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The "Price" of  "Peace" 

1 Thess. 5:2-6 For you yourselves know perfectly well that the day of the [return of the] Lord will come [as unexpectedly and suddenly] as a thief in the night.

Does God intend that His people shall be engulfed in this great disaster? No! We are to be saved from this overwhelming surprise.

In order to be saved we must be prepared. We must understand what is it that's leading the world to these disasters, and we must be kept no merely from the end result, but from all the causes along the way. That is the purpose of these studies, to help us understand the basic causes that are leading the world to Armageddon.

We  in Isaiah 8 THEN THE Lord said to me, Take a large tablet [of wood, metal, or stone] and write upon it with a graving tool and in ordinary characters [which the humblest man can read]: Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz [they (the Assyrians) hasten to the spoil (of Syria and Israel), they speed to the prey].

2And I took faithful witnesses to record and attest [this prophecy] for me, Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberechiah.

3And I approached [my wife] the prophetess, and when she had conceived and borne a son, the Lord said to me, Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz [as a continual reminder to the people of the prophecy],

4For before the child knows how to say, My father or my mother, the riches of Damascus [Syria's capital] and the spoil of Samaria [Israel's capital] [a]shall be carried away before the king of Assyria.

5The Lord spoke to me yet again and said,

6Because this people [Israel and Judah] have refused and despised the waters of Shiloah [Siloam, the only perennial fountain of Jerusalem, and symbolic of God's protection and sustaining power] that go gently, and rejoice in and with Rezin [the king of Syria] and Remaliah's son [Pekah the king of Israel],

7Now therefore, behold, the Lord brings upon them the waters of the River [Euphrates], strong and many--even the king of Assyria and all the glory [of his gorgeous retinue]; and it will rise over all its channels, brooks, valleys, and canals and extend far beyond its banks;(A)

8And it will [b]sweep on into Judah; it will overflow and go over [the hills], reaching even [but only] to the neck [of which Jerusalem is the head], and the outstretched wings [of the armies of Assyria] shall fill the breadth of Your land, O Immanuel [c][Messiah, God is with us]!(B)

9Make an uproar and be broken in pieces, O you peoples [rage, raise the war cry, do your worst, and be utterly dismayed]! Give ear, all you [our enemies] of far countries. Gird yourselves [for war], and be thrown into consternation! Gird yourselves, and be [utterly] dismayed!

10Take counsel together [against Judah], but it shall come to nought; speak the word, but it will not stand, for God is with us [Immanuel]!

11For the Lord spoke thus to me with His strong hand [upon me], and warned and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying,

12Do not call conspiracy [or hard, or holy] all that this people will call conspiracy [or hard, or holy]; neither be in fear of what they fear, nor [make others afraid and] in dread.

13The Lord of hosts--regard Him as holy and honor His holy name [by regarding Him as your only hope of safety], and let Him be your fear and let Him be your dread [lest you offend Him by your fear of man and distrust of Him].

14And He shall be a sanctuary [a sacred and indestructible asylum to those who reverently fear and trust in Him]; but He shall be a Stone of stumbling and a Rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.(C)

15And many among them shall stumble thereon; and they shall fall and be broken, and be snared and taken.

16Bind up the testimony, seal the law and the teaching among my [Isaiah's] disciples.

17And I will wait for the Lord, Who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; and I will look for and hope in Him.

18Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are [d]signs and wonders [that are to take place] in Israel from the Lord of hosts, Who dwells on Mount Zion.

19And when the people [instead of putting their trust in God] shall say to you, Consult for direction mediums and wizards who chirp and mutter, should not a people seek and consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living?

20[Direct such people] to the teaching and to the testimony! If their teachings are not in accord with this word, it is surely because there is no dawn and no morning for them.

21And they [who consult mediums and wizards] shall pass through [the land] sorely distressed and hungry; and when they are hungry, they will fret, and will curse by their king and their God; and whether they look upward

22Or look to the earth, they will behold only distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish, and into thick darkness and widespread, obscure night they shall be driven away.

