Sabbath

Dear Brother

St. Helena, “Elmshaven,” California

March 8, 1909

Previously unpublished.

Dear Brother:

Your letter is received. I have a very deep interest in you. I have had many things presented before me of your discouraging situation in the past. The Lord has kept His loving kindness over you that you should have courage and press your way through the moral darkness to light and faith and hope, and that you should stand with the body of believers and be settled and rooted and grounded in the truth. Then will your influence be to strengthen, to build up souls in the truth. At your house the most precious light was given me that the work now for you is to stand firmly and not hesitatingly. There was a Judas in Christ’s day working under the spirit of covetousness. There are Judases in every church; there are men acting the part of Judas.

You have had evidence that the testimonies I have borne to you and to others were verity and truth. Now you have light, most precious light, and it is your privilege to extend that light decidedly. There was a Judas among the disciples¬—one was sent out with the apostles. Christ had His purpose to number Judas with the ones sent. Our Saviour’s purpose was not specified, but Judas had the result before him of the ministry of Christ and His healing and working. And he, Judas, had labored with the apostles to act an unselfish part, as Christ had ordained them to go forth and told them how to carry the work. We have not a history of what part Judas acted, but consider that he was to deal in the expenses and carried the bag containing the means of settling the expenses. There is a Judas in every organization, in every country, in every organized church. This Judas-working will offer opposition to the genuine, true work.

Jesus accepted the gift of Mary in anointing Him, showing her appreciation of His work for her. Judas remarked on the expense as he saw the costly ointment poured upon the Lord Jesus Christ by Mary. Martha’s character in some respects was different from that of Mary. Mary’s sins had been forgiven by the sin-pardoning Saviour, and in return she, in a most appreciative manner, poured the costly ointment, very precious, upon Christ’s feet and the perfume filled the house. Judas suggested he might have had this ointment sold and the money given to the poor, then that money would come into his hands to handle as he pleased. Judas’ remarks were not genuine. Jesus does not condemn Mary’s anointing His feet. “Let her alone, she has done this with a prophetic anticipation of My burial. The poor ye have always with you; Me ye have not always.” This action in that company was a distinction of a class.

Christ would have all understand that their objections were not to be taken up. Her deed was not to be reproved, but to be justified by One who reads the heart, and that prepared the evidence that would fill its place when needed. Christ came to our world to give a message to all who would humble their hearts to perfect obedience to do His teachings. All who receive the message are to bear the testimony to the world. To all who practice the truth and obey His commandments, He proclaims that life which is from everlasting to everlasting. Christ came to this world of sin and sorrowCaway from His heavenly home—to endure rejection, shame, and reproach, and to enter His life of conflict to save sinful human beings. Christ always realized He was in a sinful world as One sent to seek and to save that which was lost. The Father knew when He sent His Son into the world that as His representative He must suffer many things. He would represent the Father in sinless character, but He ever had before Him the satanic agencies to make His life a life of suffering, conflict, disappointment, and grief. He knew that the last severe test was soon to come, the severest that satanic agencies could devise for the holy, heaven-sent Messenger. It is not the good and gracious Missionary to our world who is honored of the world.

(John 5.) At a feast of the Jews, “a certain man was there which had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, He saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? The impotent man answered Him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.” Christ’s heart of pity and compassion was always ready for any such emergencies. He had wrought many miracles to relieve suffering humanity on the Sabbath day, and “Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.” “Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk? And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed Himself away, a multitude being in that place.” That wonderful miracle of healing seemed to have no influence upon those Jewish authorities to remove their prejudice, but if they could have had a chance to have condemned Christ then and there, they would have done Him harm.

“Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole. And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath day.” The Sabbath day is never desecrated by the Lord Jesus Christ. But when their wrath waxed strong against Christ for relieving the poor, suffering human being—this act of mercy in working so wonderful a cure—the facts of healing were in perfect harmony with His Father’s plan to relieve suffering humanity. It was not a desecration of the law of God to do these wonderful works in our world. It was in harmony with the law of God to give relief to the suffering humanity.

“But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill Him, because He not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God. Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do: for what things soever He doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son and sheweth Him all things that Himself doeth: and He will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.

“For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: that all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.”

Read carefully the words of Christ and practice them. There is the most important lesson for every member of the human family.

