Vol. 2 Timely
Greetings No. 34
THE ONLY
PEACE OF MIND
Volume 2
Number 34
Copyright, 1948 Reprint
All rights reserved
V.T. HOUTEFF
IF YOU WERE
NOTHING,
WHAT WOULD
YOU CHOOSE TO BE?
TEXT OF ADDRESS BY V.T. HOUTEFF,
MINISTER OF D. SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS
SABBATH,
MT.
Our text is found in 1 Kings 3:5.
1 Kings 3:5 -- "In
Solomon asked for wisdom, and along with it
he got everything a man could desire to have. (1 Kings
Supposing you were nothing, and you had
enough sense to hear God's voice, as did Solomon, saying: "What do you
wish to be? Ask for it, and that shall
ye be." You would, of course, want
to be the best in God's creation -- a human being.
Timely Greetings, Vol. 2,
No. 34 17
Let us suppose that your request has been granted,
that you have now become a fine human being, but have advanced no further: You
as yet belong to no family, race, government or people. You know nothing about God and nothing about
religion.
Next in your progress among the living, you
would want to choose your nationality.
Which of all the people on earth would you choose to be? I would choose to be a Hebrew, because the
Hebrew nation of all the nations on earth has for its parentage prophets,
kings, and priests. The Hebrew nation,
of course (I do not mean the unbelieving present day Jews), at the present time
has no government of its own; it is scattered among the nations. You would therefore have to choose the
government under which you would like to make your home. Since the
Suppose next you were greatly impressed to
connect yourself with a church. There
being but three religions to choose from -- Pagan, Christian, and Mohammedan --
which one would you choose for your own?
Your God-given wisdom would tell you that it would have to be the one
that has the best and longest record, the one that has proved its origin and
endurance, the one that has proved itself capable of saving a sinner, raising
the dead, and translating the living.
Since the religion of Christ alone has
proved itself capable of performing all these and of predicting the rise and
fall of nations and peoples, past, present, and future -- from time
Timely Greetings, Vol. 2,
No. 34 18
immemorial to the time of the end. And since its founder alone claims credit for
creating the world; and of being the Son of God, the beginning and the end, the
Saviour of all mankind, you would want to join
it. In fact, if one is to reap the
fullest benefit from religion, then these are the qualifications which his
religion must have. And if these are the
chief reasons for one's embracing religion, then there is no alternative but to
take the Christian religion, for it alone backs up its guarantee with actual
facts, with actual performance.
Suppose you have now become a whole-hearted,
an altogether Christian, but you are confronted with still a greater problem;
that is, you find Christianity divided into many sects, one differing from the
other both in doctrine and deportment.
You are therefore forced to choose the sect you would like to join, the
sect you would like to make your own.
Your choice, of course, would have to be
again based on facts, not on assumption.
And since the Bible Itself has now become your only guide, your only
teacher, you would have to consult It, and your choice
would have to be made accordingly. And if
you be living now in the time of the end, the time in which The Revelation of
John actually speaks and shines upon the path of the saints, you would of
course have to consult the book of The Revelation first and join the sect which
It recommends.
And which is it? -- Let us turn to Revelation 12 --
Rev. 12:15 -- "And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the
woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood."
Timely Greetings, Vol. 2,
No. 34 19
The woman, you know, is the symbol of the
sect, the Church.
Rev. 12:16 -- "And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth,
and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth."
Only this Church, you see, is favored even
by the earth itself. This sect alone is
saved from the Dragon's flood, saved from being carried away by the flood of
hypocrites and "tares" in her midst.
Rev. 12:17 -- "And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war
with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the
testimony of Jesus Christ."
Here, you see, the remnant -- those who are
left after the others are swallowed by the earth, so to speak -- keeps the commandments of God and has the testimony of Jesus
Christ. This remnant, or sect, that
keeps the commandments of God, therefore, is the only one that Inspiration
recommends, the only one that is worth joining, the only one that can profit
any one. It alone possesses the power to
escape any and all of the calamities that are now brewing throughout the
world. It is the only sect that finds
favor with God. No other would do, for
no other could profit you.
Then, too, it alone has the testimony of
Jesus Christ -- the living Spirit of Prophecy in its midst (Rev. 19:10), -- the
Spirit Who leads into all Truth, Who alone can rightly interpret the Scriptures
(2 Pet.
Timely Greetings, Vol. 2,
No. 34 20
Keeping the commandments of God, though,
involves keeping everyone of them, for "Whosoever shall keep the whole
law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." James 2:10. And remember, too, that the keeping of the
commandments can openly be recognized only by the keeping of the Sabbath
commandment, the commandment which says:
"Six days shalt
thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day
is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt
not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy
maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in
six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and
rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and
hallowed it." Ex. 20:9-11.
