Christ Rejected in Every Generation

[skyblue888]

CHRIST REJECTED IN EVERY SUCCEEDING GENERATION!

Post # 1

"As the light and life of men was rejected by the ecclesiastical authorities in the days of Christ, so it has been rejected in every succeeding generation. Again and again the history of Christ's withdrawal from Judea has been repeated. When the Reformers preached the word of God, they had no thought of separating themselves from the established church; but the religious leaders would not tolerate the light, and those that bore it were forced to seek another class, who were longing for the truth. In our day few of the professed followers of the Reformers are actuated by their spirit. Few are listening for the Voice of God, and ready to accept truth in whatever guise it may be presented. Often those who follow in the steps of the Reformers are forced to turn away from the churches they love, in order to declare the plain teaching of the word of God. And many times those who are seeking for light are by the same teaching obliged to leave the church of their fathers, that they may render obedience." Desire of Ages, p.232.

In the above quotation is set forth a very clear and definite principle which is as true in any age as in any other, and as true of any one people as of any other. No age and no people are exempt from this principle by special right or special call.

Yet the curious fact is that any people in any age are quick to recognize, to accept and to apply the above principle when it is to their advantage and to their favour but to utterly deny, reject and to war against it if it is not to their favour.

Thus the Jews in the days of Christ viewed with joy and pride any acquisition which came to them from the heathen nations around about. They were indeed zealous missionaries and were forever seeking to draw other peoples into the family of Israel. This is very evident from the words of Christ when He said:

"Ye compass sea and land to make a proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves." Matthew 23:15.

They would cheerfully accept the above statement when it told the story of the heathen being forced to turn away from their own teachers to come to the Jews to learn of them but when He came, who was the Truth then, they fought with all the power and strength they had to prevent people leaving the hollow sham which was their message, to go to that which was the real and living way!

"The Jewish people cherished the idea that they were the favorites of Heaven, and that they were always to be exalted as the church of God. They were the children of Abraham, they declared, and so firm did the foundation of their prosperity seem to them that they defied earth and Heaven to dispossess them of their rights. But by lives of unfaithfulness they were preparing for the condemnation of Heaven and for separation from God." C.O.L.294.

The question is, Is there something we can learn from them? Is it possible that we, as a church, could be repeating their history?

to be continued

[skyblue888]

Yes dgrimm60, that quote gives us real food for thought, to say the very least of it! Yes, indeed, as the statement clearly says, in every generation whenever the Lord sends light to His people, it is resisted.

Christ Rejected In Every Succeeding Generation

Post # 2

THE SAME PICTURE REPEATED

Did not the prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah both stated that God would never forsake Israel? See Jeremiah 31:35-37; 33:23-26 and Isaiah 2:1-3. These were powerful passages of Scripture used by the religious leaders in the days of the apostle Paul to prove the perpetuity of the Jewish church. And yet in A.D.34, when they stoned Stephen, they sealed their rejection of God's mercy and they were set aside as a people!

One has but to study the history of The Reformation to find the same picture repeated as the Catholic Church fought to keep her prisoners, and today the same situation is with us again as the churches of this time fall into the sad pattern of apostasy.

Without question, the situation which existed in the days of Christ and in the days of The Reformation, imposed a very severe test upon the individuals who lived in those times.

They had to make their choice between the established organization, which in its hoary aging, had lost sight and grasp of the truth itself in the mazes of human speculative theories.

Today, as we look back into those times, we not only marvel as to how men could, as the majority did, make the choice for the orthodox organization, and against the truth, but we confidently feel that had we lived back in those days, without hesitation we would have stood with Christ and the truth.

It is all too easy to do this so far as the past is concerned, because, not only are we not a part of the organization involved, but we see also the outworking of the choice made by those men and women back there.

Furthermore, our minds have tended to be imprisoned in an identically unconditional loyalty to another organization which was called to be the pillar and ground of the truth.

This very attitude, then and now, causes the closing of the mind against any consideration that we might be repeating the history of the past especially when it appears that the witness of the Word of God supports the concept we hold.

But we are to understand that the test imposed upon the one generation are not confined to that generation, but are common to every generation of men. Always, the call is to choose between established orthodoxy and organized religion and the truth of God!

to be continued

[skyblue888]

Christ Rejected In Every Succeeding Generation

Post # 3

THE TEST WILL COME NEARER HOME

So it will be that today this test will come nearer home than we could ever have anticipated. Once again, the church raised up, even as the Jews were, to proclaim the very message of God, has come down to the fifth generation. Evidence upon evidence shows that that there has been the development of a complex organizational structure wherein the authority of the church and its material prosperity seems to be more important than the proclamation of the truth.