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word and believeth on Him that sent Me hath everlasting life, and shall not come unto condemnation; but has passed from death unto life.” “And shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”

When we think of Jesus as coming from the Father to act the part God has sent Him to act, let us have a much higher, larger faith that will not become weak and inefficient when tempted and tried. What words are these, “I am come,” surely come, according to the arrangements God made with His Son, that great and full sacrifice that would save every repenting soul. This was a sacrifice and death unlike all other deaths—the just and righteous suffering for the unjust and the unrighteous of all the sinful race. Christ without the guilt or stain of sin takes the guilt of every sinner upon His own divine soul. He that was guiltless, He that was equal with God, sent on such a message to our world! Can we comprehend it? I speak to church members, Can you comprehend this matter and be so indifferent in regard to saving souls ready to perish? In all the cities there are souls to be saved. As I stand before the congregations of believers and unbelievers, it seems that I am bearing a message to all, that they should consider putting before them eternal truths upon which their souls’ salvation is pending, according to their treatment of the message. I feel to the depths of my human being the result of the message I am giving. It is no time now to treat these efforts made by ministers and their helpers in any different manner.

Christ declares “He that sent Me is true.” John 7:7-20. From whom do our ministers and our medical workers in our sanitariums get their message? Will you consider this, all you who are working in various lines to bring those for whom you labor in our cities to the understanding of the Word of God? Human lips are to speak—as Christ has spoken—the most sacred truths ever given to human beings.

If they receive the Word, they are truly sanctified through the Word and may say, I am bearing to you the wonderful truths of the Word of the living God and am in earnest. Sanctification is through belief of the truth. Your own souls and bodies speak the wonderful message, magnifying by your works the law of God. By living true, sincere, sanctified lives through obedience to that law which is holy, just, and good, all who will may be fashioned under its sanctified requirements. An unholy world needs the message that comes from pure and sanctified hearts to tell the wonderful truths of the Word to the souls who are perishing out of Christ. Why this little is being done is surprising. All our churches are to be warned and given the message. Now is our time, our opportunity, to not only preach the Word but practice the Word.

Jesus says through His Word presented by His messengers, “Think not that I am come to lessen one precept of the holy law of God; for no sinner, whatever his pretension to righteousness may have been, is accepted unless he is truly living the holy law of God with a sanctified, holy heart. In all our cities the work must be carried, and they decide their own destiny. The true God is high and lifted up, exalted, and not one sinner will be permitted to enter the golden gates of the city of our God, the New Jerusalem, with sins unrepented of and unforsaken. They will be working out the teachings of Christ, who came to the world to educate and to do the ministry of healing and to work in perfect harmony with the Father. Christ comes in human flesh to offer Himself as an offering to a sinful world who will refuse Him, the Son of God, who will refuse to forsake its own way, and refuse to practice the virtues of Christ in this world.

“I am come” are the words of the heavenly Messenger. “Think not I am come to destroy the law or the prophets. I am come not to destroy but to fulfill.” The Lord Jehovah is true; obeying His righteous law and working the works of Christ, to become one with Christ, man becomes in words and works partaker of His divine nature. Humanity lays hold of divinity. The Lord Jehovah has condescended that the pattern of the heavenly being should be represented by His only beloved Son. “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His only begotten Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled,” in the new power He would give them. “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His only begotten Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and because of sin, condemned sin in” the human nature, for Christ was tempted upon all points like as man is tempted. “For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh, that His righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit.” Romans 8. Christ says, “I am come; the way, the truth, and the life.” Christ tells us Himself, “I am not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

Now the work of every enlightened soul is to give the word of invitation: “Come, partake of the waters of life freely.” Wherefore the One who has said, “I am come,” tells us, “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” He came that He might give the invitation, “Come.” He had first to come in human form, that we might come to Christ. He came in human likeness, that we should not be extinguished by His glory. He laid off His royal robe and His kingly crown and came as a divine Teacher, that humanity could have speech with Him, and learn of Him His meekness and His perfection, that they may in their humanity reach toward divinity by being partakers of His divine nature.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that Christ in His humanity might grasp divinity and that the human nature shall be able, through faith, to grasp the divine nature, having overcome. Romans 4 and 5. I cannot write this all out, but I see that our own people in cities in any and every place have a work to do and should carry it in a different manner than they have done for years in the past. The Lord has been laying our cities out before them, but they have eyes but see not the work to be done. All who believe are to work for unbelievers in all our cities. Truth in all its sanctifying power is not magnified in the work of soul saving in our cities. The Lord has presented the matter before the people in its magnitude. The Lord declares there is no longer to be a few men in one place to keep the work and carry it as it has been done, that this great work cannot be left as is now represented. A change must come that will place responsibilities upon more than a few minds. The Lord calls for decided changes.

