| The True Witness |
The True Witness Speaks to Laodicea
Message to Laodicea The message must be given: Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 257Ministers who are preaching present truth should not neglect the solemn message to the Laodiceans. Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 259 This message must be borne to a lukewarm church by God’s servants. It must arouse His people from their security and dangerous deception in regard to their real standing before God. This testimony, if received, will arouse to action and lead to self-abasement and confession of sins. Review and Herald, September 16, 1873 The pointed testimony must live in the church. And this alone will answer to the message to the Laodiceans. Wrongs must be reproved, sins must be called sins, and iniquity must be met promptly and decidedly, and put away from us as a people. The Purpose Of The Laodicean Message: Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 186 It is designed to 1) arouse the people of God, to 2) discover to them their backslidings, and to 3) lead to zealous repentance, that they may be 4) favored with the presence of Jesus, and be 5) fitted for the loud cry of the third angel. Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 254 The message of the True Witness reveals the fact that a terrible deception is upon our people, which makes it 1) necessary to come to them with warnings, 2) to break their spiritual slumber, and 3) arouse them to decided action. Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 260 The people of God 1) must see their wrongs and 2) arouse to zealous repentance and a 3) putting away of those sins which have brought them into such a deplorable condition of poverty, blindness, wretchedness, and fearful deception. 4) I was shown that the pointed testimony must live in the church. This alone will answer to the message to the Laodiceans. 5) Wrongs must be reproved, sin must be called sin, and 6) iniquity must be met promptly and decidedly, and put away from us as a people. Early Writings, p. 270 I saw that the testimony of the True Witness has not been half heeded. The solemn testimony upon which the destiny of the church hangs has been lightly esteemed, if not entirely disregarded. This testimony must work deep repentance; all who truly receive it will obey it and be purified. Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 187 God leads His people on, step by step. He brings them up to different points calculated to manifest what is in the heart. Some endure at one point, but fall off at the next. At every advanced point the heart is tested and tried a little closer. If the professed people of God find their hearts opposed to this straight work, it should convince them that they have a work to do to overcome, if they would not be spewed out of the mouth of the Lord. Said the angel: “God will bring His work closer and closer to test and prove every one of His people.” Some are willing to receive one point; but when God brings them to another testing point, they shrink from it and stand back, because they find that it strikes directly at some cherished idol. Here they have opportunity to see what is in their hearts that shuts out Jesus. They prize something higher than the truth, and their hearts are not prepared to receive Jesus. Individuals are tested and proved a length of time to see if they will sacrifice their idols and heed the counsel of the True Witness. If any will not be purified through obeying the truth, and overcome their selfishness, their pride, and evil passions, the angels of God have the charge: “They are joined to their idols, let them alone,” and they pass on to their work, leaving these with their sinful traits unsubdued, to the control of evil angels. Those who come up to every point, and stand every test, and overcome, be the price what it may, have heeded the counsel of the True Witness, and they will receive the latter rain, and thus be fitted for translation. Who Is Laodicea? Corporately: Review and Herald, December 15, 1904 The message to the Laodicean church reveals our condition as a people. SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 961 The message to the Laodicean church is highly applicable to us as a people. SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 961 The Laodicean message is applicable to the church at this time. Do you believe this message? Have you hearts that feel? Or are you constantly saying, We are rich and increased in goods, and have need of nothing? Review and Herald, vol. 4, p. 548 The message to the church of the Laodiceans applies especially to the people of God today. It is a message of professing Christians who have become so much like the world that no difference can be seen. Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 252 The message to the Church of the Laodiceans is a startling denunciation, and is applicable to the people of God at the present time. Review and Herald, September 25, 1900, or SDA Bible Commentary, vol 7, p. 962 The Laodicean message must be proclaimed with power; for now it is especially applicable. Now, more than ever before, are seen 1) pride, 2) worldly ambition, 3) self-exaltation, 4) double-dealing, 5) hypocrisy, and deception. 6) Many are speaking great swelling words of vanity, saying, “I am rich, and increased with goods and have need of nothing.” Yet they are miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. Manuscript Releases, vol. 18, p. 193 If ever a people were represented by the Laodicean message, it is the people who have had great light, the revelation of the Scriptures, that Seventh-day Adventists have received. Individually: Review and Herald, October 17, 1899 The Laodicean message applies to all who profess to keep the law of God, and yet are not doers of it. We are not to be selfish in anything. Every phase of the Christian life is to be a representation of the life of Christ. If it is not, we shall hear the terrible words, “I know you not.” SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 962 The message to the Laodicean church applies most decidedly to those whose religious experience is *insipid, who do not bear decided witness in favor of the truth. [*Wanting in spirit or life, dull.] SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 962 Many are Laodiceans, living in a spiritual self-deception. They clothe themselves in the garment of their own righteousness, imagining themselves to be rich and increased with goods and in need of nothing, when they need daily to learn of Jesus, his meekness and lowliness, else they find themselves bankrupt, their whole life being a lie. Review and Herald, vol. 4, p. 323, or SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 962 Love of self excludes the love of Christ. Those who live for self are ranged under the head of the Laodicean Church. The ardor of their first love has lapsed into a selfish egotism. When the love of Christ abides in the heart, it will be expressed in the actions. If love for Christ is dull, love for those for whom Christ died will diminish. There may be an appearance of ceremony and zeal, but this is the only fruit of their self-inflated religion. Christ represents them as nauseating to His taste. SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 1101 “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.” Christ gives man no encouragement to think that He will accept a patchwork character, made up mostly of self, with a little of Christ. This is the condition of the Laodicean church. At first there seems to be some of self and some of Christ. But soon it is all of self and none of Christ. The root of selfishness is revealed. It continues to grow, striking its roots deeper and deeper, till its branches are covered with objectionable fruit. Christ looks with pitying tenderness on all who have combination characters. Those with such a character have a connection with Christ so frail that it is utterly worthless. Review and Herald, June 4, 1889 If ever there was a people that needed to heed the counsel of the True Witness to the Laodicean church to be zealous and to repent before God, it is the people who have had opened up before them the stupendous truths for this time, and who have not lived up to their high privileges and responsibilities. Review and Herald, March 11, 1902 The message to the Laodicean Church is applicable to all who have had great light and many opportunities, and yet have not appreciated them. Revelation 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and True Witness, the beginning of the creation of God. The Message Of The “True Witness” Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, pp. 252, 253 What 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, yet honest in that deception. They know not that their condition is deplorable in the sight of God. While those addressed are flattering themselves that they are in an exalted spiritual condition, the message of the True Witness breaks their security by the startling denunciation of their true situation 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 for the Church, vol. 3, p. 254 It is not enough to merely profess to believe the truth. All the soldiers of the cross of Christ virtually obligate themselves to enter a crusade against the adversary of souls, to condemn wrong, and sustain righteousness. But the message of the True Witness reveals the fact that a terrible deception is upon our people, which makes it necessary to come to them with warnings, to break their spiritual slumber, and arouse them to decided action. The Youth’s Instructor, April 22, 1897 In the message to the Laodicean church, the True Witness lifts His voice in warning to all who are at ease and self-satisfied. This message means very much to us individually, and it is for our eternal interest that we make a practical application of it. Revelation 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. “I Know Thy Works” Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 485 “I know thy works.” This close scrutiny is over the churches in California. (and the World) Nothing escapes His searching gaze; their faults and errors, their neglects and failures, their shortcomings—all are “opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 963 Jesus says, “I, your Redeemer, know your works. I am familiar with the motives that prompt you to declare boastingly in regard to your spiritual condition, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing.” Thou “knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” Review and Herald, September 19, 1899 These words are being fulfilled today. Read and understand the revealed truth of God. A heavenly Watcher marks our words and deportment, and reads the motives that prompt us to action. We have no time now to be idle and indifferent. We must strive to develop a Christian character. Our spiritual understanding must be cleansed, purified, sanctified, and ennobled. All are now taking sides. It is ours now to choose a blessing or a curse. Now is the time for us to purify our minds by obeying the truth. Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 256 Very many feel impatient and jealous because they are frequently disturbed with warnings and reproofs which keep their sins before them. Says the True Witness: “I know thy works.” the motives, the purposes, the unbelief, the suspicions and jealousies may be hid from men, but not from Christ. Revelation 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. “So Then Because Thou Art Lukewarm” SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 963 There are a large number of professing Christians who do not really follow Jesus. They do not bear the cross by proper self-denial and self-sacrifice. Although making a great profession of being earnest Christians, they weave into the fabric of their character so many of the threads of their own imperfections that the beautiful pattern is spoiled. Of them Christ says: “You boast of being rich and increased with supposed spiritual attainments. In reality you are neither cold nor hot, but are filled with vain conceit. Unless converted, you cannot be saved; for you would mar heaven with your unsanctified wisdom. I cannot endorse your spirit and your work. You do not act according to the divine Example. You are following a pattern merely of your own invention. Because you are lukewarm, I must spew you out of My mouth.” Let us thank the Lord that while this class is so numerous, there is still time for repentance.… Those who are in this condition are willfully ignorant. 1) They do no discern the real character of sin. 2) By their wrongdoing they constantly misrepresent the character of Christ and put Him to open shame. 3) Professing to have a knowledge of the truth, they act in spirit as novices. 4) They do not seem to understand the truth that must be expressed in word and deed to 5) show a decided difference between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not. 6) They are false claimants of every Christian blessing and privilege, when as Christ’s representatives, 7) they are not rich in spiritual grace or good works. They are wretched, poor, blind, and maimed. What a position to be in! 8) They stand in their own light. But not withstanding their willfull ignorance, they are not left by the Lord without added warning and counsel. Review and Herald, April 1, 1890 The Church is presented as standing in a self-satisfied, pleased, proud, independent position, ignorant of her destitution and wretchedness. By her attitude she says, “I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing.” How many who claim to be keeping the commandments of God are in this position today! The charge against the Church is, “Thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot.” But while many may be satisfied with their lukewarm condition, the Lord is far from pleased, and declares that unless you are zealous and repent, He will spue you out of His mouth. What Does It Mean To Be Lukewarm? Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, p. 87 The Laodicean message applies to the people of God who profess to believe present truth. The greater part are lukewarm professors, having a name but no zeal. Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, pp. 87, 88 The only hope for the Laodiceans is a clear view of their standing before God, a knowledge of the nature of their disease. They are neither cold nor hot: 1) they occupy a neutral position, and 2) at the same time flatter themselves that they are in need of nothing. The True Witness hates this lukewarmness. He loathes the indifference of this class of persons. Said He: “I would that thou wert cold or hot.” Like lukewarm water, they are nauseous to His taste. 3) They are neither unconcerned nor selfishly stubborn. 4) They do not engage thoroughly and heartily in the work of God, identifying themselves with its interests; 5) but they hold aloof and are ready to leave their posts when their worldly personal interests demand it. Review and Herald, vol. 2, p. 330 Many are in a lukewarm condition, because they 1) do not live by faith, 2) increasing in the knowledge of the truth, 3) going on from light to greater light. Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 215 In this life we 1) must meet fiery trials and 2) make costly sacrifices, but the peace of Christ is the reward. There has been 3) so little self denial, 4) so little suffering for Christ’s sake, that 5) the cross is almost entirely forgotten. We must be partakers with Christ of His sufferings if we would sit down in triumph with Him on His throne. So long as we choose the easy path of self-indulgence, and are frightened at self-denial, our faith will never become firm, and we cannot know the peace of Jesus nor the joy that comes through conscious victory. Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 179 The alarming truths of the word of God had stirred the people of God a little. Now and then they would make feeble efforts to overcome, but they 1) soon tired and sank back into the same lukewarm state. I saw that they 2) did not have perseverance 3) and fixed determination. Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 210 I was shown the low state of God’s proffessed people; that God had not departed from them, but that they had departed from Him, and had become lukewarm. They possess the theory of the truth, but lack its saving power. Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 104 The church is composed of imperfect, erring men and women, who call for the continual exercise of charity and forbearance. But there has been a long period of general lukewarmness; a 1) worldly spirit coming into the church has been followed by 2) alienation, 3) faultfinding, 4) malice, 5) strife, and 6) iniquity. Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 484 The Lord has rich blessings for the church if its members will seek earnestly to arouse from this perilous lukewarmness. 1) A religion of vanity, 2) words devoid of vitality, 3) a character destitute of moral strength,—these are pointed in the solemn message addressed by the True Witness to the churches, warning them against pride, worldliness, formalism, and self-sufficiency. Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, pp. 76, 77 Many of our people are lukewarm. They occupy the position of Meroz. Neither for nor against, neither cold nor hot. 1) They hear the words of Christ, but do them not. If they remain in this state, He will reject them with abhorrence. Many of those who have had great light, great opportunities, and every spiritual advantage 2) praise Christ and the world with the same breath. 3) They bow themselves before God and mammon. 4) They make merry with the children of the world, and yet claim to be blessed with the children of God. 5) They wish to have Christ as their Saviour, but will not bear the cross and wear the yoke. May the Lord have mercy upon you; for if you go on this way, nothing but evil can be prophesied concerning you. Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 188 It would be more pleasing to the Lord if lukewarm professors of religion had never named His name. 1) They are a continual weight to those who would be faithful followers of Jesus. 2) They are a stumbling block to unbelievers, and evil angels exult over them, and taunt the angels of God with their crooked course. 3) Such are a curse to the cause at home or abroad. 4) They draw nigh to God with their lips, while their heart is far from Him. SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 963 Half hearted Christians are worse than infidels; for their deceptive words and noncommittal position lead many astray. The infidel shows his colors. The lukewarm Christian deceives both parties. He is neither a good worldling nor a good Christian. Satan uses him to do a work that no else can do. Review and Herald, vol. 3, p. 519 Self-sufficiency is the fatal danger of a lukewarm state. Hope From A God Of Love: Review and Herald, August 28, 1894 But the counsel of the true Witness does not represent those who are lukewarm as in a hopeless case. There is yet a chance to remedy their state, and the Laodicean message is full of encouragement; for the backslidden church may yet buy the gold of faith, and love may yet have the white robe of the righteousness of Christ, that the shame of their nakedness need not appear. Purity of heart, purity of motive, may yet characterize those who are halfhearted and who are striving to serve God and mammon. They may yet wash their robes of character and make them white in the blood of the Lamb. SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 966 There is hope for our churches if they will heed the message given to the Laodiceans. “I Will Spue Thee Out Of My Mouth” What This Means: Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, p. 408 To those who are indifferent at this time Christ’s warning is: “Because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of My mouth.” Revelation 3:16. The figure of spewing out of His mouth means that He cannot 1) offer up your prayers or your expressions of love to God. He cannot 2) endorse your teachings of His word or your spiritual work in anywise. He cannot 3) present your religious exercises with the request that grace be given you. The Signs of the Times, June 26, 1884 The apostle Paul exhorts careless and unconcerned professors: “Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.” Christ, the True Witness, would break the slumbers of His ease-loving people. His voice is heard addressing them: “I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of My mouth.” I will not take your names into my lips, for you are unworthy. I am ashamed to call you brethren. “Be zealous therefore, and repent.” The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, p. 346 What is the matter? They have left their first love. “So then because thou art lukewarm. . . I will spue thee out of My mouth.” What does He mean by that? Why, if the people have great light and knowledge and yet they are not striving to give that light and evidence to the world in their works, which are living principles that they shall present to the world, Christ is dishonored, and He becomes so disgusted with them that He will not take their names into His mouth to present them to the Father. The Character Of Those Who Are Spued Out: Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, pp. 152, 153 The true Christian will love to wait and watch for the teachings of God and the leadings of His Spirit. 1) But with many, religion is merely a form. 2) Vital godliness is lacking. 3) Many dare to say, I will do this, or that, or I will not do this; and the fear of offending God is scarcely thought of. Those thus described, I saw could not enter heaven as they are. 4) They may flatter themselves that they will be saved, but God has no pleasure in them. 5) Their lives do not please him. 6) Their prayers are an offense to him. Christ now calls them: “Be zealous and repent.” He kindly and faithfully admonishes them to buy gold, white raiment, and eyesalve. They can choose either to be zealous, and partake largely of salvation, or be spewed out of the mouth of the Lord as disgusting, and be thrust from Him. God will not bear always. He is of tender pity, yet His Spirit will be grieved away for the last time. Mercy’s sweet voice will be no more heard. Its last precious notes will have died away, and those described will be left to their own ways, to be filled with their own doings. Review and Herald, July 9, 1908 Those who profess to serve Christ, while in life they deny Him, are not thoroughly converted, and are regarded by Christ as very offensive. To every such one He says. “I will spue thee out of my mouth.” Review and Herald, vol. 1, p. 43 Those who separate from God and lose their spirituality, do not fall back all at once into a state which the true Witness calls lukewarm. 