Exactly as in the days of Christ and of the Reformers, the Lord will allow His light to shine upon His people in demonstration and power of the Holy Spirit. That which was first given in 1888 and which, after its unfortunate general rejection then, will be brought again to the church of today.

In all this the history of the past will be repeated to the very letter for, exactly as the Jews and the Romanists reacted to the fresh and living truth among them, so will the leaders of the church of today, while the very emphasis on the supreme authority of the church which was the major defense of the religionists of those days, will likewise become the emphasis and defense of the church today.

The same danger is before us. Exactly as the multitudes blindly followed then, so many will blindly follow today while but few will be able to see the real issues in the matter to make a correct choice between denominationalism on the one hand, and the living truth upon the other.

So we can expect the history of the past to be repeated as once again, the angel of Revelation 18, which is the life and the light of men, is to be rejected by the religious leaders.

sky

[skyblue888]

Christ Rejected In Every Succeeding Generation

Post # 4

THE SELF-SAME ANSWER

We are fortunate in that this situation for the people of God would not be new. Exactly what the faithful few would have to face, has been faced by the faithful few in past ages, and we have the history of their experience as a sure guide for us today. For that reason we read, "The important movements of the present have their parallel in those of the past, and the experience of the church in former ages has lesssons of great value for our own time." G.C.343.

In fact, we have been expressly and plainly told that "all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come." 1 Cor.10:11.

In the past the Lord had brought the message of life and salvation to the church which had come to the place where it had fallen into a state where the message was unacceptable to it, and she would fight against it, forcing the believers to separate from the ranks as persecution raised its ugly head. Then the church leaders would turn to condemn the very ones whom they had forced out, by using Scripture to condemn their separation!

The very Scriptures which were used, were the ones which proclaimed the eternal endurance and continuance of the church. Yet, in spite of those very statements which seemed to be so utterly contrary to their action, the believers have separated from the churches and history has proved that they did the very thing the Lord desired they should do. In fact, none of us would be where we are today were it not for the stand that they took then.

It then follows that the answer which they gave to their accusers, will have to be the self-same answer we may have to give today given that the same circumstances were to arise.

to be continued

[skyblue888]

Christ Rejected In Every Succeeding Generation

Post # 5

PAUL'S EXPERIENCE AND OURS

There are many points in history to which we might turn, but let us take what must be one of the very best and safest examples,--that of the experience of the Apostle Paul.

Paul, we find, was in exactly the same position the true believers will soon have to face. He left the Jewish Church, the established church of that day, and he had to do it in the face of powerful statements from the Old Testament. Yet he did it, and we know that he did the right thing indeed and we feel that if we had lived then we most certainly would also have separated with him from the Jewish Church.

Paul's whole statement in regard to this is found in the ninth chapter of Romans, the first verses of which chapter record his testimony of love for the people of the Jewish Church. This is as strong a statement as it is possible to give in expression of love for a people.

Note his words carefully:

"I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost. That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning to the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen."

to be continued

[skyblue888]

Christ Rejected In Every Succeeding Generation

Post # 6

THE CALLED OF GOD

But note very carefully that the very same Paul who was saying this, who was giving this strong protest of love even to the point where he was prepared to lose his eternal life that they might be saved, was forced to separate from that very organization and communion.

Paul really did love the Jewish people and longed more than anything else to see them saved in the Kingdom, but loving them as he did could not cause him to overlook their true state and to act in harmony with what he knew to be their true state. Facts are facts and he had to state them as they stood.

But his enemies naturally made the most of this and charged him with being one who did hate Israel and, what was worse, one that made the prophecies of none effect. Let us examine their line of argument that we may learn from it.

In the first case they could truthfully say that Israel was the called of God, having been called to be His chosen channel of communication to a perishing world. And Paul did not argue with this for he believed it even more strongly than they. It was the foundation pillar of the Jewish people.

In fact, the believing of it made it all the more imperative that he separate from those, who, while claiming to be the true continuation of the movement the Lord had raised, had turned against the very truths which had been the making of that people!

Therefore Paul could cheerfully and sincerely state his belief in the call of Israel. Read the words of his declaration:

"Who are Israelites; to whom pertains the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;..." Romans 9:4.

[skyblue888]

Letters to the Churches

Post # 7

A CLEAR CUT PROPHECY

Likewise, at the present time there is no question whatsoever but that the Lord raised the Advent Movement to be the channel of communication to a perishing world in these last days. We are as firmly established on that truth as Paul ever was on the raising of the Jewish Church.

The Great Second Advent Movement was no mistake. It was of God, and the truths the Lord gave His people then, are to be with them to the end.

