but to rely on such to overcome the addiction just leads the addict to depend on the app instead of on God, which is sure to fail.

Also, there is a degree of walking and talking pornography in partial nakedness just about everywhere, including where Christians and Adventists assemble for worship, but some places are worse than others. Meeting houses should always have a strict dress code for all who attend, and public beaches or entertainment events should be generally avoided. Where partial nakedness cannot be avoided, we need to look away and pray, for nakedness is a shame, as the Bible teaches (Isa. 47:3, Rev. 3:18, etc.).

In fact, even when dressed modestly, women should never give a friendly smile or laugh to men she meets or does business with. By dictionary definition, friendliness entails affections, which are only to be to her husband. The Bible is clear that a woman in public is to be shamefast, looking down in shame of Eve’s sin.

… in like manner, also the women, in modest apparel, with shamefastness and sobriety—
to adorn themselves not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array,”
but which becometh women professing piety, through good works.
Let a woman learn in silence with all subjection.
But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.
For Adam was first formed, then Eve;
and Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.

— 1 Timothy 2:9-14

Men should not give friendly smiles to women either. A true Christian will have a pleasant countenance already, and a mild smile can be used to communicate. This will take practice, but it is part of learning biblical chastity. In fact, gravity and sobriety should be replacing frivolity and giddiness in Christian demeanor based on the writings of Paul, especially since we are living at the end of time.

But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:
That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.
The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;
That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,
To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.
Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.

— Titus 2:1-6

Chastity in social behavior, and seriousness (unlike the excessive smiling and laughing we have today) was more common before World War I. Human behavior definitely changed after the war. Yet even today, chastity is practiced among certain classes of Jews and Muslims. The fact that Hasidic Jews and conservative Muslims are still modest, and have resultingly very low rates of divorce, but not professed Christians, shows how far Christendom has departed from biblical culture due to the influence of Western culture that had developed even before the war, but especially thereafter.

It may seem so very normal for a woman to wear a skirt somewhat below the knees, or even up to and above the knees, but it must be remembered what the origin of this practice is: satanically-inspired war propaganda leading to female rebellion against men. Therefore, it should be considered totally unacceptable for any Christian, let alone Seventh-day Adventist, to wear such revealing clothing. Comparisons should never be drawn to determine what is modest, for it was comparison of rape versus adultery that led to adultery being accepted as a favorable, civilized thing for society.

Sexual sin is a serious issue. According to a survey, 77 percent of “Christian” men regularly view pornography, and including around a third of pastors! 35 percent of “Christian” married men have extramarital affairs, and pastors close to that percentage as well! This is so alarmingly tragic, but it is why drastic measures must be taken to return to biblical culture, even if it means cutting off all access to the internet, at least for a year (if need be), which is easier than cutting an eye out, which is better than hell:

And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt.

— Mark 9:47-49

Infidelity is often inspired by pornography, but it is also brought about by men meeting alone with women; and it is not rare for this to lead to an affair even in the ministry. This is why a man and a woman who are not married should never meet alone, which became a much more common practice after World War I. Door-to-door ministry should be done in pairs to avoid this issue. And a man should never touch a woman except in an emergency, even if they are courting. Premarital touching was not common before World War I.

Essentially, anything that changed as a result of the war, which truly ended up becoming a propaganda war between men and women, should be discarded and seen for what it truly is. Any public nakedness, of even the ankles, should be viewed as a symbol of adultery, for that is the origin, and our Saviour taught that to even look at a woman to lust after her is adultery in the heart (Matt. 5:28). Well, adultery takes two partners; the woman often first dresses in a way that would inspire a man to lust.

The rest of the reformation study will go into more details as to what constitutes biblical nakedness and unwholesome entertainment. But just know that there is a reason why the last living messenger of the Spirit of Prophecy died right when this new culture came into the world and the Assembly, which is also right when the Seventh-day Adventist Reform Movement arose. All three events are related. Seventh-day Adventism as a whole is in a deplorable condition, far from God. He intended the Reform Movement to truly reform in the area of modesty and finish the gospel work. But instead, mainstream Adventism fell completely from the Law in allowing its members to corrupt themselves in the evils of military, and the Reform Movement, though preserved from direct involvement in the military, did not heed Sister White’s final warning to discern the devices of Satan. God cannot prosper this movement intended to reform until the reform becomes a reality.

In conclusion, World War I was a war fueled by propaganda, and this propaganda involved pitting fornication and adultery against raping, and this turned into a war of women versus men in role and behavior and portrayed in the dress; do not let anyone teach you that what is on the outside does not matter, for history shows that it has a very influential role in changing behavior in society. These things resulted in a very demoralized society and Assembly. It also ended the Ottoman Empire, for Islamic Jihad is what will lead into Armageddon, and it had to be delayed since the Assembly was not ready yet.

