Tract No. 1
Pre-"Eleventh
Hour" Extra
MYSTERY OF MYSTERIES EXPOSED!
[PICTURE]
Tract 1 1
Copyright, 1933, 1940, 1941
All rights reserved
V. T. HOUTEFF
In the interest of reaching every truth-seeking
mind that desires to escape the path that leads to destruction of both body and
soul, this tract will be distributed free of charge as long as this issue
lasts.
TRACT NO. 1
Tract 1 2
PREFACE
PERSONALLY WATCHING FOR EVERY RAY OF LIGHT.
One who entrusts to another the
investigation of a message from the Lord, is making flesh his arm, and thus is
foolishly acting as without a mind of his own. And "the mind that depends upon the
judgment of others is certain, sooner or later, to be misled." --
Education, p. 231.
Similarly, one who allows prejudice to bar
him from a candid investigation of anything new, coming in the name of the
Lord, is unwittingly an infidel.
Likewise he who is
satisfied with his present attainments in the Word of God, says in effect:
"I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing."
All these, in variously acting out the part
which provoked the condemnation written against the Laodiceans,
thereby fulfilling the prophecy which they ought not
fulfill, are preparing themselves to be spued out
(Rev. 3:14-18). And if they continue in
their self-satisfied attitude that they have all the truth, and so have need of
nothing more, they will spurn every new claimant to truth and toss the message
into the discard because it comes through an unexpected channel. Certainly, then, were this tract not the
unfolding of prophecy, the fact is
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inevitable that when the unfoldment
did come, they would treat it in like manner, and consequently toss away their salvation!
Throughout the ages, all who have put their
trust in the so-called wise men, and foremost Christians of the day, all
reputedly godly men, have by these very ones been bereft of the crown of
eternal life, as were the Jewish laity in the days of Christ because of their
failing to assume full responsibility for their own salvation. Presumptuously trusting in the wisdom of
their so-called "great men," they declined to believe in Christ's
words "O Father, Lord of heaven and earth,...Thou
hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto
babes." Matt.
"...if a message comes that you do not
understand, take pains that you may hear the reasons the messenger may give,
comparing scripture with scripture, that you may know whether or not it is
sustained by the word of God." -- Testimonies on Sabbath-School Work, p.
65.
Will you not, therefore, Brother, Sister,
cease to copy the mistakes of others?
Will you not profit by them? If
you will, you are duty-bound to use your own mind in reaching for salvation, lest
you fail to understand the saving truth in the momentous expose, the
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PRE-"ELEVENTH HOUR" EXTRA! THE
The call of Ezekiel to the prophetic office
is one of the most interesting experiences of the ancient seers, and the
revelation of what he saw by the river Chebar is
perhaps of greater importance to heaven and earth at this time than is any
other vision on sacred record, because in a remarkable way it reveals That
Which unites Heaven with Earth, even as the Dardanelles links two important
seas. Thus this study of Ezekiel's
vision which brings to light earth's being visited by the Majesty of the
Universe, may be aptly termed, "The Dardanelles of the Bible."
The reader who would best comprehend this
seemingly most confusing and complicated of Bible symbolisms, will follow the
cover-page
objectification, in conjunction with
The Prophet's Description of the Mysteries Herein
Treated.
"And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind
came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding
itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the
midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the
midst of the fire.
"Also out of the midst thereof came the
likeness of four living creatures. And
this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man. And every one had
four faces, and
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every one had four wings. And their feet were straight
feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot: and they
sparkled like the colour of burnished brass. And they
had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had
their faces and their wings. Their wings
were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went everyone
straight forward.
"As for the likeness of their faces,
they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and
they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face
of an eagle....
"And I saw as the colour
of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance
of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I
saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. As the appearance of the bow that is in the
cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round
about. This was the appearance of the
likeness of the glory of the Lord And when I saw it, I
fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake."
Ezek. 1:4-10, 27, 28.
"And it came to pass, that when He had
commanded the man clothed with linen, saying, Take fire from between the
wheels, from between the cherubims; then he went
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in, and stood beside the wheels." Ezek. 10:6.
To this marvelous scene which Ezekiel saw on
the river bank in the land of the Chaldeans, our
undivided attention is now called. Being "the appearance of the likeness of
the glory of the Lord," obviously, then, it was
The Lord on One of His Thrones.
Besides this divine appearance which Ezekiel
saw (Ezek. 1:28), the Bible describes God enthroned on three other occasions --
once as seen by Isaiah, and twice as seen by John the Revelator; to wit:
(1) "...I saw also the Lord sitting
upon a throne high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims:
each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he
covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
And one cried unto another, and said, Holy holy,
holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice
of him that cried and the house was filled with smoke." Isa. 6:1-4.