In neither case is there any issue as to what the Lord called the people to be. The issue is entirely over what that people have become. That was the issue in the days of Paul, and it is the issue today. It is not what they were called to be but what they have become.

But the moment Paul and the early Christians raised any question as to what the Jewish Church had become and therefore raised the charge that they had by their apostasy and their rejection of the Lord of glory, forfeited their Divine calling, the Jews pointed to the strong array of Old Testament Scriptures which foretold the perpetuity of Israel even to the very end.

"You!" They cried at Paul in hot indignation "make the Scriptures of none effect! You claim to believe them but, while they plainly say that we will be the people of God to the very end, you declare that they are finished and done. Look, just look at what the Scriptures say and then compare that with your stand!"

Let us turn to some of these and see how the Pharisees would use them then. The first reference is in Isaiah 2:1-3.

"The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and the nations shall flow into it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob: and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.'"

Now here is a prophecy which distinctly says that right down in the last days Jerusalem would still be the great centre from which the truth of God would go forth to the whole world. There might be some dark patches in between just as there had been in the past, but the Lord would always hold that city for Himself.

Now the last days are the very end, so therefore, here was a clear cut prophecy which stated that right through to the very end the Jewish Church and organization would stand as the channel of communication to the world. There it was clearly and convincingly written!

to be continued

[skyblue888]

Christ Rejected In Every Succeeding Generation

Post # 8

THEY WERE UTTERLY WRONG

The inference so strongly pressed upon the people therefore, was that to separate from that church was to separate from the ship which was going through and therefore to fail to go through oneself.

Now, can't we hear the wily Pharisees and the other Church leaders arguing as they most certainly must have done in the days of Christ and of Paul:

"Why, do not be disturbed about this Man from Galilee, or this preacher, Saul of Tarsus. There is nothing new about this. We have been through these problems again and again. Remember how in the past there have been various offshoots which have arisen and proclaimed the apostasy of Israel, claimed that they had the real truth. But what has become of every one of these movements and the men who led them? Look and see!

"That man Theudas arose followed by Judas (See Acts 5:36,37) and then there was Barabbas. (See D.A.733.) But where are they now? Why, in some cases the leaders were killed by the authorities and the movements are scattered and come to naught. Look at the sadness, the disappointment and the disillusionment of the unfortunate people who were deceived by these false teachers every one of whom declared the end of the church, but who speedily came to their end instead.

And where is the church in and through all this? Why it is still there. And we do not doubt that others will arise as this Paul, but they too will pass away and the church will be there to the very end. So save yourself the disappointment and the sorrow; learn the lesson of the past and stay with the ship and go through with it to the very end of time."

How utterly and fatally wrong time has proved them to be. They were utterly wrong in their argument that the men who had arisen had failed because they had charged the church with apostasy. This was not the reason why they had failed at all. They had failed, not because they had quite correctly charged the church with apostasy, but because they did not have the life and the message to correct the apostasy. And being wrong in their basic argument the Jewish leaders could not help being wrong in the conclusions drawn from that argument.

The argument which they propounded was that the Jewish organization was going right through to the end as the Church of God and the channel of His blessing to the world. To certify what they supposed to be the truth of this argument, they were able to quote many, many powerful Old Testament promises.

"The Jewish people cherished the idea that they were the favorites of Heaven, and that they were always to be exalted as the church of God. They were the children of Abraham, they declared, and so firm did the foundation of their prosperity seem to them that they defied earth and heaven to dispossess them of their rights. But by lives of unfaithfulness they were preparing for the condemnation of Heaven, and for separation from God." C.O.L.294.

to be continued

[skyblue888]

Christ Rejected In Every Succeeding Generation

Post # 9

SOMETHING A LITTLE DEEPER

The fact that the church was going through to the end, they argued, made it a foregone certainty that anyone who arose calling people out of the Jewish organization into another movement, would come to nothing, while the Church sailed majestically and pwerfully on. Not only did they argue the certainty of this so far as any future movement was concerned, but the proof of it lay in the history of all those who had arisen in the past.

Consider that there can be no denying that the Old Testament Scriptures, as they understood them, did state that the church was going through to the end and would thus forever be the church of God. Consider too that, without exception up till the appearance of the new movement under the leadership of Christ, and then of Christ through the apostles, every off-shoot without exception had come to nothing. Therefore it must be recognized that they had what appeared to be a most convincing argument!

And how convincing their argument sounded in the ears of the men and women of that time! How many indeed were won by those arguments and followed that line of reasoning. It took all the worry and the burden from their minds. It eased the troubled convictions stirred by the mighty messages of Paul and the other apostles. It led them to relax now and commit the keeping of their souls to the church. After all, she was going through, and what did they need now to worry about, but to be in her fold and under her care.

