In the darkest days of her long conflict with evil, the church of the living God has been given revelations of the eternal purpose of Jehovah. His people have been permitted to look beyond the trials of the present to the triumphs of the future, when, the warfare having been accomplished, the redeemed will enter into possession of the Promised Land. These visions of future glory, scenes pictured by the hand of God, should be dear to his church today, when the controversy of the ages is rapidly closing, and the promised blessings are soon to be realized in all their fullness.
(RH July 1, 1915, Art. A, 1)
Many were the messages of comfort given the church by Isaiah. “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people” (Isaiah 40:1) was the prophet's commission from God; and with the commission were given wonderful visions that have been the believers’ hope and joy through all the centuries that have followed. Despised of men, persecuted, forsaken, God's children in every age have nevertheless been sustained by his sure promises. By faith they have looked forward to the time when he will fulfill to his church the assurance, “I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations.”Isaiah 60:15.
(RH July 1, 1915, Art. A, 2)
Often the church militant is called upon to suffer trial and affliction; for not without severe conflict is the church to triumph. “The bread of adversity, and the water of affliction” (Isaiah 30:20) are the common lot of all; but none who put their trust in the One mighty to deliver will be utterly overwhelmed. “Thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee. O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee: and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom. Ethiopia and Seba for thee. Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honorable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.”Isaiah 43:1-4.
(RH July 1, 1915, Art. A, 3)
There is forgiveness with God: there is acceptance full and free through the merits of Jesus, our crucified and risen Lord. Isaiah heard the Lord declaring to his chosen ones: “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.”Verses 25, 26. “Thou shalt know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.”Isaiah 60:16.
(RH July 1, 1915, Art. A, 4)
“The rebuke of his people shall he take away” (Isaiah 25:8), the prophet declared. “They shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the Lord.”Isaiah 62:12. He hath appointed “to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.”Isaiah 61:3.
(RH July 1, 1915, Art. A, 5)
“Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come unto thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.”Isaiah 52:1, 2.
(RH July 1, 1915, Art. A, 6)
“O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones. And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children. In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression: for thou shalt not fear: and from terror: for it shall not come near thee. Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.... No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.”Isaiah 54:11-17.
(RH July 1, 1915, Art. A, 7)
Clad in the armor of Christ's righteousness, the church is to enter upon her final conflict. “Fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners” (Song of Solomon 6:10), she is to go forth into all the world, conquering and to conquer.
(RH July 1, 1915, Art. A, 8)
The darkest hour of the church's struggle with the powers of evil, is that which immediately precedes the day of her final deliverance. But none who trust in God need fear; for “when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall,” God will be to his church “a refuge from the storm.”Isaiah 25:4.
(RH July 1, 1915, Art. A, 9)
In that day the righteous only are promised deliverance. “The sinners in Zion are afraid,” the prophet declares; “fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; he shall dwell on high: his place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.”Isaiah 33:14-16.
(RH July 1, 1915, Art. A, 10)
The word of the Lord to his faithful ones is: “Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity.”Isaiah 26:20, 21.
(RH July 1, 1915, Art. A, 11)
In his vision of the great judgment day, Isaiah witnesses the consternation of those unprepared to meet their Lord in peace. “The day of the Lord is at hand,” he exclaims; “it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt: and they shall be afraid.”Isaiah 13:6-8.
(RH July 1, 1915, Art. A, 12)
“The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. And the idols he shall utterly abolish.... In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.”Isaiah 2:17-21.
(RH July 1, 1915, Art. A, 13)
The day of wrath to the enemies of God is the day of final deliverance to his church. The prophet declares:
(RH July 1, 1915, Art. A, 14)
“Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you.”Isaiah 35:3, 4.
(RH July 1, 1915, Art. A, 15)
“He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.”Isaiah 25:8. And as Isaiah beholds the Lord of glory descending from heaven, with all the holy angels, to gather the remnant church from among the nations of earth, he hears the waiting ones unite in the exultant cry, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”Verse 9.
(RH July 1, 1915, Art. A, 16)
The voice of the Son of God is heard calling forth the sleeping saints; and as the prophet beholds them coming from the prison house of death, he exclaims: “Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.”Isaiah 26:19.
(RH July 1, 1915, Art. A, 17)
“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing.”Isaiah 35:5, 6.
(RH July 1, 1915, Art. A, 18)
In the visions of the prophets, those who have triumphed over sin and the grave are seen happy in the presence of their Maker, talking freely with him as man talked with God in the beginning. “Be ye glad,” the Lord bids them, “and rejoice forever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. Isaiah 65:18, 19. “The inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.”Isaiah 33:24.
(RH July 1, 1915, Art. A, 19)
“In the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water.”Isaiah 35:6, 7. “Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree.”Isaiah 55:13. “And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.”Isaiah 35:8.
(RH July 1, 1915, Art. A, 20)
“Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins.”Isaiah 40:2.
(RH July 1, 1915, Art. A, 21)
As the prophet beholds the redeemed dwelling in the city of God, free from sin and from all marks of the curse, in rapture he exclaims: “Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her.”Isaiah 66:10.
(RH July 1, 1915, Art. A, 22)
“Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.”Isaiah 60:18-21.
(RH July 1, 1915, Art. A, 23)
There man will be restored to his lost kingship, and the lower order of beings will again recognize his sway; the fierce will become gentle, and the timid trustful. “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.... They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain” (Isaiah 11:6-9), saith the Lord.
(RH July 1, 1915, Art. A, 24)
The prophet caught the sound of music there, and song,—such music and song as, save in the visions of God, no mortal ear has heard nor mind conceived. “The ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”Isaiah 35:10. “Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.”Isaiah 51:3. “As well the singers as the players on instruments shall be there.”Psalm 87:7. “They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the Lord.”Isaiah 24:14.