(2) "And immediately I was in the spirit:
and behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne... And round
about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and
twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns
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of gold... and there were seven lamps of fire burning
before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. And before the throne there was a sea of
glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the
throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind." Rev. 4:2, 4-6.
(3) "And he shewed
me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the
throne of God and of the Lamb." Rev. 22:1.
Since the throne seen by Isaiah was a
"train" (retinue), and since
as it entered into the temple, "the posts of the door moved at the voice
of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke" (Isa. 6:1, 4), it therefore is a traveling throne, whereas
both the one of Revelation 4, having the "sea of glass" before it,
and the one of Revelation 22, having the
"river...of life" before it, are stationary thrones.
Though the one which Ezekiel saw is similar
to the one which Isaiah was shown, yet they are distinct and separate thrones, for
each of the "seraphims" of Isaiah's vision has six wings, while each
of the "cherubims" of Ezekiel's vision has
but four. In the latter, moreover, the cherubims
stood under the throne, whereas in the former, they stood above it. On record, therefore, are four thrones -- two
stationary, and two traveling.
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In determining the location of the throne of
Revelation 4, and the one of Revelation 22, we note to begin with that the
latter, the one from which the "river...of life" proceeds, is, says
the Revelator, "the throne of God and of the Lamb" -- that upon which
Christ sat at the right hand of God after His resurrection. The former, the one
having the sea of glass before it, is (also according to John's view) in the most holy
apartment of the heavenly sanctuary, for John saw before it "seven lamps
of fire" (Rev. 4:5) -- a sanctuary fixture. "As in vision the apostle John was
granted a view of the
Then, concerning the Father and the Son's
moving from the throne of God and of the Lamb -- the one where the river of
life is -- to the throne where the sea of glass is, we read: "I saw the
Father rise from the throne, and in a flaming chariot go into the holy of
holies within the veil, and sit down.
Then Jesus rose up from the throne,... Then a
cloudy chariot, with wheels like flaming fire, surrounded by angels, came to
where Jesus was. He stepped into the
chariot and was borne to the holiest, where the Father sat." -- Early
Writings, p. 55.
Recording the same event as he saw it,
Daniel says: "I beheld till the thrones were cast down and the Ancient of
days did sit,
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Whose garment was white as
snow, and the hair of His head like the pure wool: His throne was like the
fiery flame, and His wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from
before Him: thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten
thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books were
opened." Dan.
7:9, 10.
Our greatest interest, however, at this
point, is to know the location and the mission of the throne which Ezekiel saw,
and concerning which he says: "...I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came
out of the north." Ezek. 1:4. The fact that the "whirlwind," enveloping the throne,
"came," says Ezekiel, shows that this throne, just as with the one of
Isaiah 6, is a moving one, and that it came to the banks of the river Chebar.
"This is the living creature,"
continues Ezekiel,
"that I saw under the God of Israel [Who is "above the cherubims"], by the
As the chariot's mounting "up from the
earth" shows that in this particular throne, God visits the earth and
then, when His mission is accomplished, returns to heaven, naturally our
uppermost desire is to know the answer to the question,
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When Will This Prophetic Vision Be Fulfilled?
According to Ezekiel 2:3; 3:1, 4, 5, 7, the
prophet was to bear his message to the whole "house of
Since at the time of the vision, the house
of Judah, the
two-tribe kingdom, was in captivity in the land of the Chaldeans,
and the house of Israel, the ten-tribe
kingdom, was in dispersion among the nations whither it had been carried away
and scattered some years before (2 Kings 17:6), there was no possibility of
Ezekiel's delivering the message to
them. And as it is to both
the house of
The Jewish nation, moreover, up to the time
of Christ, had no light on this prophecy, and it appeared to them as too
complicated to understand, and even unsafe for an ordinary mind to read. "All this chapter appeared so obscure
and full of mysteries, to the ancient Hebrews, that, as we learn
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from
And finally as no slaughter such as the one
described in Ezekiel 9 has ever
occurred, its fulfillment is obviously
yet future.
Plainly, therefore, the vision was prophetic
in Ezekiel's time, and has been prophetic ever since. And if it is ever to be
fulfilled, and not remain a useless and unprofitable writing, -- a thing which
God never creates, -- then its mystery must, of course, now be unveiled, and
its action executed in the near future.
In the clear light of these facts, chapter
nine is seen to hold the climactic scene of the vision. Describing the awful work which the Lord is
to do when, with the cherubim, He visits the earth, it shows the fearsome
consequences to those who reject its message: its blessings missed, the kingdom
lost! Tragic, frightful experience, it
shall be the fate of all who refuse now to awake and to know about it, but who
choose rather to remain in ignorance of its truth, and of
The Object of the Lord's Coming In His Throne.