But what happened to those who propounded those arguments, and what happened to those who believed those arguments? That is quite a question, is it not! It should teach us that there is something a little deeper in these statements than appears to the surface reader.

to be continued

[skyblue888]

Christ Rejected In Every Succeeding Generation

Post # 10

THE LORD KNOWS ALL ABOUT IT

But there was a class of people who were not so readily convinced of the arguments put forth by the Pharisee. There seemed to be something not quite right there. So some of the people standing by, listening to the Pharisee quoting Isaiah 2:1-3 would look puzzled and say,

"Yes, but look at the condition of Israel. Look at her apostasy, the corruption, and the departures from the truth that mark her ways at the present time. See the way she persecutes those that are seeking to do the right thing and have the courage to point out some of the wrongs in the church. How can she be thus, and do such things, and yet still claim to be the peculiar people of God? Are not these promises in regard to the perpetuity of the church conditional on her faithfulness?"

But for this the Pharisee was not lacking in an answer. With a solemn but confident expression on his face he would say,

"Yes, I know that the situation in the church is far from good. There are many, many things that I cannot endorse and go along with, and there is nothing in the world that is needed more than a revival in the church at this very time. But the Lord knows all about it, and He will take care of it in His own good time and in His own good way. The whole difficulty with these reformers is that they will run ahead of the Lord. They are not prepared to wait for the Lord to work it all out in His own good time and way.

It's all written in the word of prophecy. Read it here with me in Isaiah 1:21-23.

'How has the faithful city become an harlot! It was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers. Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water: thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them."

"Now," continues the wily Pharisee, "you can see that the Lord knows all bout the situation. It has not caught Him by surprise and He is working to correct it. Read with me now the words of verses 25-27. 'And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross and take away all thy tin: And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellers as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city, Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness.'"

And then he would say, "Now tell me, what could be plainer than that there is to be a great shaking in Israel. God will bring it about and then all the elements in the church which are out of tune with Him and His truth, will be shaken out and the true people of God will remain to go on to victory. And when that shaking is over, then the church will be the mighty power for good the Lord wants it to be. At that time, the time of the grand victory of the church, you are going to be either in or out of that church. If you are in and you are faithful, then you will share in the triumph of that church, but, if you are outside, then you will certainly fail to share in that triumph no matter how sincere you may be. So, don't you think that you had better take the safe path and stick with the church? It is going through to the end, you know."

Such were the arguments that the Pharisee in the days of Paul could, and without a doubt did use in seeking to turn the people from the message. Equally without doubt, they were thus successful in turning away many, many people who would otherwise have been believers in the Saviour and His message. That this is true is evident from the statement in Desire of Ages 205 which reads:

"If the priests and rabbis had not interposed, His teaching would have wrought such a reformation as this world has never witnessed."

to be continued

[skyblue888]

Christ Rejected In Every Succeeding Generation

Post # 11

THE CHURCH AS GOD KNOWS IT

Now here, everyone of you who prizes eternal life above all else, is something to really do some thinking about. Here in the world was the Living Christ with the Living Message of Living Righteousness, and the people were of a mind to receive that message. If they had then, there would have been the greatest revival the world has ever witnessed. Looking back in history we can see that, and we believe that, if we had lived then, we most certainly would have been a part of the movement Christ was leading.

Wonderful indeed should have been the results. But that mighty revival never came as it should have come. Only a very, very few took their stand for it. And who prevented it? The religious leaders. "A nation's sin and a nation's ruin were due to the religious leaders." D.A.738. And with what weapons did they defeat it? They defeated it with the arguments that, irrespective of how far the church may have wandered from the way of truth and righteousness, she was still and ever would be the church of God, and that in the end the Lord would purify it and make it white and it, the church as they knew it and defined it, would go through to the Kingdom.

This proved to be an entirely erroneous position to take and it cost them, and every one of those who followed and believed the ministry in these conclusions, their eternal life. It was a very serious blunder to make. We have the evidence and the witness of history to prove that. That very church as they knew it and defined it, did not go through to the end as they were so certain that it would, but became utterly and totally rejected and cut off, and those that stayed with it, were in like manner rejected and forever cut off.

