New Moon Meeting: September 04, 3:15 EST
Forgiveness

 

Zahakiel: All right, Luke, please start us off with a prayer?

Qinael: Father, thank you for providing us with a means to meet with one another from such a distance in such a short time...

We ask that this time be blessed and that all here receive what is individually needed from your Word, and that all hearts be open to the message you have prepared for us. In the name of Yahshua we pray, amen.

Zahakiel: Amen.
Mark: Amen.
Rachel: Amen.
Crystle: Amen.
Tiffany: Amen.
Pastor “Chick”: Amen.
Israfel: Amen.
Dumah: Amen:)
Gabriel: Amen.
Rachel: That was very good, Luke.
Barbara: Amen.

Zahakiel: Okay, well, as some of you know, I finished and posted the book I have been working on, “The Two Temples,” last weekend.

Now, it’s only been proofread by me so far, and I’ve asked some others to help me with finding spelling mistakes and things like that. But it’s up if anyone wants to take a look at it (after the study, please :)). The link is here: The Two Temples

Barbara: Ok.

Zahakiel: We have been planning to use the first half of the book, “The Body Temple,” as the theme of our Feast that starts at the end of this month, and I am sure it will be a great blessing to everyone who can make it.

Crystle: Okay. Thanks.

Zahakiel: However, as I was reading over the chapters last weekend, I was struck by the content of a chapter in Section 2. We won’t be covering it this upcoming camp meeting, but I believe that it is something that should be looked at, and so I decided that I would loosely base this month’s New Moon study on it.

The title of the chapter is “Fitting In: Forgiveness.” We are going to look at the principle of forgiveness, and how it relates to the Testimony of Yahshua that several of us have been studying rather intensely lately :)

Now, the chapter talks about Yah’s forgiveness of man, and then man’s forgiveness of other men, but I would like to focus here on only the first part of that lesson. So what I want to do here is to go over the earlier points of the chapter, and we can discuss anything that strikes any of you as important. Sound good?

Qinael: <nods.>
Dumah: :)
Crystle: Yes.
Gabriel: Good.

Zahakiel: All right:

Now in the book of Galatians, Paul writes, “Wherefore then serveth the Law? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a Mediator.” (Galatians 3:19)

We are told here that the Law was not something that was really originally intended to have been “spelled out.” It was added, it was necessary, to instruct us in what righteousness is, because after the sin of Adam, we are told, “sin entered into the world, and death by sin.” (Romans 5:12)

Before sin entered the human experience, the world and everything in it, including human nature, was declared “very good” by the Creator and Judge of the universe. Paul’s statement becomes obvious when we ask the question, “Why would Yah need to tell human beings, ‘Thou shalt not kill,’ if there was no possibility that they would ever do so?” If it were not for sin, the thought of sealing, killing, committing adultery... these would be as foreign to the “natural” human mind as absolute holiness now is.

But as we see in the account, immediately after man fell we read of the interaction between the Creator and the guilty creature. “And Yahweh the Almighty called unto Adam, and said unto him, ‘Where art thou?’ And he said, ‘I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.’” (Genesis 3:9, 10)

Now obviously, something had changed. Humanity, once innocent in its openness between Yah and others, became aware that something was wrong, something was missing. Yes, Adam and Eve were “naked” physically before the fall; but this did not trouble them. (Genesis 2:25) Their nakedness now was of an entirely different nature, and it is this that made their physical state of undress an issue. Human beings were sinners now – and before this they were not.

David wrote, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” (Psalm 51:5) Some have used this verse to say that the act that leads to conception is somehow “sinful.” We know that this is not the case, of course; Paul tells us, “Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.” (Hebrews 13:4)

Dumah: :)

Zahakiel: David here was speaking about his own state from birth, and this is the reason why the Messiah had that conversation with Nicodemus in which the following occurred: “Jesus answered and said unto him, ‘Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’” (John 3:3) We all know what this means, correct?

Qinael: <nods.>
Barbara: Yes.
Crystle: Yes.