The work is many years behind, under the plea, “There is not means to open the cities.” And there never will be means unless there is a decided change made. Appeals have been made to work the cities. All nationalities you will meet. Redeem the time. When men will move out under the Lord’s directions, and show their faith by their works, there will be decided changes. Men in our cities are to hear the message of warning and then God will impress the men of our cities to give means to help advance the work. If Christ was on earth, in the place of handling one or two centers He would send men into cities. He would work with them. All the means possible would be raised to begin the work. But there needs to be the converting power of the Holy Spirit moving upon human minds. Men in official positions need to wake up, to heed the words of God and go into cities. Physicians converted to the truth should unite with gospel ministers, and men who will not fail or become discouraged but work diligently, as Christ worked when He sent out His disciples. The very ways and means will come when men will follow the directions of the Lord Jesus.

As long as unbelief bars the way our cities will be unworked, as they have been the last twenty years. The Lord forbids the plans that bar the way. Better not appoint large interests for too large schools where work has already been carried on, but go into the cities. I lie awake hours night after night, praying and planning. The Lord has given special light for Portland, Maine, and there are other cities also to be worked, too many to be reckoned up. Go with the work into places that have never been worked, and establish your small places for schools, and then educate the workers by taking them with you to instruct them in different lines of work. There need to be men of inventions who will work in a humble way. The Lord is not pleased with the neglect of the cities and centering in companies in a few places but neglecting the very work to be done. Put up no extravagant buildings for a display. Put up buildings in the cities that are unpretentious. Commence missionary work in several places and merge in one city and then divide and enter the next city. And thus several cities are being worked, and the Lord will respond to the earnest efforts made and will make the truth a power.

I have been instructed if the inventions had been made in our large cities, as Portland, many years in the past, thousands would now be converted and would have worked for other souls. But if any souls need converting now it is those who have had the message before them for years. The Lord calls for a change. There are to be no buildings that shall need so much means invested that the very work in missionary lines shall be left undone. Satan looks on these neglected centers with delight. He is ordering and directing his forces year after year to make it harder to reach souls. Now the time has come to establish schools in new places, not large schools but schools where there will be workers preparing and educating workers, dispensing books and papers. The papers are to take in and deal more fully with the simplicity of Bible lessons. Our own people need the very instruction that is given. Physicians, men and women physicians, can do a great work they little suppose could be done. Acts 8 had better be carefully studied. The Lord would have much spreading about, and it will not be done until there is division and sub-division among the men who have acted an important part for years. And now if the Lord will accept us, let us give our individual selves to God and the Holy Spirit will cooperate with us. All heaven has been waiting for truly converted men to be baptized with the Holy Ghost.

[The remainder apparently added in 1910.]

Wake up, brethren, wake up! Let the converting power of God come to your souls else Satan will use you as he did Saul to hunt up souls to be persecuted. Acts 9. This whole chapter is a lesson to us all. There are some who are not converted who will work to do all in their power, as did the satanic agencies in Christ’s day; they crucified the Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God. Read the account of Lucifer in Ezekiel 28. Bear in mind that history is to be repeated. A great education in experience does not help if it does not perfect the knowledge of the glory of God to exalt the Lord Jehovah and His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. Lucifer’s act to exalt himself will be a power he can exercise upon just such men as we shall have to deal with in our present and future experience. Read and understand Acts 9.

I am not to say a word to discourage. But when men are warned and do not take any heed to the warning the Lord gives but follow their own way, then the Lord will not let them go on to hinder His work. There is a God in heaven who is looking upon souls who have drawn themselves away, who will think they can interpret the way of the Lord God and pursue the same course in exercising the confident spirit they have done for years, but their minds and their influence are directly opposed to the Word of the Lord God. And after all that they have heard of the Lord’s work through the messages He has given, they are not thoroughly converted in spirit and we cannot trust them. We have a work to carry out and we want men who will be glad to be counseled, else they can be no help to us in this perilous time of this earth’s history. We do want to honor God. It has nearly cost me my life to have to meet and work against the spirits that have been seeking constantly to make impressions in their own way. Nine years have passed into eternity, with the warning kept before them to give the message to the cities that have not been warned.