However, now, after a century of immorality in the Assembly, a revival has begun—a revival of primitive piety, to restore the biblical practices of not only pre-WWI but from the days of Pentecost that disappeared when the original apostasy came about when the mainstream departed from the Torah Law and its holy days. The seventh month revival began the biblical seventh month that commenced fall-to-fall 2024 CE—the very month that the Israel-Hamas War began, which will likely lead to regional and then world war and ultimately Armageddon.

True repentance will come as the horrors of war return, made even worse by terrorism, as is described in the Book of Joel, which also describes the reviving of the gifts of the Spirit. Now is a time for reflection of our history and a returning to God, a time for the fulfillment of Malachi 4 and Revelation 18. Primitive piety is returning and is in extreme contrast to the world. Yet trends show that many in the world are hungering and thirsting for this revival, and many will join it who would never join Adventism in the dead and worldly form it has been in for so long. Many desire genuine religion, for this last century has proven a disaster and with the mental depression that is gripping much of society, many will welcome the cheerful change back to primitive piety.

Intro

The Christian ordinance of the foot washing, like its twin that goes with it—the Supper of the Lord—is very misunderstood. It is not a mere ceremony to represent humility. It is actually a special experience in which the Holy Spirit can work in a very powerful way. It should be entered into with a special consecratory prayer, pleading for the Holy Spirit to do that work. Keep reading to find out what this precious experience is.

Spirit of Prophecy

“And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body. And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it. And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God. And when they had sung a hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.” Here was established the great memorial, the Lord‘s Supper. Can we take in the strains of Christian melody rising to heaven from the lips of the disciples? Christ, the Captain of our salvation, made of himself a sacrificial offering. The Prince of life became the Prince of martyrs.

“Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him; Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; he riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all. For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean.”

The act of Christ in washing the feet of his disciples was a sacred one; his motive in so doing was to bring about, through their remembrance of what Christ had done for them, a state of feeling where no exaltation of one above another should find place. This ordinance was to bring brother to an understanding of the feelings of his brother.

The last act of Christ in behalf of his betrayer was to wash his feet. He, their Lord and Master, showed that he would do anything to save the most guilty sinner. He said, “He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.” If he will believe on Jesus Christ as the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world, he is the child of God.

Christ came not to save man in his sins, but from his sins. John’s testimony of him was, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” And “as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”

Christ had washed the feet of Judas first. This disciple was having his last opportunity. When the ceremony was ended, the Master said, “Ye are clean, but not all. For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean.” These words were spoken that Judas might understand that Christ had read his secret purposes, that he was not ignorant of his wicked schemes. This was his opportunity to confess and be converted. The disciples did not understand his words at the time, but they were imprinted on their memory afterward, and they had something to consider in the patience, the mercy, and the forbearance of God toward the most grievously erring.

Christ gave his disciples to understand that the washing of their feet did not cleanse away their sin, but that the cleansing of their heart was tested in this humble service. If the heart was cleansed, this act was all that was essential to reveal the fact. He had washed the feet of Judas; but he said, “Ye are not all clean.” Judas brought a traitor’s heart to this scene, and Christ revealed to all that he knew him to be the betrayer of his Lord, and that the washing of his feet was not an ordinance to cleanse the soul from its moral defilement.

“So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord; and ye say well; for so I am [for I have given you an example of the position you should hold toward one another]. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.” Here is the object-lesson: “Ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.” “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent, greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.” This ordinance is not to be treated in a mechanical way as a form. Its real object is to teach humility.

“I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me. Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.”

Jesus would give convincing proof that he understood perfectly the character of Judas, and that he had not withheld his ministry even from him whom he knew to be working to betray him into the hands of his enemies. And we have, in his example, the lesson that the ordinance of feet-washing is not to be deferred because there are some professed believers who are not cleansed from their sins. Christ knew the heart of Judas, yet he washed his feet. Infinite Love could do no more to bring Judas to repentance, and save him from taking this fatal step. If this service of his Master, in humbling himself to wash the feet of the worst sinner, did not break his heart, what more could be done? It was the last act of love that Jesus could evidence in behalf of Judas. Infinite Love could not compel Judas to repent, confess his sin, and be saved. Every opportunity was granted him. Nothing was left undone that could be done to save him from the snare of Satan.