Zahakiel: Ok :) The reason why a man must be born “again” is because there is something wrong with the first birth. This was NOT Yah’s original plan, but the result of sin in humanity’s experience. The changes that the Almighty needed to make to His activities were immediately apparent in Eden, right after the fall. Continuing the record of the first day that was not “very good,” we read, “Unto Adam also and to his wife did Yahweh Elohim make coats of skins, and clothed them.” (Genesis 3:21)

The word “skins” there means exactly what it’s generally taken to mean, the hide of an animal. Something had to die to cover the nakedness of Adam. This was, in a very small way, the foreshadowing of a greater death, a more complete covering of the nakedness of man’s fallen state. But now because of this, the Law became necessary. I heard once said that it’s a shame that Yah had to tell us, “Don’t kill one another.” “Don’t worship statues made of stone.” “Don’t tell lies about your fellow men.” The Ten Commandments are a sign of Yah’s love to us; He did not leave us in darkness, but in a way also a record of our shame.

We received these commandments only because we needed them. “Remember to respect the day I have blessed and set aside for our fellowship,” our Master had to tell us. Who would have thought to do otherwise, had it not been for sin? Yes, the Law was added because of transgressions, and it is a transcript in stone of Yah’s holy character, and our guilt before Him.

Zahakiel: As Paul wrote, knowledge of sin is by the Law. And that would have been it... the end of the story, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” and “the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 3:23, 6:23)

But that second verse does not end with the word “death.” It continues, and reads in full, “For the wages of sin is death; BUT the gift of Yah is eternal life through Yahshua the Messiah, our Lord.”

Dumah: Amen.

Zahakiel: Yah’s forgiveness to mankind began that very first day, when He clothed our nakedness with the blood of the slain, and has continued to do so ever since. In fact, in a sense Yah’s forgiveness to man began before he fell, for we read that Yah knew of our fate before He spoke us into being, and that in the spirit, the Lamb, the Son of Yah, was slain, “from the foundation of the world.” (Revelation 13:8) Yes, this is all very basic Christianity, but we need to rehearse these things amongst ourselves, and we need to be told and told again of this story, and how we must apply it to ourselves – and to each other. Forgiveness is a subject that cannot be emphasized too much and, as we shall see, the Testimony of Yahshua that we bear depends upon it.

It is written, speaking of sin and sinners, “And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?” (Romans 2:3)

We sort of break into a passage there, but I want you to understand what this verse is saying, and all of it. Paul is speaking here of people who condemn one another for wrongdoing. They see someone in sin, and they say, “Look at this one,” or “Look at that one!”

Paul is speaking to people who are, it seems, condemning others for sin, while committing sin themselves. Christ said to beware of this finger-pointing, for often we see the splinters in the eyes of others, ignoring a log that may be in our own vision. We must be very careful, when we go to someone to tell them of a fault, that we are going with a pure motive and a clean heart, or we will be as those men who took the woman in adultery before the Savior. Everyone remember that story? It’s in John 8, if I remember right.

Barbara: Yes.
Dumah: <nods>
Mark: Read it earlier today.
Crystle: Yes.

Zahakiel: <nods.> Good :) They brought a woman caught in adultery to Christ so that He would condemn her... but in the end she was forgiven, and they were the ones who ended up convicted of sin. They were not condemned by the words of the Master, but by their own actions – all He did was reveal to them what was already in their hearts (for they all knew the Law).

He said to His disciples, “If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.” (John 15:22) Without the Law, and without the Testimony of the One who wrote the Law, we would not know sin. If we know something is “sin” yet we do it, we are like those hypocrites that Paul speaks of in Romans 2:3. We would call others “sinners,” yet be guilty of the same – and worse, because we know.

This is the true danger of deliberate sin... it changes the very spirit... and I got a good question by email about this the other day. Those who commit it are far from the Father and Son, and have no shield against the spirits of faultfinding, self-condemnation, depression, despair, unprovoked anger, jealousy, murmurings... and essentially all the works of the flesh. But let’s read on a bit in Romans 2, at least to the next verse. I’ll repeat verse 3 and then go on:

“And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Or despisest thou the riches of His goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?” Here we see the character of Yah revealed. He could have destroyed Adam, even Lucifer, the moment they sinned... and He would have been within the confines of the Law. Yet, He tempered that justice with mercy; He extended longsuffering to us, in order to lead us to repentance.