This is not to say that the Church of God is not going through to the end. The Church of God as God knows it and defines it, is going through to the end, and all those who stay with that church, and are faithful to it, will triumph with it. The whole failure and fault with the religious leaders and the people they led, was that they could not see and know that church. They knew and saw a certain church organization, and they defined that to be the church of God, and then they applied the statements in the Old Testament prophecies which was intended by the Lord to speak only of the true Church of God, to that which they mistakenly thought to be the Church of God!

to be continued

[skyblue888]

Christ Rejected In Every Succeeding Generation

Post # 12

THE DEVIL'S MOST EFFECTIVE WEAPON

And so, by misapplying the statements of these prophecies to their own church organization, they were able to make a very convincing case, convincing enough at least to lead the majority of the people astray in their own day. Consider how strongly and effectively they could use Jeremiah 31:35-37 to support their opposition to Christ as there was no question raised in the minds of the hearers in regard to the false premise on which their arguments were based.

Let us read these passages and ask ourselves as to whether stronger and more definite language could be used:

"Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; the Lord of hosts is His name: If those ordinances depart from before Me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall depart from being a nation before Me for ever. Thus saith the Lord; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the Lord."

The modern reader of the Spirit of Prophecy who seeks to prove the perpetuity of the church, could harldy have found a stronger statement than that! Imagine the line of reasoning the Pharisee would have used in his day. He would ask the question:

"Does the sun still shine by day?"

"Yes," the answer had to be.

"Does the moon shine by night at this present time?"

"Yes, it does."

"Then is it possible for God to have cast off Israel for what they have done?"

Imagine how convincing this was to those people back then, but it was only convincing because they did not understand that first they must carefully identify who Israel was before they applied the verse.

Now this tactic on the part of the devil to thwart the truth is so old and so often used that one would think that it would be no longer of any value, but in every generation when the Lord brings forth the truth, the devil brings out this weapon and uses it just as effectively as before. It was the great weapon that helped to frustrate the marvellous revival which might have been in the days of Christ. It was the great weapon used to thwart the work of the Gospel in the days of The Reformation.

to be continued

[skyblue888]

Christ Rejected In Every Succeeding Generation

Post # 13

WILL IT BE USED WITH EQUAL SUCCESS TODAY?

Some of us have read a great deal of Church history. We read of the tactics of the Roman Catholic priests and prelates to keep the people in the Papal Churches. As we read these things, we marvelled at how the people of those times could be so ignorant and enslaved as to allow themselves to be deceived by such arguments. But then, it was an age of serious illiteracy, of consequent ignorance and therefore of fear, and in the light of that it was somewhat understandable. Those were the "Dark Ages."

As we read of those times and of those things, we felt a warm glow of thankfulness that those days were passed and that we lived in an enlightened age when such arguments would never bear weight anymore. We believed that men had been emancipated from such things, and that today it would be vastly different from what it had been then. But to our amazement, we find that the very same arguments as were used back in the days of Paul, and in the days of the Reformers with so much success, are being used with equal success today and will be used to the very end.

As mentioned already in this study, this tactic on the part of the devil to thwart the introduction of the message of life and light for the time is so old and oft used that one would think that it could not again be used with any effectiveness. In a regular battle, if the enemy is known to be one who uses the same tactics every time, then their opponents are well able to meet and defeat him. But not so in this case. The devil simply uses the same arguments and devices over and over again with equal, if not better, success every time. It is evident that there are but few who ever learn the lessons that the past is designed to teach us. But learn them we must. To fail to do so is to suffer the same consequences those in the past suffered,--eternal destruction.

The Pharisees and the papal priests were masters at quoting the Scriptures. They could pile argument on argument to prove their point and were largely successful with the majority. But none of this saved them. Therefore, first we must find the truth, and then we have found the church, and then we have found salvation.

to be continued

[skyblue888]

Christ Rejected In Every Succeeding Generation

Post # 14

WHAT THEN IS THE ANSWER?

It is not enough for us to merely say that the arguments of the religious leaders in Christ's day were obviously erroneous. That they were, is fully proved by the end to which those arguments brought them. That end was eternal severance from the truth of God, and the life of God, and therefore from life itself.

It has been shown above that the very arguments that they used which cost them all this, are the self-same arguments that were used in the days of the Reformation and which we can expect will be used to-day against the truth of God. It must be truly and plainly evident that if those arguments then led to that result, then the self-same arguments to-day would lead to the same result. Those experiences are the plainest possible warnings to us. After all, the very purpose of the recording of these things in the Word of God is for our example upon whom the ends of the world are come. (1 Cor.10:11) Only those who learn not to repeat the mistakes of the past, will avoid the disasters and losses of the present.

But, as said above, it is not enough merely to demonstrate that the argument of the Pharisees and of the Catholic Priests and therefore of any other church is erroneous and fatal in its consequences. We must give the answer to these arguments and show where and how they are false arguments.

Because the arguments used by the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders, confirmed them and the people who believed them in direct opposition to the Son of God and His faithful followers, then we can know with certainty, their arguments were arguments of human or Satanic devising.