The Sabbath day, you see, is created holy,
but the first six days are created for work.
The seventh-day Sabbath is the only Sabbath, and in all the holy Word of
God there is no command to keep another day in its stead. The keeping of the seventh-day Sabbath alone
testifies of one's faith in the Creator, and against evolution. A Sabbath substitute, therefore, can no more
be acceptable as a commandment of God than could Cain's offering have been
accepted as God's ordained sacrifice.
No, do not contradict the Lord by saying the
seventh-day is for the Jews only, for the Lord says:
Isa. 56:2-7 -- "Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the
son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and
Timely Greetings, Vol. 2,
No. 34 21
keepeth his hand
from doing any evil. Neither let the son
of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the Lord, speak, saying, The Lord
hath utterly separated me from His people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold,
I am a dry tree. For thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my Sabbaths, and
choose the things that please Me, and take hold of My covenant; even unto them
will I give in Mine house and within My walls a place and a name better than of
sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be
cut off. Also the sons of the stranger,
that join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him, and to love the name of the
Lord, to be His servants, every one that keepeth the
Sabbath from polluting It, and taketh hold of My
covenant; even them will I bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in
My house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be
accepted upon Mine altar; for Mine house shall be called an house of prayer for
all people."
The only Sabbath Jesus ever knew was the
seventh-day Sabbath, and looking forward to the great tribulation, deep in the
Christian era, He said: "But pray ye that your flight be not in the
winter, neither on the sabbath day: for then shall be
great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this
time, no, nor ever shall be." Matthew 24:20, 21. The Sabbath, you see, is for all peoples,
both in Old and New Testament times.
Moreover, again speaking of the Christian era, the time the earth is
made new, Inspiration declares:
Isa. 66:23 -- "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
Timely Greetings, Vol. 2,
No. 34 22
Me, saith
the Lord."
Since "The Revelation," the book
that speaks to the people of God at this time, recommends the sect that keeps
the commandments and that has the gift of prophecy, you cannot wisely connect
yourself with any other sect. And since
God so declares, it must be that there is but one such people at this
particular time who have the living testimony of Jesus
Christ, the Gift of the Spirit of Prophecy.
Moreover, for God to place the Gift with more than one people, would be for Him to cause confusion and disaster to
His own work, to thwart His own purpose.
Still further, if more than one has the Gift, then they all would
necessarily have to agree as one. But
since there are no two sects that agree with each other, the truth that there
is but one sect that has the Gift is an absolute reality. And while you may choose to keep the Sabbath
commandment, you cannot inspire yourself with the Spirit of Prophecy -- this
Gift is bestowed upon the remnant by God Himself.
Your next problem in your progress of life would
be to find the proper name of that commandment-keeping people, a name that
would actually by practice express that they are "the remnant," for a
Divinely inspired name must in actuality point out the
people whom Inspiration here recommends.
Any other name on them would be misleading, and the same name on any
other people would be misleading, too.
Let us not neglect to note, too, that the
name of a people is not really a name but a title. And titles, you know, change as fast as Truth
unfolds, as fast as Truth advances from one phase of the gospel work to
another.
Timely Greetings, Vol. 2,
No. 34 23
To illustrate: Even the personal names of
the patriarchs, by which various movements of the past were named, were changed
as time went on. Abram, you recall, in
the process of time was called Abraham; and Jacob was called
At the
commencement of each message the people that marched on with the Truth were the
individual members of the church which had become a church through the
acceptance of a message, a message which its founder brought forth. For example, the entire Jewish church did not
become a Christian church, but the Christian church drew its members from the
Jewish church and brought them to advanced Truth, Truth especially adaptable
for the time and the people then.
As we are now living in the time of The
Revelation, in the time of the unfolding of the prophecies which point to the
setting up of the Kingdom as well as to the second advent of Christ, the Church
at this time, therefore, could not logically go by a name other than a name
which would befit her present (advanced) phase of the gospel work.
Plainly, then, her name must express the
truths she advocates: that is, the keeping of
Timely Greetings, Vol. 2,
No. 34 24
the commandments, the second advent of Christ, and also
the restoration of the
Now you see that every additional timely
Truth brings an additional timely name.
And you who have not been baptized in the name of the Church, but in the
name of Christ through the Truth of the Spirit, you who are not tied to any
man, but to Christ, cannot help going on with the Spirit of Prophecy Who
unfolds the Truth and names Its people.
You could not, therefore, afford to calmly stand by, dreaming of being
rich and increased with goods, in need of nothing while in fact you are
spiritually poor and naked. And you will
stay that way if you neglect to advance with the Truth for this time.
Finally, you need to know concretely what is
the Kingdom message, the "additional message" (Early Writings, pg.