Infinite mercy met infinite justice, and the result is this: Grace.

Mark: Amen.

Rachel: This is a little far off, but is killing an animal considered murder?

Dumah: :)That’s a good question, Rachel.

Zahakiel: In brief, no... humans are given “dominion” over the animal world. But, if we go about wastefully killing anything we reveal a sprit in us that is not in line with the Person who made that animal :)

Rachel: I see.

Dumah: I’m vegetarian partly for that reason of not needlessly killing:)

Zahakiel: Right. We are to take care of what we have on earth. Anything wasteful or unnecessary is something to be fixed.

Rachel: So when God killed the animal to clothe Adam and Eve, it wasn’t murder then?

Zahakiel: Well, God made the animal :) And here we do see that the wages of sin is death, and also that a substitute can be made for man.

Rachel: Yes, but He made Satan too, and you said if He had destroyed Satan then He would have been in the confines of the Law.

Zahakiel: And He would have been :)

Rachel: So doesn’t that apply to the animal as well?

Qinael: “In the confines of the law” means that He would have been justified by the law, not out of line according to it. Not breaking the law.

Pastor “Chick”: “Confines” means not breaking the law :)

Zahakiel: Well, grace is extended to beings that can “repent.” A sheep cannot repent, after all.

Annetta: Since Yah made the law, can He not change the law?

Zahakiel: Yah made the Law to be unchangeable :)

Rachel: I really did try to bring up the dictionary website but it just wouldn’t connect...

Qinael: The law is a revelation of His character, and He never changes...

Mark: He adds to the law from time to time.

Rachel: ... so you’ll have to excuse me for being a little lost.

Qinael: Therefore the law would not change any more than His character would.

Zahakiel: That’s okay, Rachel... but if you are troubled about the death of the sheep, or whatever animal it was... remember that sin always causes the innocent to suffer.

Dumah: Yah killed the lamb to cloth two naked people… it also served as food...it really can’t be compared to waste...but I know how you feel...I love animals... and believe me God loves them even more

Zahakiel: Right.

Rachel: =)

Zahakiel: Okay, now let’s see where we were... Grace :)

We were going to talk about grace a bit... but I began by speaking about the Law, and so does the Bible. It is written, “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17)

Now, humans were aware of all 10 Commandments before Moses (at least in principle), and expressed guilt for violating these principles long before they were set in stone (I have an article on that called “Before Sinai”), but with the Exodus came the most complete and perfect record of the Law given to mankind. And please don’t take that verse to mean that truth and grace did not exist before Christ came to earth :)

But with the Decalogue, every vestige of an excuse based on ignorance was removed, and man was now able to see the extent of his sinfulness before a perfect Creator. And as Mark has said, though I’d word it this way, maybe... Yah has added to our understanding of the Law since, and the light that shines on humans is ever increasing.

But here is why the Law came first... it was given before the Cross, because without a knowledge of guilt, without a knowledge of sin and the Law, there would be no need for man to seek a Savior. “From what do I need to be saved?” It’s a valid question, if one does not know sin.

Dumah: In sales we always create a need or find a need before trying to sell something.

Zahakiel: <smiles.> A good analogy. I’ve also heard the one that you don’t offer someone medicine until they know they’re sick. There are several useful ways to convey that idea :)

By the way, since we are in Romans 2 – and this is a bit of a side-note... recently we’ve come up against a couple people who have said that converted Christians can sin deliberately, because, they reason, certain books like 1 Corinthians and 1 John were written to faithful Christians, yet was warning them not to continue willfully sinning as (they say) they had been doing. The Bible doesn’t give any excuse to indulge in such thoughts :) Look at the next verse in the passage we’ve been studying.

Paul is warning individuals in the Churches not to commit any known sins, and to avoid bringing condemnation to others, and then he adds: “But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of Yah, who will render to every man according to his deeds...” (Romans 2:5, 6) and he goes on for a few more verses after this.

Yes, Paul is writing to individuals in Churches, and those whom he calls “brethren,” because he is “persuaded better things” of them. (Hebrews 6:9) He speaks in confidence that they will heed him, as even Christ did to His disciples. Nevertheless, whether you call yourself a Christian or not, whether you are in a Church or not – even the right one, which must be said in these days of many churches – deliberate sins harden the heart, and treasure up wrath for the day of judgment.

