John 17:3.

1 An All Important Theme ................................................................. 1
2. Avoid Speculative Theories ............................................................ 7
3. The Character Of God In Relation To The Great Controversy ....... 13
4. The Character Of God And The Ending Of The Great Controversy 26
5. Isaiah’s Wonderful Prophecy ........................................................ 41
6, Approaching The Study Of God ................................................... 48
7. The Constitution Of The Government Of God ............................... 53
8. A Perfect Law .............................................................................. 69
9. God’s Principles Under Test ......................................................... 87
10. A Summary ................................................................................. 93  

Section 2
11. Contrasting Statements ................................................................ 96
12. Statements And Principles .......................................................... 106
13. God Does Destroy—But How .................................................... 119
14. The Supreme Revelation ............................................................. 134
15. Urged To Destroy ...................................................................... 147
16. Magnifying The Law ................................................................... 158
17. Go The Second Mile .................................................................. 169
18. The Mystery Of Iniquity—Satan’s Masterpiece Of Deception ......180
19. The Mystery-Unfolding Cross ..................................................... 192
 20. The Way Of The Cross ............................................................... 202

Section 3
21. God’s Not A Criminal ................................................................. 220
22. Rods And Serpents ..................................................................... 228
23. The Upraised Rod ....................................................................... 240
24. The Showing Of God’s Power ..................................................... 248
25. The Flood .................................................................................... 259
26. Great Changes ............................................................................. 275
27. Concepts Revised ........................................................................ 281
28. Sodom And Gomorrah ................................................................. 291
29. An Execution ............................................................................... 315
30. The Ever-Loving, Saving Father ................................................... 328

Section 4
31. God Goes The Second Mile ........................................................ 345
32. The Consistency Of God ............................................................. 356
33. The Wars Of Israel ..................................................................... 364
34. An Eye For An Eye ..................................................................... 373
35. Difficult Statements ...................................................................... 378
36. The Seven Last Plagues ............................................................... 391
37. The Brightness Of His Coming ..................................................... 396
38. The Final Showdown ................................................................... 401
39. In Conclusion .............................................................................. 413

Section 1

CHAPTER THREE

The Character of God In Relation to the Great Controversy

 

26

The evidences presented in the Scriptures confirm the truth that the great controversy began with the misrepresentation of the character of God. Furthermore, Satan’s extension and continuation of the struggle has been by the same means. Thus is revealed the cause and the effect—the cause being the establishment of an erroneous view of God, and the effect, the proliferation of iniquitous rebellion.

It is a sound principle that once the cause of a problem has been established, the remedy for it has been discovered. Therefore, as certainly as the dissemination of false concepts of God’s character is the cause for sinful revolt then as surely will the presentation of the truth in regard to God provide the remedy by reversing the result. Thus men are brought back from sin to righteousness, from mutiny to loyalty.

Therefore, only those who understand these facts possess the knowledge of where the solution is to be found. Naturally, any person who is a sincere child of God desires above all else to see the termination of the long dark misery, the end of revolt and alienation from God and in turn help others to walk in the same direction.

Thus, while it is the work of Satan and his followers to wrongfully represent God’s character so as to intensify the evil revolt against Him, it is the work of God and His children to correctly reveal God’s righteousness so as to terminate the insurgence and return the world to the peace and prosperity of full loyalty to God.

Pre-eminent in this work of divine restoration is Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God. When He came to the earth, He came, not merely to save man from the penalty of sin by sacrificing Himself, but to save him by revealing the character of God in contrast to Satan’s propositions. This Is not to say that Christ’s death upon the cross is unessential to our salvation. Full recognition is here given to the eternal truth that without the death of Christ none of us could be saved.

But emphasis must be given to the fact that Christ’s role as the Revealer of the true character of God was as necessary to ending the great controversy and the salvation of the lost as was that supreme sacrifice on the cross. Jesus came expressly to show God to angels and men exactly as He is.