Rev 13:3-8 3And one of his heads seemed to have a deadly wound. But his death stroke was healed; and the whole earth went after the beast in amazement and admiration.

8And all the inhabitants of the earth will fall down in adoration and pay him homage, everyone whose name has not been recorded in the Book of Life of the Lamb that was slain [in sacrifice] ^{from the foundation of the world.}

Rev 8:12 shows that the United States is the one that leads out in causing all the world to accept this leadership of the papacy. Refer to "Peace" and "Security" for references. What is the price of all of this?

Proverbs 23:23 is right on the point. 23Buy the truth and sell it not; not only that, but also get discernment and judgment, instruction and understanding.

Can truth be bought and sold? Apparently.

In Rev 3:18 18Therefore I counsel you to purchase from Me gold refined and tested by fire, that you may be [truly] wealthy, and white clothes to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nudity from being seen, and salve to put on your eyes, that you may see.

The eye salve is the discernment to know what is right and wrong. "But the truth ." But once you have bought it don't sell it. This a terrible mistake the popular churches are making today. In reformation days men like Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, Knox and Wesley bought the truth and it led them to separation from Rome. Today the Protestant churches are selling that glorious heritage. They are selling the truth which their fathers sacrificed everything to buy. That's the price they are paying to get back in favor with Rome in order that the pope may save them from a third world order.

Do you know that some of the creeds of Christendom are being revised in order to say this - watch this little change - no longer "the Bible is the word of God," but the revised statement is, "The Bible contains the word of God." Which do you believe? John 17:17 says 17Sanctify them [purify, consecrate, separate them for Yourself, make them holy] by the Truth; Your Word is Truth.

The Bible is the word of God. And there is an infinite difference between those two things, my friend. The inroad to modernisn, of higher criticism, are weakening the faith of Protestants in the scriptures. These have prepared the way to accpt a human court of appeal, in the person of the papacy, to interpret what is truth.

The servant of the Lord tells us that the reason the book, Great Controversy, deals with the controversies of the past, the apostasy in the early reformation is simply this: what has been, will be again. The last conflict into which we are even now entering is the climax of an age-long controversy. The issues are the same. The unseen forces are the same. And Rome that led the Christian world away from the Bible and set up the pope as the representative of Christ, Rome which in the dark ages killed the saints of God, is the same Rome under whose leadership all the world will be united to war against God's remnant.

On page 102 of the Great Controversy we are told about the experience of John Hus, who was burned at the stake because he became a reformer. He had been a papist, but as he studied the Bible, he came to a certain conclusion, and this is the thing I want you to notice. "God speaking in the Bible, and not the church speaking through the priesthood, is the one infallible guide." Here is the difference between Roman Catholicism on the one hand and true Protestantism on the other. And this is the truth which the Protestant world is selling that they may buy favor of the papacy. And it is the fear of communism, the fear of atheism, the fear of war; yes, it is the fear that is driving them into compromise.

Now notice the attitude of the true believers at the time the papacy was in process of formation. Here are the faithful few who would not go along with the Bishop of Rome and his hierarchy. "To secure peace and unite they were ready to make any concession consistent with fidelity to God; but they felt that even peace would be too dearly purchased at the sacrifice of principle. If unity could be secured only by the compromise of truth. and righteousness, then let there be a difference, and even war." GC 45. This has been the position of Christ's followers in all ages, not to make trouble unnecessarily, not to push minor points of difference; but when it comes to a vital point, no ecumenical idea is worth selling for.

In the 17th chapter of John, we have the Saviour's earnest prayer for unity among His believers, but in that same prayer is thismtext we have already noticed, 1WHEN JESUS had spoken these things, He lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify and exalt and honor and magnify Your Son, so that Your Son may glorify and extol and honor and magnify You.

2[Just as] You have granted Him power and authority over all flesh (all humankind), [now glorify Him] so that He may give eternal life to all whom You have given Him.