Let no man deceive you, and do not deceive yourselves – in fact John says it better than I would have. “Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of Yah was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:7, 8)

Rachel: What do you mean by wrath for the day of judgment?

Zahakiel: <nods.> It may be good if we can clarify that :) It is written that Yah chastens, or disciplines those whom He loves.. and this is an attempt to get them to grow. Sometimes the lessons can be hard.

But the word “wrath,” especially when connected to the day of judgment is an entirely different thing. Christians, the saved, they will be saved out of wrath. Pre-tribulation believers use verses like 1Th 1:10 to teach that we won’t go through the time of trouble... but at least they have the idea right, though they misunderstand what “wrath” is. Wrath is something that does not touch a redeemed being :) It basically means destruction, the second death.

Dumah: Sin separates us from God who is life. The end result is death. Just like a flower without water dies, a human separated from God dies. If God left us to ourselves we would die in our sins. He offers a chance to reconnect with life but if we don’t He stops the coin in mid air knowing it will fall anyway.

Rachel: Ah.

Zahakiel: Right. A Scripture says that God created everything to accomplish its purpose. He wants to see all men saved, but He will not change His Law to save them, because it would show that He was playing favorites. That’s a basic way to look at it :)

Rachel: Where is that?

Zahakiel: It’s in the Proverbs... I can look for the link for you in a bit :)

Rachel: Ok.

[It is found at Proverbs 16:4, though it reads in the King James Version, “The LORD hath made all things for Himself,” which is not the best way to translate that.]

Rachel: Thank you.

Zahakiel: But now understand where Paul is coming from in Romans. Whether a Church member, or being of the congregation, or calling one’s self a Christian... “he that committeth sin is of the devil.” Paul writes to warn people that labels don’t save... only that personal relationship with Christ that keeps us from falling.

If the apostles wished to teach the message that is now taught in the world by the Remnant of Yah’s people, they could not have selected more clear words to do so than these. There is no place for misunderstanding, and (praise Yah) there is no need for failure. Our Savior is greater than any deceit, any doubt, any fear, that would keep an individual from embracing the blessed promises of Christ.

Rachel: Amen.

Zahakiel: But perhaps this was not such a side-issue after all :) We are told at the end of the passage that “the Son of Yah was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” This IS the forgiveness of Yah as it relates to mankind. If we accept this forgiveness, if we receive the atoning Sacrifice already made on our behalf, a wonderful thing takes place. Actually, I just had the beginnings of a conversation on this a few minutes before the study started.

It’s written: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” Sometimes we stop there, but let’s continue... “And all things are of Yah, who hath reconciled us to himself by Yahshua the Messiah, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that Yah was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though Yah did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to Yah. For He [the Father] hath made Him [the Son] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of Yah in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:17-21)

Zahakiel: Let me know when you’ve read it :)

Qinael: Finished.
Pastor “Chick”: Completed.
Crystle: Finished.
Dumah: :) Alright.
Israfel: Done.

Zahakiel: Good. Now… there is glory! :) We are made “new creatures” if we accept the forgiveness of Yah. But then Paul proceeds to tell us what this means. Not only are we made new creatures, but we are made new creatures with a purpose... with a ministry, the Ministry of Reconciliation. This is why Peter says we are “an holy priesthood,” (1 Peter 2:5) because like Moses we stand between Yahweh and a sinful people. (Exodus 32:32)

And now, because of this ministry, Christ is in us, and when we speak to someone, telling them the Gospel, urging them to repent, inviting them to accept the victory over sin and the faith and testimony of Yahshua, we do it as if it were Christ Himself, as Paul says, “in Christ’s stead,” so that we speak the very words of Yah. Paul did this when he said, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1)

But did you know, the words his audience heard were even stronger? He uses the word mimites, which sounds a lot like “mime,” someone who acts something out. What it means is “to imitate.” Paul told his listeners, “Imitate me as I do also Christ.”