As the prophet was looking toward the north,
he saw a "great cloud" coming like a
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"whirlwind"
to earth. Watching with intense interest
its drawing nearer and nearer, finally he saw the "living creatures,"
the "wheels," and the rest, -- "the appearance of the likeness
of the glory of the Lord." Whereupon, "I fell," he says, "upon my face, and I
heard a voice of one that spake [unmistakably the
Lord Himself come to give a message to Ezekiel].
"...And He said unto me, Son of man, I send
thee to the children of
"And He said unto me," continues
the prophet, "Son of man, go, get thee unto the
house of
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These mandatory words (of weighty
significance to all) reveal that the message which the prophet received is only
for God's people, and that therefore, by logical extension, the entire vision,
of which it is a part, meets its fulfillment at a time in which the Lord sends
forth the warning that because His church is at a very low ebb spiritually, --
"impudent and hard-hearted" and "a rebellious house," -- He
will do within it a work of marking and slaying. And in all the Bible there is to be found in
but one church a situation as to condition, cause, time, and result answering
to that of the prophecy, and that is in
The
The condemnation of Rev. 3:14-18 against the
Laodiceans, and the condemnation of Ezek. 2:1-7 and
3:4-7 against "the house of
Both vindicate the Spirit of Prophecy's
warning that no "greater deception can come upon human minds than a
confidence that they are right, when they are all wrong! The message of the True Witness finds the
people of God in a sad deception [instead of in an excellent condition], yet
honest in that deception. They know not
that their condition is deplorable in the sight of God. While those addressed are flattering
themselves
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that they are in an exalted spiritual condition, the
message of the True Witness breaks their security by the startling denunciation of their true condition of
spiritual blindness, poverty, and wretchedness.
The testimony, so cutting and severe, cannot be a mistake, for it is the
True Witness who speaks, and His testimony must be correct. "
-- Testimonies, Vol. 3, pp. 252, 253.
Since the Lord says that "all the house
of
The Time Of The Church's Low
Ebb.
Were God's people to continue self-deceived,
"impudent and hardhearted," and were the spirituality of the church
to continue to dim away, then with such a church the Lord could never finish
His work on earth, and probation must finally close upon a world in utter
darkness, having no living saints to translate at the appearing of Christ.
"The Lord does not now work," says
the Spirit of Prophecy, "to bring many souls into the truth, because of
the church-members who have never been converted, and those who were once
converted but who have backslidden. What influence would these unconsecrated
members have on new
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converts? Would they
not make of no effect the God-given message which His
people are to bear?" -- Testimonies, Vol. 6, p. 371.
Having up till this time been holding back
because of the unconverted and backslidden members in the church, what will He
do now when, as He says, "all the house of
Face to face with this solemn certainty,
each one, therefore, who seeks "an inheritance on high," will
maintain the strictest integrity and openness of mind as he studies concerning
the special work involved, lest for his Laodicean
affliction, he never find
The Remedy:
"...While the investigative judgment is
going forward in heaven,...there is to be a special
work of purification, of putting away of sin, among God's people upon earth....
Then the church which our Lord at His coming is to receive to Himself will be
'a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.' Then she
will look forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and
terrible as an army with banners.' " "Clad in the armor of Christ's
righteousness, the church is to enter upon her final conflict....she is to go
forth into
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all the world, conquering and to conquer." -- The Great Controversy, p. 425; Prophets
and Kings, p. 725.
Mark the italicized words: "not having
spot," "her final conflict," "going forth into all the world, conquering and to conquer." These statements emphasize a pure and
triumphant church, perfected by a "special work of purification"
which must take place before the work of the gospel is finished in any part of
the world.
Showing the church's then fitness for the
great work that is committed to her, Inspiration continues: "Mighty miracles were wrought the sick
were healed, and signs and wonders followed the believers." -- Early
Writings, p. 278.
As these mighty works are done in the time
of the "Loud Cry of the Third Angel's Message," the purification,
therefore, incontrovertibly takes place at the commencement of the "Loud
Cry." And from this it follows as a
logical necessity that Ezekiel's prophecy of marking and slaying must contain
the announcement of the purification of the church.
Continuing to behold in vision the cherubim
and the glory of God's throne, the prophet saw the Lord come to the threshold
of the house (church), and as He gave charge to His angel who was "clothed
with linen" and who "had the writer's inkhorn by his side,"
Ezekiel heard Him command the man: "Go through the midst of the city,
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through the midst of
"And to the others He said in mine
hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare,
neither have ye pity: Slay utterly old and young, both maids and little
children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom
is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary.
Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house. And He said unto them, Defile the house, and
fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth.
And they went forth and slew in the city.
