Tuesday, October 9, 2012



Friday, October 5, 2012

Chap. 279 - Fitting Up for Heaven's Mansions



"That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or
wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Ephesians 5:27
Christ is soon coming in the clouds of heaven, and we must be prepared to meet
Him, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing.... The converting power of God
must be upon our hearts. We must study the life of Christ, and imitate the divine
Pattern. We must dwell upon the perfection of His character, and be changed into
His image. No one will enter the kingdom of God unless his will is brought into
captivity to the will of Christ.
Professed Christians keep altogether too near the lowlands of earth. Their eyes
are trained to see only commonplace things, and their minds dwell upon the things
their eyes behold. Their religious experience is often shallow and unsatisfying, and
their words are light and valueless. How can such reflect the image of Christ? How
can they send forth the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness? ...
Heaven is free from all sin, from all defilement and impurity; and if we would
live in its atmosphere, if we would behold the glory of Christ, we must be pure in
heart, perfect in character through His grace and righteousness. We must not be
taken up with pleasure and amusement, but be fitting up for the glorious mansions
Christ has gone to prepare for us....
Christ is soon coming in glory; and when His majesty is revealed, the world
will wish that they had His favor. At that time we shall all desire a place in the
mansions of heaven; but those who do not confess Christ now in word, in life, in
character, cannot expect that He will confess them then before His Father and the
holy angels....
Oh, how happy will those be who have made themselves ready for the marriage
supper of the Lamb, who are robed in the righteousness of Christ, and reflect His
lovely image! They will have on the pure white linen which is the righteousness
of the saints, and Christ will lead them by the side of living waters; God will wipe
away all tears from their eyes, and they will have the life that runs parallel with the
life of God."
285

Chap. 278---God's Law Appears in the Heavens



"The heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Psalm
50:6.
The clouds sweep back, and the starry heavens are seen, unspeakably glorious in
contrast with the black and angry firmament on either side. The glory of the celestial
city streams from the gates ajar.
In the temple will be seen the ark of the testament in which were placed the two
tables of stone, on which are written God’s law. These tables of stone will be brought
forth from their hiding place, and on them will be seen the Ten Commandments
engraved by the finger of God. These tables of stone now lying in the ark of the
testament will be a convincing testimony to the truth and binding claims of God’s
law.
Sacrilegious minds and hearts have thought they were mighty enough to change
the times and laws of Jehovah; but, safe in the archives of heaven, in the ark of God,
are the original commandments, written upon the two tables of stone. No potentate
of earth has power to draw forth those tables from their sacred hiding place beneath
the mercy seat.
There appears against the sky a hand holding two tables of stone folded together.
Says the prophet: “The heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge
himself.” Psalm 50:6. That holy law, God’s righteousness, that amid thunder and
flame was proclaimed from Sinai as the guide of life, is now revealed to men as
the rule of judgment. The hand opens the tables, and there are seen the precepts
of the Decalogue, traced as with a pen of fire. The words are so plain that all can
read them. Memory is aroused, the darkness of superstition and heresy is swept
from every mind, and God’s ten words, brief, comprehensive, and authoritative, are
presented to the view of all the inhabitants of the earth.
It is impossible to describe the horror and despair of those who have trampled
upon God’s holy requirements....
The enemies of God’s law, from the ministers down to the least among them,
have a new conception of truth and duty. Too late they see that the Sabbath of the
fourth commandment is the seal of the living God."
286

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Chap. 275--The Elements Melt with Fervent Heat



"The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens
shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the
earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 2 Peter 3:10.
In the day of the Lord, just before the coming of Christ, God will send lightnings
from Heaven in His wrath, which will unite with fire in the earth. The mountains
will burn like a furnace, and will pour forth terrible streams of lava, destroying
gardens and fields, villages and cities; and as they pour their melted ore, rocks and
heated mud into the rivers, will cause them to boil like a pot, and send forth massive
rocks and scatter their broken fragments upon the land with indescribable violence.
Whole rivers will be dried up. The earth will be convulsed, and there will be dreadful
eruptions and earthquakes everywhere. God will plague the wicked inhabitants of
the earth until they are destroyed from off it.
The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and be removed as a cottage. The
elements shall be in flames, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll.
The earth’s crust will be rent by the outbursts of the elements concealed in
the bowels of the earth. These elements, once broken loose, will sweep away the
treasures of those who for years have been adding to their wealth by securing large
possessions at starvation prices from those in their employ.
The great general conflagration is but just ahead, when all this wasted labor of
life will be swept away in a night and day.
There will be ... great destruction of human life. But as in the days of the great
deluge Noah was preserved in the ark that God had prepared for him, so in these
days of destruction and calamity, God will be the refuge of His believing ones.
Through the psalmist He declares, “Because thou has made the Lord, which is my
refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, neither
shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.” “For in the time of trouble he shall hide
me in his pavilion....” Then shall we not make the Lord our surety and our defense?
We should be preparing for the mansions that Christ has gone to prepare for
them that love Him. There is a rest from earth’s conflict."
283

Our Redemption Draweth Nigh, October 30

When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. Luke 21:28. The coming of C...