1) They conform to the world little by little. 2) As its influence steals upon them, they fail to resist it and maintain the warfare. 3) After the first step is taken to have friendship with the world, darkness follows and they are prepared for the next. 4) At every step they take in the downward course darkness gathers about them until they are enshrouded. 5) As they conform to the world they lose the transforming influence of the Spirit of God. 6) They do not realize their distance from God. 7) They think themselves in good case because they profess to believe the truth. 8) They grow weaker and weaker, until the Spirit of God is withdrawn, and God bids His angels, let them alone! Jesus spews them out of His mouth. 1) He has borne their names to His Father; He has interceded for them, but He ceases His pleadings. 2) Their names are dropped, and 3) they are left with the world. 9) They realize no change. 10) Their profession is the same. 11) There has not been so glaring a departure from the appearance of right. 12) They had become so assimilated to the world that when heaven’s light was withdrawn they did not miss it. The General Conference Bulletin, April 6, 1903 When I see the work that lies before us, and 1) when I see how poorly we comprehend what God requires of us, I am in an agony of distress. Here is the Word of God. Will you take it? 2) Or will you be rejected by the Lord because, though professing much, your spirit and words and actions are void of the warmth of His Spirit? 3) A lifeless profession is nauseating to God. Christ can not present before the Father those who are lukewarm. Spewed Out The Final Outcome: Individually SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 963 There are those who, though professedly serving God, are witnessing against Him. To them the message to the Laodicean church is given. Christ says to them, “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot.” When the avenging angel shall pass through the land, Christ cannot say of them, “Touch them not. I have graven them upon the palms of my hands.” No; of these halfhearted ones He says, “I will spew them out of my mouth. They are offensive to me.” Selected Messages, Book 1, p. 127 God calls for a spiritual revival and spiritual reformation. Unless this takes place, those who are lukewarm will continue to grow more abhorrent to the Lord, until He will refuse to acknowledge them as His children. Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, pp. 189, 190 Young and old, God is now testing you. You are deciding your own eternal destiny. 1) Your pride, 2) your love to follow the fashions of the world, 3) your vain and empty conversation, 4) your selfishness, are all put in the scale, and the weight of evil is fearfully against you. You are poor, and miserable, and blind and naked. While evil is increasing and taking deep root, it is choking the good seed which has been sown in the heart; and soon the word that was given concerning Eli’s house will be spoken to the angels of God concerning you: Your sins “shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering forever.” Many, I saw were flattering themselves that they were good Christians, who have not a single ray of light from Jesus. 5) They know not what it is to be renewed by the grace of God. 6) They have no living experience for themselves in the things of God. And I saw that the Lord was whetting His sword in heaven to cut them down. Oh, that every lukewarm professor could realize the clean work that God is about to make among His professed people! Dear friends, do not deceive yourselves concerning your condition. You cannot deceive God. Corporately: Review and Herald, vol. 2, p. 454 The True Witness declares, “I know thy works.” Repent, and do the first works.” This is the true test, the evidence that the Spirit of God is working in the heart to imbue you with His love. “I will come unto to thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of His place, except thou repent.” The church is like the unproductive tree which, receiving the dew and rain and sunshine, should have produced and abundance of fruit, but on which the divine search discovers nothing but leaves. Solemn thought for our churches! solemn, indeed, for every individual! Marvelous is the patience and forbearance of God; but “except thou repent,” it will be exhausted; the churches, our institutions, will go from 1) weakness, from 2) cold formality 3) to deadness, while they are saying, “I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing.” The True Witness says, “And knowest not thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” Will they ever see clearly their true condition? There is to be in the churches a wonderful manifestation of the power of God, but it will not move upon those who have not humbled themselves before the Lord, and opened the door of the heart by confession and repentance. In the manifestation of that power which lightens the earth with the glory of God, they will see only something in which in their blindness they think dangerous, something which will arouse their fears, and they will brace themselves to resist it. Because the Lord does not work according to their ideas and expectations, they will oppose the work. “Why” they say, “should not we know the Spirit of God, when we have been in the work so many years?”—Because they did not respond to the warnings, the entreaties of the messages of God, but persistently said “I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing.” See Review and Herald, vol. 4, Feb. 25, 1902. Review and Herald, vol. 3, p. 69 Of those who boast of their light, and yet fail to walk in it, Christ says, “But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgement, than for you. And thou, Capernaum [Seventh-day Adventists, who have had great light], which art exalted unto heaven [in point of privilege], shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgement, than for thee.” At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent [in their own estimation], and hast revealed them unto babes.” Bracketed words in the original. When Is Laodicea Finally Spewed Out? Review and Herald, vol. 2, p. 609 An apostate church (Protestantism) will unite with the powers of earth and hell to place upon the forehead or in the hand, the mark of the beast, and prevail upon the children of God to worship the beast and his image. They will seek to compel them to renounce their allegiance to God’s law, and yield homage to the papacy. Then will come the times which will try men’s souls; for the confederacy of apostasy will demand that the loyal subjects of God shall renounce the law of Jehovah, and repudiate the truth of His word. Then will the gold be separated from the dross, and it will be made apparent who are the godly, who are the loyal and true, and who are the disloyal, the dross and the tinsel. What clouds of chaff will then be blown away with the fan of God. Every one who is not centered in Christ will fail to stand the test and ordeal of that day. While those who are clothed with Christ’s righteousness will stand firm to truth and duty, those who have trusted in their own righteousness will be ranged under the black banner of the prince of darkness. Then it will be seen whether the choice is for Christ or Belial. Prophet’s and Kings, p. 188 The time is not far distant when the test will come to every soul. The observance of the false sabbath will be urged upon us. The contest will be between the commandments of God and the commandments of men. *Those who have yielded step by step to worldly demands and conformed to worldly customs will then yield to the powers that be, rather than subject themselves to derision, insult, threatened imprisonment and death. At that time the gold will be separated from the dross. True godliness will be clearly distinguished from the appearance and tinsel of it. Many a star that we have admired for its brilliance will then go out in darkness. Those who have assumed the ornaments of the sanctuary, but are not clothed with Christ’s righteousness, will then appear in the shame of there own nakedness. * (See 2 Selected Messages, p. 380.) Revelation 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: The Disease: “Have Need Of Nothing” Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, p. 88 To be without the graces of the Spirit of God is sad indeed; but it is a more terrible condition to be thus destitute of spirituality and of Christ, and yet try to justify ourselves by telling those who are alarmed for us that we need not their fears and pity. Fearful is the power of self-deception on the human mind! What blindness! setting light for darkness and darkness for light! Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 101 With what fidelity do these words portray the present condition of the church: “Knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” Messages of warning, dictated by the Holy Spirit, are borne by the servants of God, defects of character are presented before the erring; but they say: 1) “That does not represent my case. 2) I do not accept the message you bring. 3) I am doing the best I can. I believe the truth.” Selected Messages, Book 1, pp. 357, 358 The True Witness says of a cold, lifeless, Christless church, “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of My mouth” (Revelation 3:15, 16). Mark the following words: “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Revelation 3:17). Here is represented a people who pride themselves in their possession of spiritual knowledge and advantages. But they have not responded to the unmerited blessings that God has bestowed upon them. 1) They have been full of rebellion, 2) ingratitude, and 3) forgetfulness of God; and still He has dealt with them as a loving, forgiving father deals with an ungrateful, wayward son. 4) They have resisted His grace, 5) abused His privileges, 6) slighted His opportunities, and have been satisfied to sink down in 7) contentment, 8) lamentable ingratitude, hollow formalism, and hypocritical insincerity. With Pharisaic pride they have vaunted themselves till it has been said of them, “Thou sayest I am rich and increase with goods, and have need of nothing.” Has not the Lord Jesus sent message after message of rebuke, of warning, of entreaty to these self-satisfied ones? Have not His counsels been despised and rejected? Have not His delegated messengers been treated with scorn, and their words been received as idle tales? Christ sees that which man does not see. He sees the sins which, if not repented of, will exhaust the patience of a long suffering God. Christ cannot take up the names of those who are satisfied in their own self-suffiency. He cannot importune in behalf of a people who feel no need of His help, who claim to know and posses everything. Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, p. 88 Faith and love are the true riches, the pure gold which the True Witness counsels the lukewarm to buy. However rich we may be in earthly treasure, all our wealth will not enable us to buy the precious remedies that cure the disease of the soul called lukewarmness. Intellect and earthly riches were powerless to remove the defects of the Laodicean church, or to remedy their deplorable condition. They were blind, yet felt that they were well off. The Spirit of God did not illumine their minds, and they did not perceive their sinfulness; therefore they did not feel the necessity of help. SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 963 To those who do not practice it, the Word of God is a dead letter. Christ says of such, “I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out my mouth.” He cannot present their case to the Father. If they realized that they were sinners, He could plead in their behalf, and the Lord would arouse them by His Holy Spirit. But they are worse than dead in trespasses and sins. They hear the word, but make no application of it to themselves; instead they apply the word spoken to their neighbors. Review and Herald, vol. 3, p. 519 All the way from the first disciple to the present time there have been those who have professed to believe in the same way that these disciples in Christ’s day believed in Him. These received the name of disciples; but they had not dug deep, and laid their foundation upon the Rock. Many who profess to be Christians today have not a vital connection with Christ. They do not discern their great spiritual necessity. They say, “I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing.” They know not that they are wretched, and miserable, and poor and blind and naked. This is the sure consequence of neglecting to abide in the Vine, of neglecting to avail themselves of a personal relation to Christ. Christ cannot endure pretentious Christians,—those who do not live His character. He will spew such out of His mouth as utterly distasteful to Him. Can it be possible, one asks that there can be any one in our church who feels such self-sufficiency as this? Time will answer this question. When reproof comes to them from God, if they are humbly seeking Him, they will receive the reproof as a blessing, and will at once begin to ascertain their spiritual necessities. If they feel that they are rich in knowledge and are in need of nothing, they will take offense, as did the disciples who turned from Christ and walked no more with Him. There are many who need to be awakened by plain, decided Testimonies to discern their spiritual deficiencies. Why are they not wise? Christ answers the question. They consider themselves whole, in no need of a physician. “I am rich, and increased with goods they say,” “and have need of nothing.” The disciples who turned away from Christ were of this class, and many who are reproved for their wrongs in this time act just a did those men to whom Christ said, “Ye also have seen me, and believe not.” SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 963 There are a large number of professing Christians who do not really follow Jesus. 1) They do not bear the cross by proper self-denial and self-sacrifice. 2) Although making a great profession of being earnest Christians, they weave into the fabric of their character so many of the threads of their own imperfections that the beautiful pattern is spoiled. Of them Christ says: “You boast of being rich and increased with supposed spiritual attainments. In reality you are neither cold nor hot, 3) but are filled with vain conceit. Unless converted, you cannot be saved; for you would mar heaven with your unsanctified wisdom. 4) I cannot endorse your spirit and your work. 5) You do not act according to the divine Example. 6) You are following a pattern merely of your own invention. Because you are lukewarm, I must spew you out of My mouth.” Sabbath-School Worker, August 1, 1892 Unless the mind is continually disciplined by thorough work in investigating lines of truth, 1) it will be controlled by slothful habits, and do but the most superficial work. 2) Those who permit themselves to sink into this state of indolence will take for truth the assertions of others, and their acquirements will be of a low and cheap order. 3) The mind thus bound about will be satisfied with a limited round of thought, and its possessor will not even suspect that there are rich mines of truth to be worked, where they might become rich in the acquirement of heavenly treasures. I have been shown by the Lord that there are depths of truth beyond the short line of measurement which has been made by those who profess to believe the truth. Many think that they are rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing, when they are poor and miserable and blind and naked, and have need of everything. They think that they know everything that is worth knowing, when the fact of the matter is that they know nothing that is worth knowing. In the greatness of their ignorance, in the poverty of their spirit, they feel that they have attained unto the measure of the full stature of men and women in Christ, when they are mere babes in understanding. They have grown to be conceited, egotistical… The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, p. 387 The message to the Laodicean church is applicable to our condition. How plainly is pictured the position of those who think they have all the truth, who take pride in their knowledge of the word of God, while its sanctifying power has not been felt in their lives. “Knowest Not” Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, pp. 252, 253 It is difficult for those who feel secure in their attainments, and who believe themselves to be rich in spiritual knowledge, to receive the message which declares that they are deceived and in need of every spiritual grace. The unsanctified heart is “deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.” I was shown that many are flattering themselves that they are good Christians, who have not a ray of light from Jesus. They have not a living experience for themselves in the divine life. They need a deep and thorough work of self-abasement before God, before they will feel their true need of earnest, persevering effort to secure the precious graces of His Spirit. Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, pp. 253, 254 1) Many cling to their doubts and their darling sins while they are in so great a deception as to talk and feel that they are in need of nothing. 2) They think the testimony of the Spirit of God in reproof is uncalled for 3) or that it does not mean them. Such are in the greatest need of the grace of God and spiritual discernment that they may discover their deficiency in spiritual knowledge. 4) They lack almost every qualification necessary to perfect Christian character. 5) They have not a practical knowledge of Bible truth, which leads to lowliness of life and a conformity of their will to the will of Christ. 6) They are not living in obedience to all God’s requirements. Review and Herald, vol. 2. p. 71 With some the 1) knowledge of their true state seems to be hidden from them. 2) They see the truth, but perceive not its importance or its claims. 3) They hear the truth, but do not fully understand it, because they do not conform there lives to it, and therefore are not sanctified through obeying it; and 4) yet they rest as unconcerned and well satisfied as though the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, as tokens of God’s favor went before them. 5) They profess to know God, but in works deny Him. 6) They reckon themselves as His chosen, peculiar people; yet His presence and power to save to the uttermost are seldom manifested among them. 7) How great is the darkness of such! Yet they know it not. 8) The light shines, but they do not comprehend it. No stronger delusion can deceive the human mind than that which makes them believe that they are all right, and God accepts their works, when they are sinning against Him. 9) They mistake the form of godliness for the spirit and power thereof. They suppose that they are rich, and have need of nothing, when they are poor, wretched, blind, and naked, and need all things. Testimonies for the Church, vol. 8, pp. 249, 250 The heavenly Teacher inquired: “What stronger delusion can beguile the mind than the pretense that you are building on the right foundation and that God accepts your works, when in reality you are 1) working out many things according to worldly policy and are sinning against Jehovah? Oh, it is a great deception, a fascinating delusion, that takes possession of minds when men who have once known the truth, 2) mistake the form of godliness for the spirit and power thereof; when they suppose that they are rich and increased with goods and in need of nothing, 3) while in reality they are in need of everything.” Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, pp. 254, 255 In my last vision I was shown that even this decided message of the True Witness had not accomplished the design of God. The people slumber on in their sins. They continue to declare themselves rich and having need of nothing. Many inquire: Why are all these reproofs given? Why do the Testimonies continually charge us with backsliding and with grievous sins? We love the truth; we are prospering; we are in no need of these testimonies of warning and reproof.… I have been shown that the greatest reason why the people of God are now found in this state of spiritual blindness is that they will not receive correction. Many have despised the reproofs and warnings given them. The True Witness condemns the lukewarm condition of the people of God, which gives Satan great power over them in this waiting, watching time. The selfish, the proud, and the lovers of sin are ever assailed with doubts. Satan has ability to suggest doubts and to devise objections to the pointed testimony that God sends, and many think it a virtue, a mark of intelligence in them, to be unbelieving and to question and quibble. Those who desire to doubt will have plenty of room. God does not propose to remove all occasion for unbelief. He gives evidence, which must be carefully investigated with a humble mind and a teachable spirit, and all should decide from the weight of evidence. Wretched, Poor, And Blind: The Signs of the Times, June 24, 1903 There are some who will not hear. So long have they chosen to follow their own way and their own wisdom, so long have they cherished hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong, that they are blind and can not see afar off. By them, 1) principles are perverted; 2) false standards are raised; 3) tests are made that bear not the signature of heaven. 