3And this is eternal life: [it means] to know (to perceive, recognize, become acquainted with, and understand) You, the only true and real God, and [likewise] to know Him, Jesus [as the] Christ (the Anointed One, the Messiah), Whom You have sent.

4I have glorified You down here on the earth by completing the work that You gave Me to do.

5And now, Father, glorify Me along with Yourself and restore Me to such majesty and honor in Your presence as I had with You before the world existed.

6I have manifested Your Name [I have revealed Your very Self, Your real Self] to the people whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, and You gave them to Me, and they have obeyed and kept Your word.

7Now [at last] they know and understand that all You have given Me belongs to You [is really and truly Yours].

8For the [uttered] words that You gave Me I have given them; and they have received and accepted [them] and have come to know positively and in reality [to believe with absolute assurance] that I came forth from Your presence, and they have believed and are convinced that You did send Me.

9I am praying for them. I am not praying (requesting) for the world, but for those You have given Me, for they belong to You.

10All [things that are] Mine are Yours, and all [things that are] Yours belong to Me; and I am glorified in (through) them. [They have done Me honor; in them My glory is achieved.]

11And [now] I am no more in the world, but these are [still] in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep in Your Name [[a]in the knowledge of Yourself] those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We [are one].

12While I was with them, I kept and preserved them in Your Name in the knowledge and worship of You]. Those You have given Me I guarded and protected, and not one of them has perished or is lost except the son of perdition [Judas Iscariot--the one who is now doomed to destruction, destined to be lost], that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

13And now I am coming to You; I say these things while I am still in the world, so that My joy may be made full and complete and perfect in them [that they may experience My delight fulfilled in them, that My enjoyment may be perfected in their own souls, that they may have My gladness within them, filling their hearts].

14I have given and delivered to them Your word (message) and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world [do not belong to the world], just as I am not of the world.

15I do not ask that You will take them out of the world, but that You will keep and protect them from the evil one.

16They are not of the world (worldly, belonging to the world), [just] as I am not of the world.

17Sanctify them [purify, consecrate, separate them for Yourself, make them holy] by the Truth; Your Word is Truth.

18Just as You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.

19And so for their sake and on their behalf I sanctify (dedicate, consecrate) Myself, that they also may be sanctified (dedicated, consecrated, made holy) in the Truth.

20Neither for these alone do I pray [it is not for their sake only that I make this request], but also for all those who will ever come to believe in (trust in, cling to, rely on) Me through their word and teaching,

21That they all may be one, [just] as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe and be convinced that You have sent Me.

22I have given to them the glory and honor which You have given Me, that they may be one [even] as We are one:

23I in them and You in Me, in order that they may become one and perfectly united, that the world may know and [definitely] recognize that You sent Me and that You have loved them [even] as You have loved Me.

24Father, I desire that they also whom You have entrusted to Me [as Your gift to Me] may be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory, which You have given Me [Your love gift to Me]; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

25O just and righteous Father, although the world has not known You and has failed to recognize You and has never acknowledged You, I have known You [continually]; and these men understand and know that You have sent Me.

26I have made Your Name known to them and revealed Your character and Your very Self, and I will continue to make [You] known, that the love which You have bestowed upon Me may be in them [felt in their hearts] and that I [Myself] may be in them."  Sanctify them through your truth: thy word is truth."

So the great question before Protestantism today is this, "Which is more important, truth or unity? And there are thousands, yes millions, who are willing to sell the truth in order to secure unity. May I read this again: "To secure peace and unity there were ready to make any concession consistent with fidelity to God; but they felt that even peace would be too clearly purchased at the sacrifice of principle. If unity could be secured only by the compromise of truth and righteousness, then let there be difference, and even war."