"And it came to pass, while they were
slaying them, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah
Lord God! Wilt Thou destroy all the residue
of
Revealing a complete separation of the
wicked from among the just, these verses, therefore, prophetically forewarn of
the imminent purification of the church -- her only salvation. And taking place in "the city,"
"
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-- terms
by none of which the world can be called as they apply exclusively to the
people of God the church, -- this work of separation is, accordingly, confined strictly to the church.
The fact, furthermore, that the wicked are
taken from among the righteous, also shows that the separation cannot be in the
world. Were it there, it would have to
be done in the opposite way -- the righteous be taken from among the wicked.
Remember that the Lord said to Ezekiel:
"Son of man, I send thee to the children of
The Sealing of the 144,000 -- The First Fruits.
"This mightiest of angels," says
the Spirit of Prophecy, "has in his hand the seal of the living God, or of
Him who alone can give life, who can inscribe upon the foreheads the
mark...."
"This sealing of the servants of God is
the same that was shown to Ezekiel in vision. John also had been a witness of
this most startling revelation." --
Testimonies to Ministers, pp. 444, 445.
The sealing (Rev. 7) being the same as the
marking (Ezek. 9), -- the "purification,"
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-- we thus are given a
twofold view of the "closing work for the church,...the sealing time of
the one hundred and forty-four thousand who are to stand without fault before
the throne of God.... They feel most deeply the wrongs of God's professed
people. This is forcibly set forth by the prophet's illustration of the last
work under the figure of the men each having a slaughter weapon in his hand.
One man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his
side." -- Testimonies, Vol. 3, p. 266.
Since the purification, or the sealing, came
at the commencement of the "Loud Cry," as we have already seen, the
144,000 are therefore the "first-fruits" -- the first to be sealed;
whereas those who are sealed after the purification of the church, are the
second fruits, of whom John (after having seen the 144,000 sealed) says:
"After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude which no man could
number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and
tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white
robes, and palms in their hands." Rev. 7:9.
The fact therefore that there is an
ingathering of two fruits, shows that the marking or sealing is in two sections
-- two periods -- and that there are
Two Sealing Reports.
"And behold," says Ezekiel,
"the man clothed with linen, which had the inkhorn
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by his side, reported the matter [while on earth]
saying, I have done as Thou hast commanded me." Ezek. 9:11. Here is the first report, made at the
completion of the sealing in the church -- the sealing of the firstfruits, the 144,000.
"I saw," says the servant of the
Lord, "...an angel with a writer's inkhorn by his side returned from the
earth, and reported to Jesus that his work was done, and the saints were
numbered and sealed." -- Early Writings, p. 279. Here is his second report, made at the
completion of the sealing in the world -- the sealing of the second fruits, the
great multitude.
Comparing both reports, each is seen to be
of a different event: At the first report, the Lord was on "the threshold
of the house" on earth (Ezek. 9:3); at the second, He was in the heavenly
sanctuary.
After the angel had made his first report,
the Lord commanded him: "Go in between the wheels, even under the cherub,
and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between
the cherubims, and scatter them over the city. And he went in my sight." Ezek. 10:2.
But following his second report,
"...all the angelic host laid off
their crowns as Jesus made the solemn declaration, 'He that is unjust, let him
be unjust still; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that
is righteous, let him be righteous still:
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and he that is holy, let him be holy still.' " -- Early
Writings, pp. 279, 280.
Were probation to close at the time of the
first report (Ezek. 9:11), the Lord
must, according to the foregoing statement, be in heaven, then descend to earth to receive His saints, instead of
being already on earth, then mounting up in His throne, as He actually does,
without His saints (Ezek. 10:19).
Again: the prophet's being left behind when
the Lord went up, figuratively shows that at this particular descent and
ascent, the saints are not to be taken to heaven, but only to be set free from
sin and sinners -- fitted for the final work.
At the angel's second report, however, Jesus
being in heaven, "moved out of the most holy place" (Early Writings,
p. 280) to descend to earth.
This brief comparison brings into primary
focus the twofold fact that at the time of the first report, Jesus went into
the temple, whereas at the time of the second report, He went out.
Beyond the angel's reporting the matter of
the marking and slaying in the church Ezekiel was not given to see. But Isaiah was. He saw
The Escaped Ones Go To All Nations.
"For by fire and by His sword,"
declares
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the gospel prophet, "will the Lord plead with all
flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many.... And I will send those that
escape of them unto the nations,...to the isles afar off, that have not heard
My fame, neither have seen My glory; and they shall declare My glory among the
Gentiles. And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord
out of all nations...to My holy mountain
Since "those that escape" the
slaughter (the 144,000) shall "bring all your brethren [all those who
shall be saved in the time of the 'Loud Cry']...into the house of the
Lord," then it follows that those who escape are the ones who finish the
work -- the reason they are called "the servants of God." Rev. 7:3.