4) They are assimilating worldly ideas and 5) forming characters that will exclude them from heaven. And yet some of these very ones make their boasts in the Lord as a people who do righteousness, and forsake not the ordinances of their God! The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, p. 1026 I wish to plead with our brethren who shall assemble at the General Conference to heed the message given to the Laodiceans. What a condition of blindness is theirs! This subject has been brought to your notice again and again, but your dissatisfaction with your spiritual condition has not been deep and painful enough to work reform. “Thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” The guilt of self-deception is upon our churches. The religious life of many is a lie. Review and Herald, vol. 1, p. 267 1) Those who profess to keep the law of God, and yet at heart are indulging in sin, are condemned by the True Witness. 2) They claim to be rich in a knowledge of the truth; but they are not in harmony with its sacred principles. 3) The truth does not sanctify their lives. God’s word declares that 4) the professed commandment-keeper whose life contradicts his faith, is blind wretched, poor, and naked. Review and Herald, vol. 2, pp. 453, 454 The Lord has seen our backslidings, and He has a controversy with His people.... Many gather darkness about their souls as a garment, and virtually say, “We want not a knowledge of thy way, O God; we choose our own way.” ...The displeasure of the Lord is against His people. In their present condition it is impossible for them to represent the character of Christ. And when the True Witness has sent them counsel, reproof, and warnings because He loves them, they have refused to receive the message; they have refused to come to the light, lest their deeds should be reproved.... There is a lack of moral and spiritual power throughout our Conferences. Many churches do not have light in themselves. The members do not give evidence that they are branches of the True Vine, by bearing much fruit to the glory of God, but appear to be withering away. Their Redeemer has withdrawn His light, the inspiration of His Holy Spirit, from their assemblies; for they have ceased to represent the self-denial, the sympathy and compassionate love of the world’s Redeemer; they have not love for the souls for whom Christ has died. They have ceased to be true and faithful. It is a sad picture,—the feeble piety, the want of consecration and devotion to God. There has been a separation of the soul from God; many have cut off the communication between Him and the soul by refusing His messengers and His message.... In our largest churches the greatest evils exist, because these have had the greatest light. They have not a true knowledge of God, and of Jesus Christ whom He has sent. The leaven of unbelief is working, and unless these evils which bring the displeasure of God are corrected in its members, the whole church stands accountable for them. The deep movings of the Spirit of God are not with them; the glorious presence of the King of saints, and His power to cleanse from all moral defilement, are not manifest among them. Many come to the assembly as worshipers, like the door upon its hinges. They understand not the true application of the Scriptures, nor the power of God. They have eyes, but they see not; ears have they, but they hear not; they continue in their evil ways, yet regard themselves as the privileged, obedient people who are doers of the word. A carnal security and ease in Zion prevail. Peace, peace, is sounded in her borders, when God has not spoken peace. They have forfeited the terms of peace; there is reason for an alarm to be sounded in all “My holy mountain.” The sinners in Zion should be afraid, in a time when they do not expect it, sudden destruction will surely come upon all who are at ease. The Holy Spirit strives to make apparent the claims of God, but men pay heed only for a moment, and turn their minds to other things: Satan catches away the seeds of truth; the gracious influence of the Spirit of God is effectually resisted. Thus many are grieving away the Holy Spirit for the last time, and they know it not. Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 255 I have been shown that the greatest reason why the people of God are now found in this state of spiritual blindness is that 1) they will not receive correction. 2) Many have despised the reproofs and warnings given them. Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 233 The deadly lethargy of the world is paralyzing your senses. Sin no longer appears repulsive because you are blinded by Satan. The judgments of God are soon to be poured out upon the earth. “Escape for thy life” is the warning from the angels of God. Other voices are heard saying: “Do not become exited; there is no cause for special alarm.” Those who are at ease in Zion cry “Peace and safety,” while heaven declares that swift destruction is about to come upon the transgressor. Things are far from being what the appearance would indicate. From a distant view much may appear beautiful which, upon close inspection will be found to be full of deformities. The prevailing spirit of our time is that of infidelity and apostacy—a spirit of pretended illumination because of the knowledge of the truth, but in reality of the blindest presumption. There is a spirit of opposition to the plain word of God and to the testimony of His Spirit. There is a spirit of idolatrous exaltation of mere human reason above the revealed wisdom of God. Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 84 The church cannot measure herself by the world nor by the opinion of men nor by what she once was. Her faith and her position in the world as they now are must be compared with what they would have been if her course had been continually onward and upward. The church will be weighed in the balances of the sanctuary. If her moral character and spiritual state do not respond with the benefits and blessings God has conferred upon her, she will be found wanting.… The knowledge of our state as God views it, seems to be hidden from us. We see, but perceive not; we hear, but do not understand; and we rest as unconcerned as if the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night, rested upon our sanctuary. We profess to know God, and to believe the truth, but in works deny Him. Our deeds are directly adverse to the principles of truth and righteousness, by which we profess to be governed. See also vol. 1, pp. 407, 408. This blindness is the rejection of the message of righteousness by faith as proclaimed by God’s messengers Jones, Waggoner and Ellen White. Review and Herald, vol. 2, p. 421 Since the time of the Minneapolis meeting, I have seen the state of the Laodicean Church as never before. I have heard the rebuke of God spoken to those who feel so well satisfied, who know not their spiritual destitution. Jesus speaks to these as He did to the woman of Samaria: “If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, give me to drink; thou wouldst have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living water.” Like the Jews, many have closed their eyes lest they should see; but there is as great peril now, in closing the eyes to light, and walking apart from Christ, feeling need of nothing, as there was when He was upon earth. I have been shown many things which I have presented before our people in solemnity and earnestness, but those whose hearts have been hardened through criticism, jealousy, and evil surmisings, knew not that they were poor, and miserable, and blind, and naked. Those who resist the messages of God through His humble servant, think they are at variance with sister White, because her ideas are not in harmony with theirs but this variance is not with sister White, but with the Lord, who has given her work to do. The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, p. 1052 The church of God is to shine as a light to the world, but Jesus is the illuminator, and He is represented as moving among His people. No one shines by his own light. The Lord God almighty and the Lamb are the lights thereof. The message given us by A. T. Jones, and E. J. Waggoner is the message of God to the Laodicean church, and woe be unto anyone who professes to believe the truth and yet does not reflect to others the God-given rays. Testimonies to Ministers, pp. 91, 92 The Lord in His great mercy sent a most precious message to His people through Elders Waggoner and Jones. 1) This message was to bring more prominently before the world the uplifted Saviour, the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. 2) It presented justification through faith in the Surety; 3) it invited the people to receive the righteousness of Christ, 4) which is made manifest in obedience to all the commandments of God. Many had lost sight of Jesus. They needed to have their eyes directed to His divine person, His merits, and His changeless love for the human family. All power is given into His hands, that He may dispense rich gifts unto men, imparting the priceless gift of His own righteousness to the helpless human agent. This is the message that God commanded to be given to the world. It is the third angel’s message, which is to be proclaimed with a loud voice, and attended with the outpouring of His Spirit in a large measure. Manuscript Releases, vol. 18, pp. 199, 200 Christ is as hungry for fruit from ministers and people as when, on His way from Bethany to Jerusalem, He came to a fig tree covered with foliage and presenting an appearance of fruitfulness. But upon searching its branches, from the lowest bough to the topmost twig, Jesus found “nothing but leaves.” It was a mass of pretentious foliage, nothing more. Today Christ comes to His people, hungering to find in them the fruits of righteousness. But many, many have nothing but leaves to offer Him. They have left their first love, and upon them has fallen spiritual blindness, hardness of heart, stubbornness of mind. They pray to God and present Bible truth to the people, for they are in the habit of doing so; but they have lost that which would make their service acceptable. How blind they are, how deficient their service. Boastingly they say, “I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing.” But God says to them, “Thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:”… These words are a true representation of the condition of the churches. Will God’s people accept His reproof? Revelation 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. The Cure — “Buy Of Me” Isaiah 55:1, Amplified Bible, 2, 3, KJV Wait and listen, everyone who is thirsty! Come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! yes, come, buy [priceless, spiritual ] wine and milk without money and without price [simply for the self-surrender that accepts the blessing]. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make and everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. The Signs of the Times, January 18, 1899 But salvation is given without money and without price. It is not necessary to go on pilgrimages to gain it. All we are asked to do is to believe on Christ as our personal Saviour, and be doers of His Word. Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, p. 89 The purchase which Christ recommends to us is only complying with the conditions He has given us. True grace, which is of inestimable value and which will endure the test of trial and adversity, is only obtained through faith and humble, prayerful obedience. The Youth’s Instructor, September 5, 1895 Jesus says: “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.” Then what is it to buy the eternal treasure?