The world has need of such talk, for the message has not gotten weaker with time, but stronger and more urgent as the Time of Trouble draws near. This is the testimony that Yahshua gave to Paul – it is the testimony He gave to all His followers.

Even before the Cross, long before the Cross, David had accepted the faith of Yahshua, though he could only see it far off. But he expressed his confidence in the words of his psalms: “Judge me, O Yah; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in Yahweh; therefore I shall not slide.” (Psalm 26:1) And that is just one of many examples. The forgiveness of Yah is what allows man to be the righteousness of Christ on earth – and yes, he knows it. He cannot see the full end of what he will become, BUT this does not prevent him from claiming it... and then PROclaiming it.

Zahakiel: John speaks of this confidence, saying, “Beloved, now are we the sons of Yah, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.” (1 John 3:2) That is confidence. We don’t know what we’ll be like but we know we will be like Him. And now, even now, we are the sons of Yah. Now, even now, we are the “righteousness of Christ,” as that verse said.

Have you ever said that before? “I am the righteousness of Christ?” If the Bible is true, you should be saying it :)

Pastor “Chick”: Which Christ intimated in , “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father.” [John 14:9]

Zahakiel: Yes :) 2 Corinthians tells us that Christ died, “that we might be made the righteousness of Yah in Him.” So here are a couple simple questions:

Did Christ die? (not a trick question, now)

Israfel: Yes.

Zahakiel: Ok :) Was His mission successful?

Israfel: Yes.

Zahakiel: Amen. Then how can we say we are not the righteousness of Christ, without denying either that He died, or that His mission to make us this thing was successful?

Pastor “Chick”: Good point :)

Zahakiel: Peter says to add charity, or Christian love, to everything you do, and then he says, “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall.” (1 Peter 1:7, 10) The question is... do we REALLY believe that? :)

Pastor “Chick”: I want to answer your question, David :)

Zahakiel: Go ahead :)

Pastor “Chick”: “Yes, and decidedly, yes.”

Zahakiel: Amen :)

Zahakiel: So let’s retrace a bit, and I’ll tie in the two things we have been talking about.

“The Two Temples” is not just a book, it is a study guide. At the end of every chapter, after the main study and some quotes from Ellen White, there are 12 questions. Now of the questions... in the chapter on Forgiveness, one of the most important is the last one, and it reads: “Do I act and speak as if I were truly forgiven by Yah?”

I want you all to really think about that for a little while, and then tell me what this question means to you, and then, if you are led to do so, share the answer. (I think pastor already shared his :))

Tiffany: Sure.

Zahakiel: Let’s pause here a bit for this activity.

Dumah: Alright… thanks:)

[A few minutes later...]

Zahakiel: Anyone feel the inclination to speak?

Pastor “Chick”: Yes :)

Zahakiel: Go ahead, pastor.

Rachel: What does “atonement” mean?

Dumah: That is a good question, and yes.

Zahakiel: Atonement means to bring into harmony with, to reconcile :) Like to make up with someone after a separation.

Rachel: Ok.

Pastor “Chick”: The Question: “Do I act and speak as if I were truly forgiven by Yah?”

Pastor “Chick”: “Yes, and decidedly, yes.” Now, IF any of you “see” otherwise, please inform me.

Crystle: I would like to respond by saying that I really hope that I act and speak as if I am truly forgiven, but by the help of my brothers and sisters, they show me what I cannot see, helping me even more to act and speak more like my Saviour.

Zahakiel: Well, we are always in the process of learning more, of course :) But acting as if one is forgiven is about your present state. Do you understand how I mean this?

Rachel: I don’t... I don’t understand how someone can act like they are forgiven. You’re forgiven already, it’s done.

Zahakiel: Yes, but some people still act as if they are ashamed, as if they are guilty.

Pastor “Chick”: Or, they may become “offended” unnecessarily.

Zahakiel: We see this daily as we talk to people.

Crystle: Our actions show if we are forgiven.

Zahakiel: Right. If I know someone has something against me, I am going to act different in his presence. But if he has forgiven me, and I know it... then whatever unity we had before the offense is restored :) Here is the “atonement” as it relates to this.

Pastor “Chick”: “At-one-ment.”

Zahakiel: Yes :) Does that help, Rachel?