The message, moreover, finding them in the
church, not in the world, they are therefore "virgins;" that is,
"not defiled with women" (Rev. 14:4) -- the churches of the world. And they are without guile in their mouths,
having kept their tongues from
Criticizing And
Faultfinding.
"...They will question and criticize
everything" says the Spirit of Prophecy in forewarning of the
purification, "that arises in the unfolding of truth, criticize the work
and position of others, criticize
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every branch of the work in which they have not themselves
a part. They will feed upon the errors
and mistakes and faults of others, 'until,' said the angel, 'the Lord Jesus
shall rise up from his mediatorial work in the heavenly sanctuary, and shall
clothe himself with the garments of vengeance,
and surprise them at their unholy feast; and they will find themselves
unprepared for the marriage supper of the Lamb.' " --
Testimonies Vol. 5, p. 690.
These solemn words, may each lay well to
heart, and may none let the enemy beguile them "with good words and fair
speeches" on this
life-and-death matter. Fix
in your mind the fact that Christ's rising "up from His mediatorial work" cannot be after probation has
closed, for, note carefully, He is to "rise up" during "the
unfolding of truth."
Let each take heed that he fall not to
criticizing the message or messengers, but rather that he "sigh and cry,"
as the Lord bids, "for all the abominations that be done in the midst [the
church]," lest he be found on the wrong side ranged with evildoers, and
thus doomed to fall under the angels' slaughter weapons.
"Cry aloud, spare not," is the
heartening order, "lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew My people their
transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins." Isa.
58:1. Take your stand, Brother, Sister,
on the right side, and make sure, "having done all, to
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stand," for, no escaping the fact, the Lord has set
His hand to separate "the wicked from among the just," as is further
seen
In the Light of the Parables.
"And when the king came in to see the
guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:...
Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away,
and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matt. 22:11, 13.
This investigating and casting out takes
place before probation closes, for the marriage ceremony had not yet been
performed at the time that the "king came in to see the guests."
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like
unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: which, when
it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into
vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall
it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the
wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there
shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." Matt. 13:47-50.
In this scripture, too, is seen the
purification of the church, for the bad ones are taken away from among the
good, and not the good from among the bad, that is, the
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bad that are in the net (church) are thrown out, and the
good ones kept.
This net represents the gospel work up to
the time of the purification of the church, for after the church has been
purified, only such as "should be saved" will be granted membership:
"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 into thee
the uncircumcised and the unclean." Isa. 52:1.
This rousing alarm must sound before probation
closes, for it could do no good afterwards, indeed could be but a mockery
then. Neither could it apply to the time
of the "Loud Cry," for the church is not then asleep and without the
"beautiful garments:"
"Only those," confirms the Spirit of Prophecy, "who have
withstood and overcome temptation in the
strength of the Mighty One will be permitted to act a part in proclaiming this
message when it shall have swelled into
the Loud Cry." -- Review and
Herald,
"And the Gentiles shall see thy
righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt
be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name." Isa. 62:2.
"Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be
shut day nor night;
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that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles,
and that their kings may be brought." Isa.
60:11.
In the purification of the church, "the
angels shall...sever the wicked from among the just" (Matt.
These two distinct separations, each at a
different time, occur when (to
recapitulate the facts specifically), in the time of the firstfruits,
the wicked are taken from among the righteous in the church (net), and when, in
the time of the second fruits, the righteous are taken from among the wicked in
Babylon. And such a church -- pure in
the absolute -- presupposes an absolutely
Pure Message.
Ezekiel's prophecy revealing itself to be a
message for the church today, the prophet, himself, must necessarily, then,
represent the messengers who carry the message to the church at the time
appointed. And in response to the Lord's
command, "Be not
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thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy
mouth, and eat that I give thee," Ezekiel's reply, "Then did I eat it; and it was in
my mouth as honey for sweetness" (Ezek. 2:8; 3:3), shows that the
messengers obey the Lord and love His Word above everything else.
"And I," said the Lord, "will
make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt
be dumb,... But when I speak with thee, I will open
thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; He that heareth,
let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him
forbear: for they are a rebellious house." Ezek. 3:26, 27.
This positive declaration by the Lord,
Himself, manifests that the message be unadulterated -- the pure truth, proof
absolute against contamination of man's utterance. The messengers, being made dumb, can speak
only when He opens their mouths, and only what He puts in their mouths -- a
"Thus saith the Lord God." Taking no credit to themselves, they are to
Exalt Inspiration.
"If any man," says the Apostle
Paul, "think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge
that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord." 1
Cor. 14:37.
When God speaks through a person, that one,
as His mouthpiece, must acknowledge the fact, lest there overtake him a fate
similar
Tract 1 28
to that which befell Herod, who, "upon a set
day...,arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto
them. And the people gave a shout,
saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a
man. And immediately the angel of the
Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms,
and gave up the ghost." Acts 12:21-23.