—It is simply to 1) give back to Jesus His own, 2) to receive Him into the heart by faith. 3) It is cooperation with God; 4) it is bearing the yoke with Christ; 5) it is lifting His burdens. For our sakes He became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich. The Lord Jesus laid aside His royal crown, He left His high command, He clothed His divinity with humanity, in order that through humanity He might uplift the human race. He so appreciated the possibility of the human race that He became man’s substitute and surety. He places upon man His own merit, and thus elevates him in the scale of moral value with God.… Manuscript Releases, vol. 5, p. 37 … We cannot buy the grace of God with money; we cannot buy it with eloquence; we cannot buy it with the power of our intellect. It is God’s to begin with. Does any of it belong to us? No, it is received by us from above. Review and Herald, vol. 1, p. 363 The True Witness counsels, “Buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white rainment that thou mayest be clothed,” “and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see,” 1) The gold of faith and love, 2) the white raiment of a spotless character, and the 3) eyesalve, the power of clear discernment between good and evil,—all these we must obtain before we can hope to enter the kingdom of God. But these precious treasures will not drop upon us without some exertion on our part. We must buy, we must “be zealous and repent” of our lukewarm state. We must be awake to see our wrongs, to search for our sins, and to put them away from us. Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 254 …But let these murmurers see their hearts and compare their lives with the practical teachings of the Bible, let them humble their souls before God, let the grace of God illuminate the darkness, and the scales will fall from their eyes, and they will realize their true spiritual poverty and wretchedness. They will feel the necessity of buying 1) gold, which is pure faith and love; 2) white raiment, which is a spotless character made pure in the blood of their dear Redeemer; and 3) eyesalve, which is the grace of God and which will give clear discernment of spiritual things and detect sin. These attainments are more precious than the gold of Ophir. What Is The “Gold Tried In The Fire?” Desire of Ages, p. 208 Faith and love are the gold tried in the fire. Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, p. 89 1) Graces that endure the proofs of affliction and persecution, and 2) evidence their soundness and sincerity, are the gold which is tried in the fire and found genuine. Christ offers to sell this precious treasure to man: “Buy of Me gold tried in the fire.” The dead, heartless performance of duty does not make us Christians. We must get out of a lukewarm condition and experience a true conversion, or we shall fail of heaven. Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, p. 88 The gold here recommended as having been tried in the fire is faith and love. It makes the heart rich; for it has been purged until it is pure, and the more it is tested the more brilliant is its luster. SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 965 The gold that Jesus would have us buy of Him is gold tried in the fire; it is the gold of faith and love, that has no defiling substance mingled with it. What Is The White Raiment? SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 966 The white raiment He invites the soul to wear is His own robe of righteousness. Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, p. 88 The white raiment is purity of character, the righteousness Christ imparts to the sinner. This is indeed a garment of heavenly texture, that can be bought only of Christ for a life of willing obedience. Review and Herald, vol. 2, p. 231, or SDA Bible Commentary vol. 7, p. 965 The white raiment is the righteousness of Christ that may be wrought into the character. Purity of heart, purity of motive, will characterize every one who is washing his robe, and making it white in the blood of the Lamb. Christ’s Object Lessons, pp. 311, 312 This robe, woven in the loom of heaven, has in it not one thread of human devising. Christ in His humanity wrought out a perfect character, and this character He offers to impart to us. By His perfect obedience He has made it possible for every human being to obey God’s commandments. When we 1) submit ourselves to Christ, 2) the heart is united with His heart, 3) the will is merged in His will, 4) the mind becomes one with His mind, 5) the thoughts are brought into captivity to Him; we live His life. This is what it means to be clothed with the garment of His righteousness. Then as the Lord looks upon us He sees, not the fig-leaf garment, not the nakedness and deformity of sin, but His own robe of righteousness, which is perfect obedience to the law of Jehovah What Is The Shame Of Our Nakedness? SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 965 It is the shame of 1) clothing ourselves with self righteousness, and 2) of separating ourselves from God, when He has made ample provision for all to receive His blessing. Review and Herald, vol. 3, p. 173 What is it that constitutes the wretchedness, the nakedness of those who feel rich and increased with goods?—It is the want of the righteousness of Christ. In their own righteousness they are represented as clothed upon with filthy rags, and yet in this condition they flatter themselves that they are clothed upon with Christ’s righteousness. Could deception be greater? As is represented by the prophet, they may be crying, “The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are we,” while their hearts are filled with unholy traffic and unrighteous barter. The courts of the soul-temple may be the haunt of envy, pride, passion, evil surmising, bitterness, and hollow formalism. Christ looks mournfully upon 1) His professed people who feel rich and increased in the knowledge of the truth, and who are yet destitute of the truth in life and character, and unconscious of their destitute condition. 2) In sin and unbelief, they lightly regard the warnings and counsels of His servants, and 3) treat His ambassadors with scorn and contempt, 4) while their words of reproof are regarded as idle tales. 5) Discernment seems to have departed, and 6) they have no power to discriminate between the light which God sends them and the darkness that comes from the enemy of their souls. Review and Herald, January 26, 1897 Sin is the only nakedness, the only degradation, the only dishonor, that we can know; it is the only thing that will make us afraid to meet God. Review and Herald, August 7, 1894 The people of God have lost much by not maintaining the simplicity of the truth as it is in Jesus. This simplicity has been crowded out, and 1) forms and ceremonies and a 2) round of busy activities in mechanical work have taken its place. Pride and lukewarmness have made the professed people of God an offense in His sight. 3) Boastful self-sufficiency and 4) complacent self-righteousness have masked and concealed the beggary and nakedness of the soul; but with God all things are naked and manifest. Review and Herald, vol. 5, p. 473 Without the Holy Spirit, without the breath of God, there is *torpidity of conscience, loss of spiritual life. Unless there is genuine conversion of the soul to God; unless the vital breath of God quickens the soul to spiritual life; unless the professors of truth are actuated by heaven-born principles, they are not born of the incorruptible seed, which liveth and abideth forever. Unless they trust in the righteousness of Christ as their only security; unless they copy His character, labor in His spirit, they are naked; they have not on the robe of righteousness. *[Dull, stupid, sluggish, inactive] What Is The Eyesalve? SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 966 1) The oil for anointing is the oil of His grace, 2) which will give spiritual eyesight to the soul in blindness and darkness, 3) that he may distinguish between the workings of the Spirit of God and the spirit of the enemy. SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 965 The eyesalve is the true spiritual discernment that is so wanting among us, for spiritual things must be spiritually discerned. Review and Herald, vol. 3, p. 519 The eye is the sensitive conscience, the inner light, of the mind. Upon its correct view of things the spiritual healthfulness of the whole soul and being depends. The “eyesalve,” the Word of God, 1) makes the conscience smart under its application; 2) for it convicts of sin. But the smarting is necessary that the healing may follow, and the “eye be single to the glory of God.” 3) The sinner, beholding himself in God’s great moral looking-glass, sees himself as God views him, and exercises repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 233 The eyesalve is that 1) spiritual discernment which will enable you to see the wiles of Satan and shun them, 2) to detect sin and abhor it, 3) to see truth and obey it. Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, p. 88 The eyesalve is that wisdom and grace which enables us to discern between the evil and the good, and to detect sin under any guise. Review and Herald, February 25, 1890 When self-denial becomes a part of our religion, we shall understand and do the will of God; for our eyes will be anointed with eyesalve so that we shall behold wonderful things out of His law. We shall see the path of obedience as the only path of safety. Revelation 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. “As Many As I Love, I Rebuke” Review and Herald, November 23, 1897 The rebuke of wrong is designed for the good of the professed follower of Christ, who is misrepresenting Christ by his spirit of self-righteousness and self-sufficiency. The Paulson Collection of Ellen G. White Letters, p. 393 Let the tempted and tried souls remember that when chastisement comes upon them, it is the Lord who would save them from death. Let the souls to whom reproof comes, remember that “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.” The Signs of the Times, August 1, 1895 When the heart is full of self-sufficiency, and preoccupied with the superficial things of earth, the Lord Jesus rebukes and chastens in order that men may awake to a realization of their true condition. The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, p. 702 The Lord has seen fit to counsel Elder Smith, to give him words of reproof because he had erred; but is this an evidence that God has forsaken him?—No. “As many as I love I rebuke and chasten. Be zealous therefore, and repent.” The Lord reproves wrongs in His people, but is this an evidence that He has rejected them?—No. There are errors in the church, and the Lord points them out by His own ordained agencies, not always through the testimonies. Now shall we seize these reproofs and make capital of them, and say that God is not imparting to them His light and love?