He came to do this work at a time when "the earth was dark through misapprehension of God. That the gloomy shadows might be lightened, that the world might be brought back to God, Satan’s deceptive power was

THE ENDING OF THE GREAT CONTROVERSY 27

to be broken. This could not be done by force. the exercise of force is contrary to the principles of God’s government; He desires only the service of love; and love cannot be commanded; it cannot be won by force or authority. Only by love is love awakened. To know God is to love Him; His character must be manifested in contrast to the character of Satan. This work only one Being in all the universe could do. Only He Who knew the height and depth of the love of God could make it known. Upon the world’s dark night the Sun of Righteousness must rise, ‘with healing in His wings.’ Malachi 4:2." The Desire of Ages, 22.

"The Son of God came to this earth to reveal the character of the Father to men, that they might learn to worship Him in spirit and in truth." Counsels to Teachers, 28.

It is also written that, "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil." 1 John 3:8.

Therefore, Jesus came to this earth to reveal the character of God and to destroy the works of the devil. It is immediately apparent that these are not two separate works. They are the same work, for the devil’s work to lead men into rebellion, depends firstly on his deceiving them in respect to the nature of God. Therefore, to reveal God’s true nature so that the devil is no longer able to deceive angels and men is to destroy the devil’s works. It makes it impossible for him to operate.

Even for Christ to accomplish this, was no easy task. Satan’s deceptions had penetrated far more deeply and extensively than most suppose. Because we have failed to understand how far things had gone, we have likewise failed to appreciate the enormity of the task imposed upon God and Christ in their responsibility of delivering the universe from the power of Satan. Had it simply been a contest of force versus force, it would have been over In an instant. God is in the possession of infinite power against which Satan is able to muster but an infinitesimal force in comparison. But the question to be settled in the great controversy is not whether God is physically stronger than Satan. It is the question of the real nature of God’s character and government.

It is natural to suppose that the Word of God is the last and final authority in any dispute. How many times have people wished that the Lord would speak directly and audibly in a problem situation. It is firmly believed that that would settle the issue right there and then. But the witness of the ages reveals that the Word of God alone is not sufficient to settle these issues great and small. If it was, then there never would have been a great controversy.

Once there was only the Word of the living God in existence. There was no question or dispute over that Word. Then there came the time when that Word was challenged. As this dissension was developing. God called together the whole of the heavenly host and spelled out in the clearest terms the constitution of His government, explaining exactly why the situation was as it was. See Patriarchs and Prophets, 36.

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Thus the word of Satan was met by the Word of God. But it did not set-tie the question, as is proved by the even more determined antagonism of Satan and all who followed after him, because they neither believed nor accepted that Word. Therefore, time had to be given in which Satan could demonstrate the true nature of his claims while God and Christ, on the other hand, would unfold the real character of their position. It is for this purpose that the Lord has permitted the great conflict to continue through all these ages, and until that purpose has been fulfilled the controversy will continue.

That is, the struggle will go on, Christ shall not return, sin will not be ended and death will reign, until both angels and men see for themselves the real nature of God’s character and government in sharp contrast to that of Satan. When that point has been reached; when every question of truth and error is forever settled; then and only then will the end come. Nor will it tarry beyond that point. In that moment of time when the purpose has been accomplished, likewise will the termination come.

It is understood by many that the number of the angels whom Satan deceived was one third of the heavenly host. This is not what the Bible says. Rather, it states that it was this proportion which followed him. Carefully note what the Scriptures say. "And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth "Revelation 12:3.

It was that third part of the stars of heaven, the angels of heaven, that Satan cast down to the earth. This means that this third followed him right into the fulness of his rebellion. "Satan in his rebellion took a third part of the angels. They turned from the Father and from His Son, and united with the instigator of rebellion." "When Satan became disaffected in heaven, he did not lay his complaint before God and Christ; but he went among the angels who thought him perfect and represented that God had done him injustice in preferring Christ to himself. The result of this misrepresentation was that through their sympathy with him one third of the angels lost their innocence, their high estate, and their happy home." Testimonies 3:115;

5:291.

In these statements no reference is made to the effect, if any, that Satan’s deceptions had upon the rest. These statements do make it clear that two thirds of the angels remained loyal to God, and it is naturally assumed that they therefore were not all influenced by the devil’s sophistries. We think this way because we tend to equate loyalty with absolute absence of any questions. It is true that loyalty is strengthened and perfected with the dismissal of all doubts and suspicions, but, conversely, their presence does not necessarily destroy loyalty, though it may weaken

it.