From this dreadful experience, recorded for
our warning, and from the other grave truths brought forth herein, we plainly
see that in order for the Lord to prepare His servants for the seal He is
setting forth every necessary lesson, even the lesson inherent in
The Way the Message is Derived.
The reader will note that, though the prophet
was bidden to go speak to his people, yet instead of being told what to say, he
was commanded: "Open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee. And when I looked," says Ezekiel,
"behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a
roll of a book was therein.... Moreover
he said unto me Son of man, eat that thou findest;
eat this roll and go speak unto the house of
As the words which Ezekiel was to speak to
his people were found in the book which he ate, the "book" can be
none other than
Tract 1 29
the Bible, from which comes the message culminating in
Joy, Mourning, and Woe.
"And, lo, a roll of a book was therein;
and he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there
was written therein lamentations, and
mourning, and woe" (Ezek. 2:9, 10) -- dire writ envisaging the slaughter
in Ezekiel 9, and the woes pronounced in the Master's parables: "The Lord of that servant shall come in
a day when he looketh not for Him, and in an hour
that he is not aware of. And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion
with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." "Then said the king to the servants,
Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness;
there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matt.
24:50, 51;
And aforetime through His servant Moses, He
declared unto His people: "It shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken
unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all His commandments and
His statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come
upon thee, and overtake thee." Deut. 28:15. "I call heaven and earth to record this
day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and
cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live." Deut.
30:19.
Tract 1 30
The "book" which Ezekiel ate being
"written within and without" (Ezek. 2:10), the writing
"within," therefore, can only be the prophetic Word of God,
proclaiming the curses and the blessings that are written in the Bible; while
the writing "without," can be nothing else but the sure record of the
fulfillment of that within -- the record, in short, of the prophecy's becoming
history; showing thereby that God has spoken it and will perform it.
The writing "within and without,"
moreover, signifies also that the message will be in type and antitype.
When Ezekiel ate the "book," it
was, as is also to be noted, in his mouth "as honey for sweetness,"
but not "bitter" in his "belly," as was the one which John
ate (Rev. 10:10). Though, therefore, as
the Word shows, there will be no disappointment with this message, as there was
with the one in 1844 A.D., yet, sadly, it declares that to its warning, the
people to whom it is sent
Will Stop Their Ears and Close Their Doors.
"But the house of
Tract 1 31
for they are a rebellious house." Ezek.3:25, 26.
"In the last solemn work,"
predicts the Spirit of Prophecy in identical view, "few great men will be
engaged." -- Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 80.
"...they will not recognize the work of God when the loud cry of
the third angel shall be heard. When
light goes forth to lighten the earth, instead of coming up to the help of the
Lord, they will want to bind about His work to meet their narrow ideas....
There will be those among us who will always want to control the work of God,
to dictate even what movements shall be made when the work goes forward under
the direction of the angel who joins the third angel in the message to be given
to the world." -- Testimonies to Ministers, p. 300. Hence the question:
How Will the Message Reach the People?
On account of their refusing to hear,
"God will use ways and means," answers the Spirit of Prophecy,
"by which it will be seen that He is taking the reins in His own hands. The workers will be surprised by the simple
means that He will use to bring about and perfect His work of
righteousness." --
"God has promised that where the
shepherds are not true He will take charge of the flock himself.... In this
time, the gold will be separated from the dross in the
Tract 1 32
church. True
godliness will be clearly distinguished from the appearance and tinsel of
it. Many a star that we have admired for
its brilliancy, will then go out in darkness.... Those
who have been timid and self-distrustful, will declare
themselves openly for Christ and His truth.
The most weak and hesitating in the church will be as David -- willing
to do and dare" (Testimonies, Vol. 5, pp. 80, 81) -- facts which, along
with those which ensue, show that
Nothing Can Hinder the Lord.
Glancing at the cover-page objectification
the reader will note that "two wings of every one" of the living
creatures "were joined one to another." Ezek. 1:11.
Both they and the wheels therefore, each formed a square: "one
wheel by one cherub, and another wheel by another cherub." Ezek. 10:9.
As Ezekiel viewed the creatures approaching,
he saw that they had "the face of a man" in the front, "the face
of an eagle" in the back, "the face of a lion on the right
side," and the "face of an ox on the left side" (Ezek. 1:10) for
they four had "four sides" (Ezek. 1:8); also that they had wings,
"two...on this side, and...two...on that
side" (Ezek.
The four-way vision of the living creatures
along with the four-way movement
Tract 1 33
of the wheels, enables four-directional motion --
forward or backward, to the right or to
the left: the living creatures "turned not as they went." Ezek.