—No. The very work that God is trying to do for them shows that He loves them, and wants to draw them away from paths of danger. Manuscript Releases vol. 18, p. 41 Will the message to the Laodicean church now be heeded? Christ represents Himself as being disgusted with the churches of today. He cannot endure their taste; but yet He offers for them a word of hope. “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten:”… Pacific Union Recorder, August, 14, 1902 Let all who claim to be reformers be such in the fullest sense of the word. The Lord is merciful. He does not chastise His people because He hates them, but because He hates the sins that they are committing. If they will turn from their wrong ways, and seek counsel from Him, He will be spared a repetition of their chastisement. He waits long for His erring people to repent, that He may remove the rod from them, and grant them His forgiveness and love, filling their hearts with His peace and joy. But those who in self-complacency strengthen themselves in their own way must be left to suffer the consequence of their wrong course. Cause will be followed by the sure result. Manuscript Releases, vol. 15, pp. 170, 171 To make His people perfect, the Lord points out their mistakes and dangers. If they give no heed to His words, He permits the sure consequence of wrongdoing to come upon them. But He does not forsake them and turn from them, unless they are willfully stubborn.… God will make His people perfect if they will be molded and fashioned after the divine similitude. If they err, and then repent, He forgives them. His reproofs and corrections are sent to make His people perfect. Then let us accept reproof, and acknowledge our errors, and seek to avoid them. Revelation 3:19 Be zealous therefore, and repent. Repent Of What? Review and Herald, September 4, 1883 There is something to repent of. 1) Worldly-mindedness, 2) selfishness, and 3) covetousness have been eating out their spiritual life. Manuscript Releases, vol. 18, p. 193 If ever a people were represented by the Laodicean message, it is …Seventh-day Adventists.… In the place of 1) exalting self by 2) manifesting pride, 3) self-reliance, and 4) self-importance; in the place of revealing personal weakness of character by remaining proud, 5) boastful, and 6) unconverted; God’s professed people should realize their need of the graces of the Spirit of truth and righteousness. They should come to Jesus in childlike trustfulness, the melting love of God filling every heart. Never should they cherish thoughts of self-exaltation or dependence on human capabilities. Never should they think that they can exercise the power that comes from God alone. Review and Herald, December 23, 1890 I beseech you whose names are registered on the church-book as worthy members, to be indeed worthy, through the virtue of Christ. Mercy and truth and the love of God are promised to the humble and contrite soul. 1) The displeasure and judgments of God are against those who persist in walking in their own ways, 2) loving self, 3) loving the praise of men. They will certainly be swept into the satanic delusions of these last days, because they received not the love of the truth. Because the Lord has, in former days, blessed and honored them, 4) they flatter themselves that they are chosen and true, and do not need warning and instruction and reproof. The True Witness says, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.” Review and Herald, December 23, 1890 “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore and repent.” 1) There are many who are priding themselves upon their spiritual riches, 2) their knowledge of the truth, and are 3) living in guilty self-deception. When the members of the church humble themselves before God by zealous, not halfhearted, lifeless action, the Lord will receive them. But he declares, “I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.” How long shall this warning be resisted? How long shall it be slighted? Testimonies for the Church, vol. 8, pp. 250, 251 Unless the church, which is now being leavened with her own backsliding, shall repent and be converted, she will eat of the fruit of her own doing, until she shall abhor herself. When she resists the evil and chooses the good, when she seeks God with all humility and reaches her high calling in Christ, standing on the platform of eternal truth and by faith laying hold upon the attainments prepared for her, she will be healed. She will appear in her God-given simplicity and purity, separate from earthly entanglements, showing that the truth has made her free indeed. Then her members will indeed be the chosen of God, His representatives. Review and Herald, August 28, 1894 “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten; be zealous therefore, and repent.” In order to repent, it is necessary to examine the life and character by the great standard of righteousness, that the peculiar sins which have dishonored God and have been an offense to Him, may be discovered. That which has quenched the first love must be forsaken, 1) whether it has been pride, 2) sensuality, or the 3) turning of the grace of God into lasciviousness. 4) Those who make a profession of being Christians, that is, Christlike, and who yet live a life of sin, cast dishonor upon the truth of God. 5) Many of this class trample upon the law of God, and teach others that its precepts are not binding, and yet they presume to take the name of Jesus upon their lips, and talk of being saved by His grace. 6) Such teaching tends to enfeeble the moral tone of the church, and true godliness is banished 7) while a miserable, heartless, outward form of godliness remains. Such come under the rebuke of Christ. Selected Messages, Book 1, pp. 370, 371 The call to repentance is one that cannot be disregarded without peril. A belief in the theory of the truth is not enough. To present this theory to unbelievers does not constitute you a witness for Christ. The light that gladdened your heart when you first understood the message for this time, is an essential element in your experience and labors, and this has been lost out of your heart and life. Christ beholds your lack of zeal, and declares that you have fallen, and are in a perilous position. True Repentance: SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 1077 “Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance.” That is, 1) show that you are converted, that your characters are transformed.… 2) Neither words not profession, but fruits—the 3) forsaking of sins, and the 4) obedience to the commandments of God— show the reality of genuine repentance and true conversion. Steps to Christ, p. 23 Repentance includes sorrow for sin and a turning away from it. We shall not renounce sin unless we see its sinfulness; until we turn away from it in heart, there will be no real change in the life. Steps to Christ, p. 41 The examples in God’s word of genuine repentance and humiliation reveal a spirit of confession in which there is no excuse for sin or attempt at self-justification. Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 557 True repentance is more than sorrow for sin. It is a resolute turning away from evil. Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 160 The nearer we come to Jesus, and the more clearly we discern the purity of His character, the more clearly shall we see the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and 1) the less shall we feel like exalting ourselves. 2) There will be a continual reaching out of the soul after God, 3) a continual earnest, heartbreaking confession of sin and humbling of the heart before Him. At every advance step in our Christian experience 4) our repentance will deepen. We shall know that our sufficiency is in Christ alone and 5) shall make the apostles confession our own: “I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing.” Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. Opening The Door: Manuscript Releases, vol. 2, pp. 161, 162 We need the Holy Spirit of God, and we may have it if we will not exalt our poor finite selves. Our work is to open the door of the heart and let Jesus come in. He is knocking for entrance, and there are some poor souls who are inquiring how they shall find Jesus. Why, dear souls, Jesus has been hunting for you, and He stands at your door knocking. He says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me” [Rev. 3:20]. Doubting souls, unbelieving souls, will you open the door? Jesus is standing at the door of your heart. Let Him in, the Heavenly Guest. Manuscript Releases, vol. 2, p. 274 Will you open the door of your hearts, and let Jesus take possession? Will you suffer Jesus to cleanse the soul-temple of its rubbish? Will you permit the Holy Spirit to take possession of the human habitation? If you will do this, 1) you will have humble thoughts of yourself. 2) You will not exalt your ideas and opinions as supreme. Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 143 I saw that many have so much rubbish piled up at the door of their heart that they cannot get the door open. 1) Some have difficulties between themselves and their brethren to remove. 2) Others have evil tempers, selfish covetousness, to remove before they can open the door. 3) Others have rolled the world before the door of their heart, which bars the door. All this rubbish must be taken away, and then they can open the door and welcome the Saviour in. Review and Herald, vol. 2, p. 258 Christ represents Himself as calling to you to open the door of the heart. You are to clear away the rubbish from the portals, and throw wide the door, that the heavenly Guest may find a welcome and an entrance. Christ will not enter a heart defiled with sin. It is our work to put away all iniquity. We are to represent the character of our divine Lord. Review and Herald, vol. 2, p. 285 Says Christ, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come into him and sup with him and he with Me.” It is the sinner himself who has barred the door. Will he take down the barriers? Will he unbolt the door? The locks are all on His side of the door, not on the Saviour’s side. Review and Herald, vol. 1, p. 567 Jesus says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock.” Will we let Him in? He would not have us stand at this time, amid the perils of the last days, in our own finite strength. We cannot afford to be without His presence; for He says, “Without Me, ye can do nothing.” But if He abides in the heart by living faith, we can do all things in His name. Jesus loves us; He is working for our interest, and He wants us to trust Him fully. He will be the Captain of our salvation if we let Him lead us on to victory. Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 257 Those who despise the warning will be left in blindness to become self-deceived. But those who heed it, and zealously go about the work of separating their sins from them in order to have the needed graces, will be opening the door of the hearts that the dear saviour may come in and dwell with them. This class you will find in perfect harmony with the testimony of the Spirit of God. Failing To Open The Door: Review and Herald, vol. 3, p. 294 “See that ye refuse not Him that speaketh.” Every time you turn away your ear and refuse to listen, every time you fail to open the door of your heart, 1) you strengthen yourself in unbelief, and 2) make yourself more and more unwilling to listen to the voice of Him that speaketh, and 3) you diminish your chance of responding to the last appeal of mercy. Be warned by what the Saviour says; for they that were bidden to the supper and refused His invitation were not to taste of the supper. There is a point beyond which forbearance cannot go. Let it not be written of you, “Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone.” Let not Christ weep over you as he wept over Jerusalem saying, “How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.” Review and Herald, vol. 2, p. 89 Says the true Witness, “Behold I stand at the door and knock.” 