Rachel: A little, yes.

Zahakiel: In a way it is about how comfortable you feel in someone’s presence :) Like suppose you did something wrong... the last thing in the world you want is for your parents to ask what you were up to this afternoon.

Pastor “Chick”: It can also be shown in how we behave around “sinners”...

Zahakiel: But if you confess it, and receive forgiveness.. the tension, the guilt, all of that is gone.

Crystle: If you are at peace with Yah, you are at peace in whatever circumstance, or whoever’s presence, you are in.

Zahakiel: Yes :)

Rachel: Ok.

Zahakiel: And then you do not fear speaking for Him, because if you are atoned to Him, you are at one with Him :) Then you can be a messenger, a Gospel-bearer, a witness... all those things.

Rachel: But I just thought it would have been easier to understand if you asked if we act as though we accept forgiveness....or are we just thick-headed/hard-hearted?

Zahakiel: Well, forgiveness is offered to everyone :) But only those who accept it benefit.

Dumah: Words are verbal actions.

Pastor “Chick”: To “forgive” means to “give for”... The one “forgiven” has received Righteousness “for” unrighteousness.

Mark: I remember reading about that somewhere, “give for.”

Rachel: I don’t understand.

Pastor “Chick”: If you have “sadness”... and you accept YAH’s forgiveness, you will receive “joy of YAH” for “sadness of self.”

Zahakiel: Right :) And if you are joyful, your words and actions will show it.

Rachel: Ok.

Zahakiel: :) To accept Yah’s forgiveness means that you move forward as if you had not sinned. This is a “big” idea for a lot of people. But look at the way Yah treats people who turn to Him. He fills them with love, He loads them down with spiritual gifts... it is as if a wall of blessing is held back by a dam of sin. And when forgiveness is accepted, the dam breaks and we are flooded :)

Gabriel: Beautiful!

Dumah: “Neither do I condemn you; go, and sin no more.” [John 8:11]

Pastor “Chick”: What a blessing!

Zahakiel: Amen, and exactly :)

Dumah: You are forgiven… live it!

Zahakiel: Now, we need to get people to walk and talk in that blessing :) And then we will have a little group of people called the 144,000.

Pastor “Chick”: That reminds me of the SOP statement, about the remnant going about witnessing, with their “countenances lighted up with the glory of Heaven.”

[One quote says: “The light and glory of God will rest upon his people. And then the world will see, and will say, ‘Behold, how these brethren love one another.’ Then all this heart burning and distrust will cease, and in place of it, there will be love and union, courtesy, kindness, and tenderness. The very countenances will shine with the glory of God. We shall all see eye to eye. We shall speak the same things, and be of the same judgment.” – General Conference Daily Bulletin, April 13, 1891, paragraph 33]

Zahakiel: Right :) They are witnesses when they have something to tell... and what better thing to tell, than about the forgiveness of Yah that has come to us through Christ? :)

Pastor “Chick”: The Question (the world will ask): “What makes you so happy?”

Pastor “Chick”: The Answer: “I am forgiven.” (which, when translated means, “I have victory over sin.”)

Zahakiel: Right. <smiles.>

Crystle: Amen.

Zahakiel: Now, it appears that question 12 of that chapter was even more important than I had thought :) And for those who cannot yet answer the question with a hearty, “Yes,” we are your servants in this thing... and let one of us know after the study if you feel led to really make this grand step into life everlasting :)

Zahakiel: We’re almost done, and as we conclude I would like to share a verse with you, and then a passage from the final chapter of “The Two Temples,” which is entitled: A Settled Place: Commitment. And the quote explains why I named the chapter “A settled place.”

First, though, here is the Scripture: “Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” (Jude 1:24, 25) That is the end of the testimony of Jude, and I like to point out that this is the only passage in all the Bible, and verse 24 the only verse, where the words “keep” and “falling” appear together.

Christians do not keep falling. Christians are a people once fallen, but now redeemed, or… atoned, as we were talking about. We’re brought into harmony with Yah and His Law.