10:11.
"And their feet" being
"straight feet" (Ezek. 1:7), it enabled them to move freely in any
direction without turning, so that they "ran and returned as the
appearance of a flash of lightning" (Ezek.
As these wheels, making a square formation
"ran and returned," and as "over them above," God was
sitting on His throne, it is evident that this marvelous living mechanism is
the vehicle of God -- His chariot in which He has come to bring the message to
separate the "wicked from among the just." Thus is animated the solemnity that as the
"battle is the Lord's," verily "He will take charge of the flock
Himself."
"As the wheel-like complications were
under the guidance of the hand beneath the wings of the cherubim, so the
complicated play of human events is under divine control. Amidst the strife and tumult of nations, He
that sitteth above the cherubim still guides the
affairs of this earth.
"The history of nations speaks to us
today. To every nation and to every individual
Tract 1 34
God has assigned a place in
His great plan. Today men and nations are being tested by the plummet in the
hand of Him who makes no mistake. All
are by their own choice deciding their destiny, and God is overruling all for
the accomplishment of His purposes." -- Prophets and Kings, p. 536.
"In Ezekiel's vision, God had His hand
beneath the wings of the cherubim. This
is to teach His servants that it is divine power that gives them success. He will work with them if they will put away
iniquity, and become pure in heart and life.
"The bright light going among the
living creatures with the swiftness of lightning represents the speed with
which this work will finally go forward to completion" in behalf of His
people during the Judgment hour (Testimonies, Vol. 5 p. 754): for the faces of
the living creatures are
Figurative of the Saints in Time of Judgment.
The faces of the cherubim being the same as
those of the beasts of the Revelation, they both necessarily have complementary
significance the key to which John supplies: "And they sung a new song,
saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for
thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy
blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation." Rev. 5:9.
Tract 1 35
The very fact that these
beasts have been redeemed by the blood of Christ and shall reign upon earth, shows that they are symbolical of the saints, even as
the beasts of Daniel are symbolical of the nations. Necessarily, then, the
faces of the cherubim, just as with the faces of the beasts standing before the
Judgment throne, are figurative of the saints in time of Judgment.
The Lord's being "over them [the
cherubim] above," signifies that this is the
living chariot in which He, their Saviour, is
subsequently to translate the saints.
And "on each side of the cloudy
chariot," echoes the Spirit of Prophecy, "were wings, and beneath it
were living wheels; and as the chariot rolled upward, the wheels cried, 'Holy,'
and the wings, as they moved, cried, 'Holy,' and the retinue of holy angels
around the cloud cried, 'Holy holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!' and the saints in
the cloud cried 'Glory! Alleluia!' " -- Early
Writings, p. 287.
That the all-happy hour is approaching when
we shall mount up in this most glorious chariot, so stirs our hearts as to
cause us fairly to shout the questions:
When Will This Chariot Arrive? How Long Will It Stay?
When considered in the light of the four
main facts so far established, these questions are virtually self-answering:
(1) the
Tract 1 36
Lord comes to earth in this
chariot; (2) from it He commands Ezekiel to go speak to His people; (3) Ezekiel
did not bear the message to the people of his day; (4) he will bear it to the
people at the commencement of the "Loud Cry."
Thus it is seen that when the time comes
that the church has reached the condition described by the Lord (Ezek. 3-9),
the mystery of the vision is to be revealed, and the message carried to the
church. And that the church has already
reached this time and condition is conclusively evidenced by the threefold fact that the first part of
this "most startling revelation" (dilated herein), was published in
December, 1930, in a 255-page book entitled The Shepherd's Rod Vol. 1; that the
second part was published in the month of September, 1932, in a 304-page book
entitled The Shepherd's Rod, Vol. 2; and that the third part -- the series of
tracts (of which this is the first) which since 1933 aggregates to date some
898 pages -- comprises Volume 3.
The fact, therefore, that from the chariot,
the Lord commands the prophet to go speak, bear the message, to His people, and
that the message totals over 1250 pages of literature published since 1930,
unfolding its truth from different angles, solemnly reveals that the chariot,
though invisible to human beings (as to "the young man" were the
chariots which covered the mountains -- 2 Kings 6:17), has already arrived.
Tract 1 37
And since it is already
here, it must of course be the divine instrumentality through which, as a sort
of base of operations, the Lord is ordering and directing His work, and through
which He shall do so until "this gospel of the kingdom...be preached in
all the world for a witness unto all nations; and...the
end come." Matt. 24:14. "The
end" -- the unbelievable! to those who say "Where is the promise of His
coming? for since
the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of
the creation" (2 Pet. 3:4); but the long-looked-for, to those who shall
say, "Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him and He will save
us" (Isa. 25:9). -- Dreadful awful,
finality! it
should drive all to ascertain
The Purpose of the Message.