Therefore, in the showing as to how and why they were such, no argument of human devising is to be used but only the arguments of the Word of God. To that Word the seeker must go to find how it declares that the arguments used were false and misleading.

As said before, we are in the fortunate position where the history of the past provides us with a situation which could become identical with our own. No better example can be found than the position of Paul, the Apostle and prophet of God, who found that he had to choose between following the truth of God and following on with the established church of the day. When he did follow the truth he found that he had to meet the many arguments propounded by the Jewish leaders with the supposed support of the Old Testament Scriptures in regard to the guaranteed perpetuity of the Jewish organization.

Therefore if we are to understand the true and Scriptural answer to these arguments, and come to the place where we understand what the Lord is saying, when He says that the church will go right through to the end, let us turn to Romans 9 to see what Paul's answer was. Let his answer be the answer of all who may find themselves in a similar situation. Let his position and belief be their position and belief. In doing this they shall be on very safe ground indeed. In fact, they shall be on the only safe ground there is, in respect to this matter.

to be continued

[skyblue888]

Christ Rejected In Every Succeeding Generation

Post # 15

NOT ALL ISRAEL WHICH ARE OF ISRAEL

In the first five verses of Romans 9, as we previously read, Paul testified first of all to his great love for the Jewish people, then he stated his belief in the Divine call to the Jews and of their Divinely appointed mission to the world.

Yet despite this, he stood in complete separation from that organization. The response of the Pharisee and the Priest was to quote from the Old Testament which told of the eternal perpetuity of the Jewish race, and then they charged Paul with making the Word of God of none effect.

But now God through the pen of Paul replies by stating that the Word of God has not been made of no effect by the actions of God's servant, but rather that the Word has been misunderstood and misapplied. Note the words of God:

"Not as though the Word of God had taken no effect for they are not all Israel which are of Israel. Neither because they are the seed of Abraham are they all children but, in Isaac shall Thy seed be called. That is they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God but the children of the promise are counted for the seed." verses 6-8.

Now there is the answer!

The whole argument of the Pharisee, of the Papal priesthood and of the modern church, is based on the assumption that because they can point back to the fact that they began as the people of God, and that they are the direct physical descendants from that people, possessing great religious prosperity and power, having a great zeal for religion and for God, that they must be the church of God and that all the promised blessings are for none other than them.

This is a very natural and common assumption for human beings to make, but Paul shows that it is a very wrong assumption indeed. He shows that they must rest their case on a very different premise from that. He shows that physical descent counts for nothing, and that being the physical sons of Abraham does not necessarily make them the children of Abraham at all. "The children of the flesh," he says, "these are not the children of God."

As evidence of this he points the Pharisee to a case they could not, and would not dare to deny, the case of Isaac and Ishmael. From the physical point of view Ishmael was just as much the son of Abraham as ever Isaac was. If either of them could claim any precedence then it was Ishmael, for he was the first born of the two, and that counted with great weight in the days of Abraham. But Ishmael never did become entrusted with the sacred promises to Israel, and it was not through his line that the promised Saviour came to the world. It is true that in his old age he did repent of his wayward life and became a recipient of the blessing of God through Abraham, but his descendants never followed in the steps of the father.

But every one of his children was a physical son of Abraham as truly as was Caiphas or Annas or any other of the priests and rulers of Israel. But ask any one of those Pharisees or rulers if the children of Abraham through Ishmael were the children of God, and the church of God, and you would have received a most emphatic denial that they ever were. Then the natural question must follow:

"What is it then that makes you the children of God and they not, when both have equal claim to being the physical children of Abraham?"

to be continued

[skyblue888]

dgrimm60,,, this thread is not dealing with those individuals in all ages who have accepted Christ or whatever light was sent to them. It is dealing not with individuals per se but with established organizations. The Jewish organization in Christ's day received two calls and both calls were rejected and thus the Jewish church sealed her rejection of God's mercy. The rejection of the second call was followed by a great persecution and the bearers of the message were forced out and they went to the Gentiles with their message.

There is nothing negative about a thread like this. It is only dealing with prophecy which says that that which has been will be. There is nothing new under the sun.

"The important movements of the present have their parallel in those of the past, and the experience of the church of former ages has lessons of great value for our own time." G.C.343.

sky

[skyblue888]

Your welcome dgrimm60

Christ Rejected In Every Succeeding Generation

Post # 16

ISHMAEL & ISAAC--ESAU & JACOB

Well, the Pharisee might seek to save the situation by asserting that inasmuch as Ishmael had an Egyptian for a mother, the Lord could not accept him as the child of promise. It was through Sarah that the seed was to come and therefore, Isaac and not Ishmael, had to be the child of promise while Ishmael had to be rejected of God.