Let all behold, in the boundless love of Christ, a long-suffering Saviour, who holds out every inducement for the sinner to receive him, repent, and be cleansed from the defilement of sin. We must understand that because we suppose one to be in error and sin, we are not to divorce ourselves from him, refuse to have any association with him, and make our suppositions prominent. The example of Christ will not sustain any one in these conclusions. Many a soul may be saved by further effort on the part of his brother; but a careless separation from him, leaving him exposed to the temptations of Satan, and driving him upon the devil’s battle-ground, is not the method of Christ. He sought to restore, not to destroy. He who washed the feet of his disciples was the Majesty of heaven. He had the hoarded love of eternity in his heart, but he was in their midst as one who served; and in washing their feet, he gave them evidence that he would do any service, however humble, in order to make them heirs together with him of all the eternal wealth of heaven’s treasure.

When this simple ordinance is being performed, the followers of Christ should bear in mind that this is the time for all to search their hearts to see if they are willing to humble themselves in spirit, and follow the example of Christ. He gives them this ordinance as a test, a heart-searcher. The Holy Spirit will be present on every occasion to convince of sin, of any wrong action done to a brother. Let none grieve the Holy Spirit of God by disregarding the object of this ordinance, and the gracious opportunity it presents to confess every wrong, every act of injustice done to a brother. Had Judas accepted this last chance given him by Christ, the poor sinner would never have betrayed his Lord, and the words of Christ would never have been spoken, “Ye are not all clean.”

The Lord is present on every occasion when this humble ceremony is performed. He is the unseen Witness. He reads every heart, with its concealed purposes, its wrong-doings, its sin. You can neglect, you can leave, these seasons of divine appointment; and of you Christ‘s words may be appropriately spoken, “Ye are not all clean.”

Is any sin cherished? Let it be cut away from the soul by confession. The first look, the first act, of contrition and repentance that you direct toward Christ, does not escape his notice. The first step you take toward him will bring him more than a step toward you. All things, especially on this occasion, are ready for your reception. He will meet you in your weakness, repenting, broken-hearted soul, with his divine strength; he will meet your emptiness and spiritual poverty with his inexhaustible fulness.

In this ordinance, Christ discharged his disciples from the cares and burdens of the ancient Jewish obligations in rites and ceremonies. These no longer possessed any virtue; for type was meeting antitype in himself, the authority and foundation of all Jewish ordinances that pointed to him as the great and only efficacious offering for the sins of the world. He gave this simple ordinance that it might be a special season when he himself would always be present, to lead all participating in it to feel the pulse of their own conscience, to awaken them to an understanding of the lessons symbolized, to revive their memory, to convict of sin, and to receive their penitential repentance. He would teach them that brother is not to exalt himself above brother, that the dangers of disunion and strife shall be seen and appreciated; for the health and holy activity of the soul are involved.

This ordinance does not speak so largely to man’s intellectual capacity as to his heart. His moral and spiritual nature needs it. If his disciples had not needed this, it would not have been left for them as Christ‘s last established ordinance in connection with, and including, the last supper. It was Christ‘s desire to leave to his disciples an ordinance that would do for them the very thing they needed,–that would serve to disentangle them from the rites and ceremonies which they had hitherto engaged in as essential, and which the reception of the gospel made no longer of any force. To continue these rites would be an insult to Jehovah. Eating of the body, and drinking of the blood, of Christ, not merely at the sacramental service, but daily partaking of the bread of life to satisfy the soul’s hunger, would be in receiving his word and doing his will.

— E.G. White, Review and Herald, 6/14/1898

Outro

That last part was quite interesting. Let us reflect a bit on it.

People often think of the Old Testament types and shadows ending at the cross, but we have just read that it took place at the ordination of this service. Why is that?

The book Seventh Month Revival describes how there is a shadow—a parable—in the Law that essentially illustrated the uncleanness of sin: how pervading it is and how it is cleansed. Objects were considered to be “clean” and “unclean,” not for practical reasons, but for a parable to be enacted. The entire sanctuary system, and “unclean” people who participated in it, illustrated the cleansing, with various washings included. But when Peter said, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head,” “Jehoshua saith to him, ‘He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all” (John 13:9-10).

That was a new idea for the disciples. Much of their Jewish religion involved the parable of becoming clean, yet now it was only the feet that needed cleansing. Why? Because the Messiah had come. He was revealed to the world. He is the One that can make everyone clean from sin, and the feet represent our walk in life. Many shadows were required to portray His comprehensive mission, but we now have the Substance. When the Messiah makes are daily walk clean, everything is clean. We will do what is right, for the Spirit of the Messiah has cleansed us every whit. How does He do it? We have just read one major way how that has widely been overlooked. Let us not forsake the true observance of this Christian ordinance, nor daily prayer and bathing in the Word of God.

This article was part 3 of 6. To read the whole series, visit the official EGW Writings website (you’ll need to skip an article that is between numbers 4 and 5.