Now here is that passage from the final chapter of the workbook: “When Solomon built the Temple to Yahweh, which we have seen as a pattern for the Spirit Temple of believers [that is, the Church and the Christians that compose It], he said these words, “I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever.” (1 Kings 8:13) Our testimony is nothing less than this. The last chapter of the first section was about the principles of rest. It was about the spirit of the Sabbath commandment, and finding that perfect peace of body, mind and soul that enables one to endure all things for the sake of the Gospel. Here we see the fulfillment of that principle as a people – and that principle is known as Commitment.”

Zahakiel: Let me know when you’ve read it :)

Dumah: Marriage is described as rest....commitment opens the door to spiritual rest as well...rest from falling into known sins.

Qinael: Finished.

Pastor “Chick”: Completed.

Gabriel: Done.

Rachel: What do you mean, Kimberly?

Barbara: Done.

Israfel: John 8:36 – “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” Rom 6:18 – “Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.” Rom 6:22 –”But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.” Gal 5:1 –”Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”

Dumah: When you come to the altar you say “I do.” That is what we as Christians are doing, saying, “I do.” I do live in Christ.

Crystle: Finished.

Pastor “Chick”: The “new birth” IS a marriage of humanity with divinity.

Zahakiel: Yes :)

Dumah: Our words and our actions reveal that we are in a marriage commitment with Yah.

Zahakiel: Now that quote (and what Kimberly said also) sums up what it means to be a Sabbathkeeping Christian. It means to have found “a settled place” in Yah, which Mrs. White describes as “the sealing.”

Pastor “Chick”: “All ye are brethren.” [Matthew 23:8] As brethren we are identified with Christ and with one another. As brethren we are identical with Christ, and through His grace identical with one another.

Zahakiel: In fact, here is that brief quote, in which she defines the “Seal” in Revelation 7: “... it is not any seal or mark that can be seen, but a settling into the truth, both intellectually and spiritually, so they [Christians] cannot be moved...” [The Faith I Live By, page 287, paragraph 7] This is what is happening even today in the world.

Now, we all know that water flows downhill, right? What happens to water when it finds a “settled place?”

Pastor “Chick”: <smiles>

Rachel: It stays there.

Zahakiel: Yes :)

Pastor “Chick”: “Abides.”

Zahakiel: It stays right where it is! It cannot “fall,” because it has nowhere to fall into. It is “held” where it is. Though, of course, gravity always pulls it downward, it does not move.

Rachel: =)

Zahakiel: In fact, it stays right where it is until... if the earth is hard enough (and this earth IS hard)... until the sunlight turns it into steam and it rises toward Heaven.

Rachel: I like that metaphor.

Zahakiel: Thought you might :)

Zahakiel: My final quotation is this one, and I pray it will be both the faith and the testimony of everyone who hears and reads this study: “For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, ‘Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea,’ and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.” (Mark 11:23)

Pastor “Chick”: Amen.

Zahakiel: :)

Pastor “Chick”: It shall be unto you as “your faith”...

Zahakiel: Can I get a volunteer to close our meeting with a prayer? And then if anyone has any questions we can talk about those.

Pastor “Chick”: I’ll serve :)

Zahakiel: Please do.

Pastor “Chick”: Dear Heavenly Father....

As we are meeting here in the “dark of the moon”, we have seen with “spiritual eyes” the “coming of the LORD”. We have seen and heard that message which was “from the beginning.”

We thank you for sending YAHshua’s Spirit to comfort us in this “tent of flesh.” Thank you “for-giving us” Your only begotten Son... and thank you that all who have the Son have Life.

May all who read this study “walk in the Light as He is in the Light” so that all who are yet in the darkness of the world, may find their way home to the “Light-house.” Bless us in Your “at one-ment” unto the “perfect day”, for it is in YAHshua’s name we pray... AMEN.

Zahakiel: Amen :)
Dumah: Yes, Father...amen.
Qinael: Amen.
Crystle: Amen.
Barbara: Amen.
Mark: Amen.
Gabriel: Amen!
Rachel: Amen!
Israfel: AMEN

Zahakiel: All right, I’ll start working on fixing up the transcript a bit, and then I will mail it out either tonight or tomorrow :)

Mark: Danke (thanks).

Crystle: Thank you for doing that for us. I do appreciate it.

Zahakiel: My pleasure.