1) Every warning, reproof, and 2) entreaty in the word of God, 3) or through His delegated messengers, is a knock at the door of the heart; it is the voice of Jesus, asking for entrance. With every knock unheeded, your determination to open becomes weaker and weaker. If the voice of Jesus is not heeded at once, it becomes confused in the mind with a multitude of other voices, the world’s care and business engross the attention and conviction dies away. The heart becomes less impressible, and lapses into a perilous unconsciousness of the shortness of time, and of the great eternity beyond. The heavenly guest is standing at your door, while you are piling up obstructions to bar His entrance. Jesus is knocking through the prosperity He gives you. He loads you with blessings to test your fidelity, that they may flow out from you to others. Will you permit your selfishness to triumph? Will you squander God’s talents, and lose your soul through idolatrous love of the blessings He has given? Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, p. 262 Our Redeemer sends His messengers to bear a testimony to His people.… (Revelation 3:20 quoted). But many refuse to receive Him. The Holy Spirit waits to soften and subdue hearts; but they are not willing to open the door and let the Saviour in, for fear that He will require something of them. And so Jesus of Nazareth passes by. He longs to bestow on them the rich blessings of His grace, but they refuse to accept them. What a terrible thing it is to exclude Christ from His own temple! What a loss to the church! Revelation 3:21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. A Glorious Future And Promise To The Overcomer: Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 144 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne.” We can overcome. Yes; fully, entirely. Jesus died to make a way of escape for us, that we might overcome every evil temper, every sin, every temptation, and sit down at last with Him. The Signs of the Times, January 12, 1915 There is hope for man. Christ says, “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne.” But let us never forget that the efforts we make in our own strength are utterly worthless. Our strength is weakness, our judgment foolishness. Only in the name and strength of the Conqueror can we conquer. When we are pressed with temptation, when unchristlike desires clamor for the mastery, let us offer fervent, importunate prayer to the heavenly Father, in the name of Christ. This will bring divine aid. In the Redeemer’s name we may gain the victory. Review and Herald, February 23, 1892 Christ said, “I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified.” We are a spectacle unto the world, to angels, and to men. Angels and men are taking note of us to see what manner of spirit we are of, to see whether we are meeting the approval of heaven. You may feel that you cannot meet the approval of heaven. You may say, “I was born with a natural tendency toward this evil, and I cannot overcome.” But every provision has been made by our heavenly Father whereby you may be able to overcome every unholy tendency. You are to overcome even as Christ overcame in your behalf. He says, “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne.” It was sin that imperiled the human family; and before man was created the provision was made that if man failed to bear the test, Jesus would become his sacrifice and surety, that through faith in Him, man might be reconciled to God, for Christ was the lamb “slain from the foundation of the world.” Christ died on Calvary that man might have power to overcome his natural tendencies to sin. But one says, “Can I not have my own way, and act myself?”—No, you cannot have your way, and enter the kingdom of heaven. No “my way” will be there. No human ways will find place in the kingdom of heaven. Our ways must be lost in God’s ways. Revelation 3:22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. “Let Him Hear What The Spirit Saith Unto The Churches” S.D.A. Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 957 “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” If you “hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches,” and meditate upon the instruction given to them, your ears will be closed to the folly and nonsense which surround you. You will neither hear and repeat these things, nor will you ever hanker after them. When Christ satisfies the soul hunger, these trivialities are to you distasteful and disgusting. You have no desire to feast upon them, but choose instead the bread of heaven. The Signs of the Times, June 15, 1891 The words, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches,” are repeated after these promises, weighty with importance to the children of God. It is for our eternal interest to know and understand what the Spirit saith unto the churches, and we should search carefully for light and knowledge that we may not be in ignorance of what God has commanded and promised in His precious word. We have souls to be saved or lost, and with the greatest earnestness we should inquire, “What shall I do in order to obtain eternal life?” At the best, life is but short, and it is necessary that we should live this short life in harmony with the law of God, which is the law of the universe. We must have ears to hear, and hearts to understand, what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Failing To Hear: The Signs of the Times, June 24, 1903 There are some who will not hear. 1) So long have they chosen to follow their own way and their own wisdom, 2) so long have they cherished hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong, that they are blind and can not see afar off. 3) By them, principles are perverted; 4) false standards are raised; 5) tests are made that bear not the signature of heaven. 6) They are assimilating worldly ideas and forming characters that will exclude them from heaven. 7) And yet some of these very ones make their boasts in the Lord as a people who do righteousness, and forsake not the ordinances of their God! A Final Warning: Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 306 The words of God to ancient Israel have a solemn warning to the church and its leaders today. Of Israel the Lord said, “I have written to him the great things of My law; but they were counted as a strange thing.” Hosea 8:12. And to the priests and teachers He declared, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee;… seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.” Hosea 4:6. Shall the warnings from God be passed by unheeded? Shall the opportunities for service be unimproved? Shall the world’s scorn, the pride of reason, conformity to human customs and traditions, hold the professed followers of Christ from service to Him? Will they reject God’s word as the Jewish leaders rejected Christ? The result of Israels sin is before us. Will the church today take warning? Review and Herald, vol. 2, p. 89 The eye of Jesus looking down the ages was fixed upon our time when He said, “If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong to thy peace!” it is still thy day, O church of God, whom He has made the depositary of His law. But this day of trust and probation is fast drawing to a close. The sun is fast westering. Can it be that it will set, and thou not know the things that belong unto thy peace? Must the irrevocable sentence be passed, “But now they are hid from thine eyes?” I tell you there is need to be alarmed. It is time to seek God earnestly, saying with Jacob, “I will not let thee go except thou bless me.” It will be of know avail to make a spasmodic effort, only to fall into a spiritual lethargy and lukewarmness. The past, with the slighted mercies, the admonitions unheeded, the earthly passions uncorrected, the privileges unimproved, the soul temple filled with desecrated shrines,—all is recorded in the books of heaven. But most solemn moments are still before you. Because of past neglect, the efforts you make must be the more earnest. Review and Herald, vol. 1, p. 337 It is the absence of personal religion, of a daily, living experience in the things of God, that creates such coldness and stupor in the church. We have enjoyed great light many privileges. Shall we turn away from all these blessings, and sacrifice the peculiar holy character which should distinguish us as children of God? 1) If we thus slight the mercy of God, the judgments denounced against Capernaum will surely fall upon us. 2) Our punishment be heavier than if we had not enjoyed so great light. 3) Thus the warnings, reproofs, and counsels, which accepted and obeyed would bring us untold blessings, become a curse when they are rejected. Spiritual Gifts, vol. 4, p. 61 What shall I say to arouse the remnant people of God? I was shown that dreadfull scenes are before us, and Satan and his angels are bringing all their powers to bear upon God’s people. He knows if they sleep a little longer he is sure of them, for their destruction is certain. I warn all who profess the name of Christ to closely examine themselves, and make full and thorough confessions of all their wrongs, and let them go beforehand to judgment, that opposite their names the recording angel may write, Pardon. If these precious, merciful moments are not improved, you are left without excuse. Manuscript Releases, vol. 19, p. 176 Will the churches heed the Laodicean message? Will they repent, or will they, notwithstanding that the most solemn message of truth—the third angel’s message—is being proclaimed to the world, go on in sin? This is the last message of mercy, the last warning to a fallen world. If the church of God becomes lukewarm, it does not stand in favor with God any more than do the churches that are represented as having fallen and become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and the cage of every unclean and hateful bird. Those who have had opportunities to hear and receive the truth and who have united with the Seventh-day Adventist church, calling themselves the commandment-keeping people of God, and yet possess no more vitality and consecration to God than do the nominal churches, will receive of the plagues of God just as verily as the churches who oppose the law of God. Only those that are sanctified through the truth will compose the royal family in the heavenly mansions Christ has gone to prepare for those that love Him and keep His commandments. S.D.A. Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 966, Manuscript 139, 1903 There is hope for our churches if they will heed the message given to the Laodiceans. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Revelation 3:22 |
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