277), and the phase of its work that promotes the title "Seventh-day
Adventist" to the title Davidian Seventh-day
Adventist.
Isa. 11:11, 12, 16 -- "And it shall come to pass in that day, that
the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His
people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from
Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath,
and from the islands of the sea. And He
shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall
Timely Greetings, Vol. 2,
No. 34 25
assemble the outcasts of
If God's people who are in Babylon are to
come out of her to escape her plagues (Rev. 18:4) and to avoid the sins that are
in Babylon when she rides the beast and rules the world (Rev. 17) they must
necessarily go to a place that is not vulnerable to her plagues, and where
there is no sin. Where is that place? --
Let the Bible give the answer:
Ezekiel 37:21-28 -- "And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord
God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither
they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own
land: and I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel;
and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations,
neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all. Neither shall they defile themselves any more
with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their
transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein
they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be My
people, and I will be their God. And
David My servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd:
they shall also walk in My judgments, and observe My
statutes, and do them. And they shall
dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob My servant, wherein your fathers
have dwelt; and they shall dwell
Timely Greetings, Vol. 2,
No. 34 26
therein, even they, and their children, and their children's
children forever: and My servant David shall be their prince forever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with
them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and
multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in the midst
of them for evermore. My tabernacle also
shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And the
heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify
Ezek. 36:22-28 -- "Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith
the Lord God; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for Mine
holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye
went. And I will sanctify My great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which
ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the
Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified
in you before their eyes. For I will
take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will
bring you into your own land. Then will
I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your
filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new
spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your
flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and
cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My
judgments, and do them. And ye shall
well in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be My people, and I will be your God."
Now you can more fully appreciate the name
Timely Greetings, Vol. 2,
No. 34 27
Davidian Seventh-day Adventists. And so if you were nothing yesterday, and a Divinely enlightened human being today, you would at last be
a Davidian Seventh-day Adventist.
Suppose, though, you would
then wish to go on to perfection?
You would of course again cry out to the Lord, and say:
Mic. 6:6, 7 -- "Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and
bow myself before the high God? shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves of
a year old? Will the Lord be pleased
with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my
firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my
soul?"
And now this is God's answer to your cry:
Mic. 6:8 -- "He hath shewed thee,
O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly,
and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"
Yes, here you have the answer to your
heart's desire: Do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God; be not
high-minded and self-sufficient. And
what is more, Inspiration continues:
Mic. 6:9 -- "The Lord's voice crieth
unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and Who hath appointed it."
The Shepherd's Rod, the books that
Inspiration so named and inspired its contents, being the only Rod in the world
that can be heard speaking, the Lord commands that you should hear it, that you
do not waste any time in deciding
Timely Greetings, Vol. 2,
No. 34 28
between the Rod literature and some other. For there is none other today
than the Rod literature which God recommends you to hear. And when you hear the Rod, you will find
yourself wrapped in the love of Christ and in the "arms" of God. Try it.
Now listen to His Word and let Him in the
language of the prophets tell you more about the day you and I are now
approaching, the day with which we are almost face to face. With the light already given, the following
scriptures need no special comments; they are self-interpretative.
Micah 6:9 --
"The Lord's voice crieth unto the city, and the
man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and
Who hath appointed it."
Zech. 13:8, 9 -- "And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die;
but the third shall be left therein. And
I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is
refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on My name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is My people:
and they shall say, The Lord is my God."
Zech. 12:8-10 -- "In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house
of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I
will seek to destroy all the nations that come against
Timely Greetings, Vol. 2,
No. 34 29
Him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for
Him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn."
Jer. 30:9 -- "But they shall serve the Lord their God, and
David their king, whom I will raise up unto them."
Ezek. 37:24-26 -- "And David My servant shall be king over them; and they all shall
have one shepherd: they shall also walk in My
judgments, and observe My statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have
given unto Jacob My servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall
dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for
ever: and My servant David shall be their prince for
ever. Moreover I will make a covenant of
peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will
place them, and multiply them, and will set My
sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore."
Since you are now instructed in Truth and
righteousness, and since the earth has not yet swallowed up the Dragon's flood,
also since this message is but the announcement that the earth will soon
swallow the flood, with which class of church members would
you love most to associate? -- Hear ye now the class which the Lord recommends:
Matt. 5:3-16 -- "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for their's
is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are
they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst
after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall
Timely Greetings, Vol. 2,
No. 34 30
obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall
be called the children of God. Blessed
are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for their's
is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are
ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of
evil against you falsely, for My sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is
your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before
you. Ye are the salt of the earth: but
if the salt have lost his savour,
wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and
to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are
the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill
cannot be hid. Neither
do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and
it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they
may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Timely Greetings, Vol. 2,
No. 34 31