But Paul seems to have anticipated this argument for he then points to the case of Jacob and Esau. Here were two children who had not only the same father and mother, but the same conception and birth. They were twins. Furthermore, they both were the children of Abraham through Isaac. But once again the Pharisee would deny that the Lord was with Esau, the one son of Isaac, while they recognized that all the promises and blessings came down through the other son of the same father and by the same birth, Jacob.

Again the question must be raised: What is it then that gives you, as the children of Abraham and of Isaac, the right to call yourselves the children of God and the church of God when you recognize that the Edomites, the children of Esau, the children of Abraham and of Isaac, cannot make such a claim, but are the children of the evil one and are not the church of God in any sense of the word at all?

It is difficult to know just how the Pharisee would answer that question now, for it is evident that something other than physical connection with Abraham was needful to establish one's claim to be the church of God. What was that something else? Before the answer is given let us look at two more cases.

They are the cases of Rahab the harlot of Jericho, and Ruth the Moabitess.

to be continued

[skyblue888]

CHRIST REJECTED IN EVERY SUCCEEDING GENERATION

Post # 17

RAHAB AND RUTH

Neither Rahab nor Ruth could claim the least physical descent from Abraham. In fact they came from races which greatly despised and hated the Israelites who in turn held them in poor esteem, yet they were taken into the family of Israel and actually became mothers in the direct line of the Saviour of the world. Thus in the highest and most complete sense were they the children of Abraham for the promise was that through Abraham, in the birth of Christ, would all families of the earth be blessed. They were not simply integrated into the commonwealth of Israel as Gentile believers, but as Israelites, and God so fully recognized them as such as to have the holy seed brought on down through them.

By such plain declarations and illustrations would the God of Heaven teach us that the children of the flesh are not the Children of God. Physical descent counts for nothing, else the children of God and of Israel and of Esau would have as much claim to be the Children of God and of Israel as ever Paul or the Apostles, while on the other hand Rahab and Ruth would be without hope.

What then did Ruth and Rahab have that the Ishmaelites and Edomites never had? The answer is very simple. They had a living, spiritual connection with the God of Heaven. It becomes very evident then, that the only children the Lord recognizes as being children of Abraham and of Israel, are those who have a living experience in righteousness, those who were faithful to the truth of God and to the principles of that truth. None other could claim sonship with Abraham no matter what their position or power in the world might be.

In every age God has such a people. Sometimes they are extremely obscure and small in number, but the Lord has them. The world may at the time be filled with the grand organizations of the long established churches, proudly claiming to be the true church as did the Jews and the Catholics. But God des not walk with these bodies unless they are faithful and true to Him and the principles of His righteousness.

Not one of the promises are for them, nor were ever intended for anybody who did not walk with God. True, they can say that their fathers had the promises and enjoyed the promises, but that was only because the fathers were faithful to the truth of God and to the God of truth. It must be learned that the faithfulness of the fathers does not automatically guarantee that the promises will pass on to the children. The faithful son of Abraham inherited the promises, while the unfaithful one did not. The faithful son of Isaac inherited the promises while his unfaithful son did not.

Therefore, before the Jews in the days of Paul ever dared to claim the promises of Isaiah and of Jeremiah as we have previously quoted, they should first have determined by an examination of their faithfulness, if they were indeed the children of Abraham, if they were Israel, if they were Jerusalem.

to be continued

[skyblue888]

Christ Rejected In Every Succeeding Generation

Post # 18

THAT IS THE QUESTION

It is not enough to be able to point to the Spirit of Prophecy and the Bible on our shelves and in our book shops.

Remember that the Jews in the days of Christ could do that, for the Old Testament was the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy to them. But that did not make them the church of God nor did it save them.

It is not enough to be able to point back to the accomplishments and the evident blessings of the Lord on the work of the Advent fathers as proof that today their children are the church of God.

Remember that the Jews could do all that too.

It is not enough to be able to point to the prophetic proof that the Adventist church rose at the right time with the right message for the hour.

Remember that the Jews could do that too.

It is not enough to show that the movement was directed by God through a prophet.

Remember that the Jews could claim that too.

It is not enough to have grown large and prosperous, to claim all this as the result of God's blessings, and therefore proof that the Lord is still with us.

Remember that the Jews could do that too and that there is no church that is larger, more prosperous or powerful than the Papal church today.

All these things can be claimed by those who are the children of the flesh. They have them by virtue of the their physical inheritance from their fathers. But, "They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God." Rom.9:8.