Now, the next sentence is meaningful, "Well would it be for the church and the world if the principles that actuated those steadfast souls were revived in the heart's of God's professed people." The only thing, dear ones, which will keep us from being engulfed in this world movement for security and peace, the ecumenical movement, is a love for truth, so that we would rather have any war than give up truth. Our desire for peace must never degenerate into a willingness to compromise. And this must be manifest in the details of our personal lives. If we get in the habit of sacrificing principles so that we will be well thought of, we are well on the road to Rome. No question about it. The remnant will be those who overcome by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimonies; and those who love the their own lives unto death.

1And they have overcome (conquered) him by means of the blood of the Lamb and by the utterance of their testimony, for they did not love and cling to life even when faced with death [holding their lives cheap till they had to die for their witnessing]. Rev 12:11

Speaking of this apostasy in the early ages we read in the GC 49, "Almost imperceptibly, the customs of heathenism found their way into the Christian church." How did this compromise come about? "Almost imperceptibly," that is, unnoticed, like the twilight falls. Well, this was the twilight, and the darkness settled upon the Christian world, it came "almost imperceptibly." That is the devil's game, to make the advances toward the world so small that the person who resists one of the those advances is looked upon a silly, odd unreasonable, stubborn.

And it isn't always in direct defiance to what God says that this compromise begins. "Rome began by enjoying what God had not forbidden, and she ended by forbidding what He had explicitly enjoined." GC 290. Rome began by telling people to do things that God had not plainly said she shouldn't do. Let me illustrate. Here is Christmas for the birth of Christ, Easter for the resurrection. Is there a verse in the Bible that says, don't celebrate the birth of Christ, don't celebrate the day of His resurrection? No. So Rome began to introducing things that weren't expressly forbidden in the Bible. She ended by forbidding what He had definitely told people to do, and the Sabbath is the outstanding example. When people get in the habit of accepting as religious guides those who tell them to do more than the Bible says, they will inevitably end up following those guides to do what the Bible has forbidden. And this is the part of Protestantism, so-called, has been following for many years.

"As the Protestant churches have been seeking the favor of the world, false charity has blinded their eyes. They do not see but that is right to believe good or all evil; and it is inevitable result, they will finally believe evil of all good." GC 571 That is what what is responsible for their current attitude toward the papacy. The popular thing in the Protestant churches today is to pat everybody on the back, and for the moment even Seventh-day Adventists are riding in the tide of popular favor, the ecumenical spirit. Many in the popular churches are ready to welcome Seventh-day Adventists as a part of the great Christian world. But the same spirit that leads them to welcome us is leading them to welcome Rome. We need to look very carefully at the hand that's stretched out to us, remembering that it also offered to the Vatican. Let us not be flattered by the spirit of compromise, That hand which has been extended toward Rome will eventually by used, not to be welcome us, but to smite us.

We need to look deep into our own hearts and see of there is anything in our souls that responds to this spirit of compromise. Are we weary of the war? Are we tired of the toil? Do we long for release from the conflict, and will we, in order to buy that release, sell the truth? That's the question. Will we give up conscientious convictions; will we soft-pedal the word of the Lord? God forbid!

Now, I mention that the world is not going to get the mess of pottage that is sold out for. Oh, my friends, this world that is selling the truthin order to buy peace from the pope of Rome, see what it's going to wake up and find!

19Then I saw the beast and the rulers and leaders of the earth with their troops mustered to go into battle and make war against Him Who is mounted on the horse and against His troops. Revelation 19:19

This is the power that has supposedly led the world tp peace is going to lead it instead to war! This is the war against God. And so while the nations of this world are following after the phantom of peace, they are led to the greatest war of the ages.

13And I saw three loathsome spirits like frogs, [leaping] from the mouth of the dragon and from the mouth of the beast and from the mouth of the false prophet.(A)

14For really they are the spirits of demons that perform signs (wonders, miracles). And they go forth to the rulers and leaders all over the world, to gather them together for war on the great day of God the Almighty. Again, Revelation 16:13-14 13And I saw three loathsome spirits like frogs, [leaping] from the mouth of the dragon and from the mouth of the beast and from the mouth of the false prophet.