(RH July 1, 1915, Art. A, 25)
In the earth made new, the redeemed will engage in the occupations and pleasures that brought happiness to Adam and Eve in the beginning. The Eden life will be lived, the life in garden and field. “They shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.”Isaiah 65:21, 22.
(RH July 1, 1915, Art. A, 26)
There every power will be developed, every capability increased. The grandest enterprises will be carried forward, the loftiest aspirations will be reached, the highest ambitions realized. And still there will appear new heights to surmount, new wonders to admire, new truths to comprehend, fresh objects of study to call forth the powers of body and mind and soul.
(RH July 1, 1915, Art. A, 27)
The prophets to whom these great scenes were revealed longed to understand their full import. They “inquired and searched diligently; ... searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify.... Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you.”1 Peter 1:10-12.
(RH July 1, 1915, Art. A, 28)
To us who are standing on the very verge of their fulfillment, of what deep moment, what living interest, are these delineations of the things to come,—events for which, since our first parents turned their steps from Eden, God's children have watched and waited, longed and prayed!
(RH July 1, 1915, Art. A, 29)
Fellow pilgrim, we are still amid the shadows and turmoil of earthly activities; but soon our Saviour is to appear to bring deliverance and rest. Let us by faith behold the blessed hereafter, as pictured by the hand of God. He who died for the sins of the world, is opening wide the gates of Paradise to all who believe on him. Soon the battle will have been fought, the victory won. Soon we shall see him in whom our hopes of eternal life are centered. And in his presence the trials and sufferings of this life will seem as nothingness. The former things “shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.”Isaiah 65:17. “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.”Hebrews 10:35-37. “Israel shall be saved.... with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.”Isaiah 45:17.
(RH July 1, 1915, Art. A, 30)
Look up, look up, and let your faith continually increase. Let this faith guide you along the narrow path that leads through the gates of the city into the great beyond, the wide, unbounded future of glory that is for the redeemed. “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.”James 5:7, 8.
(RH July 1, 1915, Art. A, 31)
The nations of the saved will know no other law than the law of heaven. All will be a happy, united family, clothed with the garments of praise and thanksgiving. Over the scene the morning stars will sing together, and the sons of God will shout for joy, while God and Christ will unite in proclaiming, There shall be no more sin, neither shall there be any more death.
(RH July 1, 1915, Art. A, 32)
“And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.”Isaiah 66:23. “The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.”Isaiah 40:5. “The Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.”Isaiah 61:11. “In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people.”Isaiah 28:5.
(RH July 1, 1915, Art. A, 33)
“The Lord shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord.”Isaiah 51:3. “The glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon.”Isaiah 35:2. “Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called my delight, and thy land Beulah.... As the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.”Isaiah 62:4, 5, margin.
(RH July 1, 1915, Art. A, 34)
A Visit With Sister Ellen G. White
EGW
At three O'clock Sabbath afternoon, May 29, 1915, Elder G. B. Starr visited Sister White. Elder Starr found her in her reclining chair, in the bay window of her room, looking out upon the trees and hills about her place. He remarked how glad he was to find her amid such pleasant surroundings, and stated that she looked much better than when he saw her the Tuesday before.
(RH July 1, 1915, 1)
She replied that she was grateful for her pleasant surroundings, and that they had much improved in the years since she first came here.
(RH July 1, 1915, 2)
Sister White then said: “I am pained at the lightness and frivolity that has come in. It seems to be everywhere. We must seek greater solemnity as a people, before we shall see the power of God manifested as it should be.” This she repeated two or three times, almost word for word, and she seemed to be greatly pained over the matter.
(RH July 1, 1915, 3)
She continued: “O, how much we need more of the Holy Spirit! There is a great work to be done, and how are we ever to accomplish it?”
(RH July 1, 1915, 4)
To this Elder Starr said: “God is raising up hundreds of strong young men and women through our schools and sanitariums, and is putting His Holy Spirit upon them, and qualifying them to do a great and blessed work; and many of them are devoted, sober, earnest, and successful.”
(RH July 1, 1915, 5)
She replied: “I am so glad to hear that! You could not have told me anything more encouraging.”
(RH July 1, 1915, 6)
Continuing, she said: “I wish that I might speak again to the people, and help carry the work; but they tell me I must not speak in public now.”
(RH July 1, 1915, 7)
She then inquired, “where have you been keeping yourself so long?”
(RH July 1, 1915, 8)
Elder Starr replied, “at Melrose, Mass., at the sanitarium where you said we ought to work.”
(RH July 1, 1915, 9)
“Oh, yes,” she answered, “I have always felt a great interest in the cause in the East, and have not lost it. The work there is not nearly finished; it is only just begun. There is a great work to be done. I wish that I might bear another testimony to our people, a strong testimony.”
(RH July 1, 1915, 10)
Elder Starr said, “we are praying daily that God will raise you up and strengthen you to bear another testimony to His people, if that is His will.”
(RH July 1, 1915, 11)
“Keep on praying,” She answered.
(RH July 1, 1915, 12)
Elder Starr then asked if she should like to have him pray with her. She replied that she should be very glad to have him pray. He knelt close by her side, so that she could hear well, and after thanking God for His many blessings, in giving to us His truth, and the special part He had enabled Sister White to act in it, he repeated, word for word, very slowly, Paul's prayer recorded in Ephesians 3:14-21, As follows: “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.”
(RH July 1, 1915, 13)
Sister White gave expression to several hearty amens during the quoting of this prayer; and when it was over, she expressed her gratitude for the call and the prayer, and requested Elder Starr to call again.
(RH July 1, 1915, 14)