One can have all the above and still not be the child of God and a part of the Church of God. It is spiritual connection and faithfulness to the truth of God which is the one true test of the true church of God. Will we ever learn this lesson, and make this the measure by which to determine where the church is and thus where the promises are?

That is the question. That is the whole point of the argument God gave to Paul in answer to the Pharisee.

to be continued

[skyblue888]

Christ Rejected In Every Succeeding Generation

Post # 19

IN CONCLUSION

We have only one soul to save and only that same one to lose. The lesson of history is very plain and clear. Certain arguments were used in the days of the Jews to fight the influence of Christ. Those arguments were based on the assumption that a certain church organization was the Church of God. It did not matter that they were rejecting the very Light of Heaven. They were the children of Abraham and that is all that mattered to them. Instead of first asking what and where is the truth and then looking for the church, they first declared themselves to be the one and only true church then and forever.

This argument was used with telling effect by the Roman Church in the dark ages and it is still being used today. The lesson of history is that those who used these arguments, lost out forever and will suffer destruction.

The question is, Are we going to learn the lesson they failed to learn and be saved where they were lost? Or are we going to miss the lesson and fall under the same example of unbelief? The choice is in our hands.

This study is not designed to prove who is, or who is not the true Church of God as a specific movement at the present time. It is designed only to show the dangerous fallacy of a certain line of argument.

If we persist in clinging to the notion that a certain church organization must of necessity be the Church of God, then we will do no better than the Jews or the Papists, and will suffer a like fate with them!

May God help us!

[Guest]

Christ Rejected In Every Succeeding Generation

Post # 18

THAT IS THE QUESTION

It is not enough to be able to point to the Spirit of Prophecy and the Bible on our shelves and in our book shops.

Remember that the Jews in the days of Christ could do that, for the Old Testament was the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy to them. But that did not make them the church of God nor did it save them.

It is not enough to be able to point back to the accomplishments and the evident blessings of the Lord on the work of the Advent fathers as proof that today their children are the church of God.

Remember that the Jews could do all that too.

It is not enough to be able to point to the prophetic proof that the Adventist church rose at the right time with the right message for the hour.

Remember that the Jews could do that too.

It is not enough to show that the movement was directed by God through a prophet.

Remember that the Jews could claim that too.

It is not enough to have grown large and prosperous, to claim all this as the result of God's blessings, and therefore proof that the Lord is still with us.

Remember that the Jews could do that too and that there is no church that is larger, more prosperous or powerful than the Papal church today.

All these things can be claimed by those who are the children of the flesh. They have them by virtue of the their physical inheritance from their fathers. But, "They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God." Rom.9:8.

One can have all the above and still not be the child of God and a part of the Church of God. It is spiritual connection and faithfulness to the truth of God which is the one true test of the true church of God. Will we ever learn this lesson, and make this the measure by which to determine where the church is and thus where the promises are?

That is the question. That is the whole point of the argument God gave to Paul in answer to the Pharisee.

Amen

[skyblue888]

Amen!

[pnattmbtc]

Quote:

When the Jews took the first step in the rejection of Christ, they took a dangerous step. When afterward evidence accumulated that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah, they were too proud to acknowledge that they had erred. So with the people of our day who reject the truth. They do not take time to investigate candidly, with earnest prayer, the evidences of the truth, and they oppose that which they do not understand. Just like the Jews, they take it for granted they have all the truth, and feel a sort of contempt for anyone who should suppose they had more correct ideas than themselves of what is truth. All the evidence produced they decide shall not weigh a straw with them, and they tell others that the doctrine is not true, and afterward, when they see as light evidence they were so forward to condemn, they have too much pride to say "I was wrong"; they still cherish doubt and unbelief, and are too proud to acknowledge their convictions. Because of this, they take steps that lead to results of which they have never dreamed. (1888 Mat. 169-170)

[skyblue888]

Quote:

When the Jews took the first step in the rejection of Christ, they took a dangerous step. When afterward evidence accumulated that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah, they were too proud to acknowledge that they had erred. So with the people of our day who reject the truth. They do not take time to investigate candidly, with earnest prayer, the evidences of the truth, and they oppose that which they do not understand. Just like the Jews, they take it for granted they have all the truth, and feel a sort of contempt for anyone who should suppose they had more correct ideas than themselves of what is truth. All the evidence produced they decide shall not weigh a straw with them, and they tell others that the doctrine is not true, and afterward, when they see as light evidence they were so forward to condemn, they have too much pride to say "I was wrong"; they still cherish doubt and unbelief, and are too proud to acknowledge their convictions. Because of this, they take steps that lead to results of which they have never dreamed. (1888 Mat. 169-170)

great quote

thanks

sky