"And it came to pass, while they were
slaying them, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah
Lord God! wilt Thou destroy all the residue of
After the sighing and crying ones were
marked (which is not to be understood as being consummated in its entirety
worldwide before the slaying follows anywhere), the slaughter completed, and
the matter
Tract 1 38
reported, the Lord "spake unto the man clothed with linen, and said, Go in
between the wheels even under the cherub, and fill thine
hand with coals of fire from between the cherubims,
and scatter them over the city." Ezek. 10:2.
The scattering of the "coals of
fire...over the city" represents absolute purification of the heart
(Gospel Workers, p. 23) effected by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon
those who receive the "mark" -- those who escape the "slaughter.
"
Following the completion of the
"slaughter," and just preceding the scattering of the "coals of
fire" "over the city," "the cherubims
stood on the right side of the house,...and the cloud
filled the inner court." Ezek. 10:2, 3. Later they "lifted up their wings, and
mounted up from the earth in my sight," says the prophet. Ezek.
10:19. Then subsequently he saw them
again "lift up their wings" (Ezek.
With
the city thus purged of sin and sinners, and none but the "residue,"
the righteous, remaining, "I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round
about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.... Sing and rejoice, O
daughter of
Tract 1 39
joined to the Lord in that day, and shall be My people: and
I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt
know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto thee." Zech.
2:5, 10, 11. (For
a more ample explanation of these verses, see The Shepherd's Rod, Vol. 2, pp.
259-282.)
Mark that while He dwells in the midst of
His people, "many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day,"
and that He will be unto them "a wall of fire round about." Here we are graphically reassured that "in that day," in the day that
the Lord takes the reins in His Own hands and comes to dwell in the midst of
the city, His Presence, His marvelous chariot, shall be a protection round
about His people!
Thus it is seen that the Lord has come to
purify His people by putting away the wicked from among them, "take
charge" of His clean flock, and with them finish His work. In this we see that the church has come to
her crisis. She that travaileth
"must give birth." And
"as soon as
Then shall the chariot, being dedicated to
the saints, and filled to capacity, take off for the portals of glory --
"the land that is very far off."
"...and as the chariot rolled upward, the wheels cried, 'Holy,' and
the wings, as they moved, cried, 'holy,' and the retinue of holy angels around
the cloud cried, 'Holy, holy, holy, Lord God
Tract 1 40
Almighty!' And the
saints in the cloud cried, 'Glory! Alleluia!'
And the chariot rolled upward to the holy city." -- Early Writings,
pp. 287, 288.
In view of this glorious prospect, along
with the overawing magnitude and majesty of the work before us, and the
exceeding shortness of the time in which to accomplish it, let each hasten to
share of
The Responsibility of Those Who Bear the Message.
Since Ezekiel represents those whose hearts
the message has reached, then to them the Lord is speaking when He says:
"Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of
"Again, When a righteous man doth turn
from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before
him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his
sin, and
Tract 1 41
his righteousness which he hath done shall not be
remembered; but his blood will I require at thine
hand. Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous
man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live,
because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul." Ezek. 3 :17-21.
Because of the unfaithfulness of the former
watchmen, the Lord makes the antitypical Ezekiel -- he and she who "sigh
and cry for the abominations that be done in the midst thereof" (the
church) -- a "watchman" (Ezek.
His Faithful Watchmen to Stand Before
the Unfaithful.
"Those who have trusted to intellect,
genius, or talent, will not then stand at the head of rank and file. They did not keep pace with the light. Those who have proved themselves unfaithful
will not then be entrusted with the flock.
In the last solemn work few great men will be engaged. They are self-sufficient, independent of God,
and He cannot use them." -- Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 80.
"The Lord's servants will be called
enthusiasts. Ministers will warn the
people
Tract 1 42
not to listen to them.
Noah received the same treatment while the Spirit of God was urging him
to give the message...." -- Testimonies to Ministers, p. 233.
The fact that our conferences grant
ministerial licenses only to college-trained men, attests that they are
trusting to "intellect, genius, and talent." "God's watchmen will not cry, 'Peace,
peace,' when God has not spoken peace.
The voice of the faithful watchmen will be heard: 'Go ye out from hence,
touch not the unclean.... Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.' " -- Testimonies,
Vol. 5, p. 83.
Receive instruction and learn to obey the
word of the Lord, for in so doing He will enable you to do great things in His
name. Incline your ear and hear the
Lord's heartening assurance: "Behold I have made thy face strong against
their faces and thy forehead strong against their foreheads. As an adamant harder than flint have I made
thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be
a rebellious house....all My words that I shall speak
unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears. And go,
get thee to them...and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus
saith the Lord God; whether they will hear, or
whether they will forbear." Ezek. 3:8-11.