14For really they are the spirits of demons that perform signs (wonders, miracles). And they go forth to the rulers and leaders all over the world, to gather them together for war on the great day of God the Almighty.

"The world is filled with the storm and war and variance. Yet under one head - the papal power - the people will unite to oppose God in the person of His witnesses." 7T 182

For a short time this world is going to be united. Read 1 Thess. 5:3 3When people are saying, All is well and secure, and, There is peace and safety, then in a moment unforeseen destruction (ruin and death) will come upon them as suddenly as labor pains come upon a woman with child; and they shall by no means escape, for there will be no escape.

Oh friends, when the voice of God ends the captivity of His people, when His law is seen in the sky, there will be a terrible awakening among all these churches that have combined together in compromise to buy peace. The union which the great apostate has cemented will fall to pieces. That great city will be divided into three parts and every man's hand will rise up against the hand of his brother. Read the awful picture in Revelation 16 1THEN I heard a mighty voice from the temple sanctuary saying to the seven angels, Go and empty out on the earth the seven bowls of God's wrath and indignation.

2So the first [angel] went and emptied his bowl on the earth, and foul and painful ulcers (sores) came on the people who were marked with the stamp of the beast and who did homage to his image.

3The second [angel] emptied his bowl into the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a corpse [thick, corrupt, ill-smelling, and disgusting], and every living thing that was in the sea perished.

4Then the third [angel] emptied out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they turned into (became) blood.

5And I also heard the angel of the waters say, Righteous (just) are You in these Your decisions and judgments, You Who are and were, O Holy One!

6Because they have poured out the blood of Your people (the saints) and the prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. Such is their due [they deserve it]!

7And [from] the altar I heard [the] cry, Yes, Lord God the Omnipotent, Your judgments (sentences, decisions) are true and just and righteous!

8Then the fourth [angel] emptied out his bowl upon the sun, and it was permitted to burn (scorch) humanity with [fierce, glowing] heat (fire).

9People were severely burned (scorched) by the fiery heat, and they reviled and blasphemed the name of God, Who has control of these plagues, and they did not repent of their sins [felt no regret, contrition, and compunction for their waywardness, refusing to amend their ways] to give Him glory.

10Then the fifth [angel] emptied his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was [plunged] in darkness; and people gnawed their tongues for the torment [of their excruciating distress and severe pain]

11And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their anguish and their ulcers (sores), and they did not deplore their wicked deeds or repent [for what they had done].

12Then the sixth [angel] emptied his bowl on the mighty river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to make ready a road for [the coming of] the kings of the east (from the rising sun).

13And I saw three loathsome spirits like frogs, [leaping] from the mouth of the dragon and from the mouth of the beast and from the mouth of the false prophet.

14For really they are the spirits of demons that perform signs (wonders, miracles). And they go forth to the rulers and leaders all over the world, to gather them together for war on the great day of God the Almighty.

15Behold, I am going to come like a thief! Blessed (happy, to be envied) is he who stays awake (alert) and who guards his clothes, so that he may not be naked and [have the shame of being] seen exposed!

16And they gathered them together at the place which in Hebrew is called Armageddon. [II Kings 9:27.]

17Then the seventh [angel] emptied out his bowl into the air, and a mighty voice came out of the sanctuary of heaven from the throne [of God], saying, It is done! [It is all over, it is all accomplished, it has come!]

18And there followed lightning flashes, loud rumblings, peals of thunder, and a tremendous earthquake; nothing like it has ever occurred since men dwelt on the earth, so severe and far-reaching was that earthquake.

19The mighty city was broken into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And God kept in mind mighty Babylon, to make her drain the cup of His furious wrath and indignation.

20And every island fled and no mountains could be found.

21And great (excessively oppressive) hailstones, as heavy as a talent [between fifty and sixty pounds], of immense size, fell from the sky on the people; and men blasphemed God for the plague of the hail, so very great was [the torture] of that plague.