In a humble, unpretentious way, take the Word and work for souls that have never heard the truth. Neither in Washington nor in any other place is the message to be confined and labor given entirely to our own people. Give the truth to them that have not yet heard it by entering neighborhoods and cities and so arranging the meetings that physicians and ministers, and all who understand the truth, shall go to work not merely for our own people but invent every means to present the gospel in the most convincing manner possible. There are our own people that for years have devised and planned and followed out their own inventions.

The Lord has given me the labor and sustained me in helping the ministers to give the gospel trumpet a certain sound. This I did and have worked to give the truth in its own sacred bearing, and more, to give the message to those who should have been doing the very work in our cities that has been kept before them for the last twenty years. The last work in messages given me has nearly cost me my life, but I shall never cease as long as men in places of responsibility do not give the trumpet a certain sound. Lucifer I have referred to again and again. I have met the spirit of satanic agencies and had them work against me until I have become so distressed under the strain that I have thought I should never recover.

I am now nearly 83 years old. I have been kept awake nights. Two whole nights I could not gain any sleep, and then after a few hours of sleep the burden was upon me. It may seem a very light matter to those who have not united with me in the messages God has given me to bear for His people. And those who have been placed in positions of high influence I know were not following on step by step in the way of the Lord.

Here are the various responsibilities to be carried, and if they had a jot or tittle where they could differ with the Lord’s faithful servants, they would not come into line but would make a jot and tittle of matters where there was a difference of opinion, notwithstanding light had been given. But they supposed they could get out something new, exalt themselves, and if permitted they bring in dissension and strife and divisions. The unworked cities would have, and should have, been a subject of great need of repentance on their part, considering the souls they have left unwarned.

When will these men of responsibility understand they have paid very little heed to the presentations of the cities that have not heard of the Sabbath question—that the seventh day was the Sabbath of the Lord our God? When the word of the Lord has been disregarded and the cities left unworked, it has been a question how we shall treat the matter. Means have been called for to send the message to foreign fields, while a very large number of all nationalities are in our cities. For the last 20 years every minister of Jesus Christ, by substantial ways and means, should have arranged to meet the people. Right in our own congested cities are thousands that have never heard the truth, and in simplicity worked out the health reform principles, and the Bible Sabbath principles, which are testing the people today. Thousands of people are unconverted and ought to have heard the warning. But the enemy will work on human minds to exalt some little item of difference of opinion, and make a world out of an atom, which the enemy of all righteousness has exalted before some minds, while the great message has been “Work the cities.” Souls are perishing for the light, the soul-saving light, to come to them.

The Sabbath is the truth brought in from the time the Lord made the world in six days and rested on the seventh day. “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made, and He rested on the seventh day. And the Lord blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made.” The Lord has never removed the sanctification He placed on the seventh day; it is to be observed without any change.

But Lucifer, the most glorious angel next to Christ, thought himself equal with God and made the effort, because of his beauty and glory, that he should be next to God, and then he could work out God’s plans. Thus Lucifer claimed the position next to the Creator. But Christ was the only begotten Son of God. Lucifer made war in heaven and would not take the position God assigned him, therefore he fell from his high estate and has been in the world, a warring element against God’s plans, and has had great power to allure and deceive souls to ruin them. There have been two parties in the world, the true and the false.

*****

We have reason to walk carefully before God to honor and to fear Him and to glorify His holy name. I have a message to bear to our people: The Lord is not pleased with the course they have pursued the last ten years. We were called from Australia to come to America, and it has been a hard and trying time for us. We have had to meet the many perversities of human beings claiming to be the people of God. The Lord has had a people, but Lucifer has wrought, and strange things have had to be met. For the last twenty years in Australia and in America we have seen the working out of Satan’s plans.

Let every man consider he has himself to bring into order. Read 2 Peter, chapter 1, verse 1, to the close of the chapter. When we came from Australia we expected to remain a couple of years and then to return. But the Lord has instructed us to remain. We have not been dismissed from the field. I had a special work to do in the Washington camp meeting, and I could not venture to go without the Lord’s bidding. The Lord gave me the message to bear to the people and I was strengthened and greatly moved by the Spirit of the Lord. But there were leading presidents who took not an interest in the Lord’s working, and therefore they that were appointed as presidents of conferences were not all sanctified and prepared.