The real truth is that every one of the angels was affected at least in part by the delusions of the great enemy. Uncertainties about God, His character, and the principles of His government were generated in them to

THE ENDING OF THE GREAT CONTROVERSY 29

the point where a definite sympathy for Satan’s cause was present. Throughout the long centuries elapsing between the fall of Lucifer and the cross of Calvary that state of affairs continued. That period absorbed at least four thousand years of time and its activities, during which, while not casting aside their loyalty to God to join Satan’s forces, they served God with definite reservations and felt that Satan had something of a case to be argued.

"To the angels and the unfallen worlds the cry, ‘It is finished,’ had a deep significance. It was for them as well as for us that the great work of redemption had been accomplished. They with us share the fruits of Christ’s victory.

"Not until the death of Christ was the character of Satan clearly revealed to the angels or to the unfallen worlds. The archapostate had so clothed himself with deception that even holy beings had not understood his principles. They had not clearly seen the nature of his rebellion.

"It was a being of wonderful power and glory that had set himself against God. Of Lucifer the Lord says, ‘Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.’ Ezekiel 28:12. Lucifer had been the covering cherub. He had stood in the light of God’s presence. He had been the highest of all created beings, foremost in revealing God’s purposes to the universe. After he had sinned, his power to deceive was the more deceptive, and the unveiling of his character was the more difficult, because of the exalted position he had held with the Father.

"God could have destroyed Satan and his sympathizers as easily as one can cast a pebble to the earth; but He did not do this. Rebellion was not to be overcome by force. Compelling power is found only under Satan’s government, The Lord’s principles are not of this order. His authority rests upon goodness, mercy, and love; and the presentation of these principles is the means to be used. God’s government is moral, and truth and love are to be the prevailing power.

"It was God’s purpose to place things on an eternal basis of security, and in the councils of heaven it was decided that time must be given for Satan to develop the principles which were the foundation of his system of government. He had claimed that these were superior to God’s principles. Time was given for the working of Satan’s principles, that they might be seen by the heavenly universe." The Desire of Ages, 758, 759.

Consider carefully certain salient points in this quotation.

"Not until the death of Christ was the character of Satan clearly revealed to the angels or to the unfallen worlds. . . . They had not clearly seen the nature of his rebellion."

". . .the unveiling of his character was the more difficult, because of the exalted position he had held with the Father."

"Time was given for the working of Satan’s principles, that they might be seen by the heavenly universe."

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Therefore, even the loyal angels and the inhabitants throughout the whole of the universe were deceived in part by the sophistries of the great deceiver. They were not sufficiently misled as to abandon their loyalty to God, but enough to have a definite sympathy with Satan. At the cross that last link of sympathy between Satan and the heavenly world was broken.

"Could one sin have been found in Christ, had He in one particular yielded to Satan to escape the terrible torture, the enemy of God and man would have triumphed. Christ bowed His head and died, but He held fast His faith and His submission to God. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.’ Revelation

12:10.

"Satan saw that his disguise was torn away. His administration was laid open before the unfallen angels and before the heavenly universe. He had revealed himself as a murderer. By shedding the blood of the Son of God, he had uprooted himself from the sympathies of the heavenly beings. Henceforth his work was restricted. Whatever attitude he might assume, he could no longer await the angels as they came from the heavenly courts, and before them accuse Christ’s brethren of being clothed with the garments of blackness and the defilement of sin. The last link of sympathy between Satan and the heavenly world was broken." ibid., 761.

Think carefully upon the information contained here, especially in the last sentence. It was the link of sympathy between Satan and the heavenly world which ceased to exist at the cross of Calvary. It is one thing to have sympathy for a person, but it is something else to have sympathy between you and that person.

To have sympathy for the devil and nothing more than that, is to feel a very real sorrow for him in his inescapable predicament, but at the same time, giving no countenance to his philosophies, objectives, methods or behaviour. Every true Christian will feel that sympathy for Satan.

But when sympathy exists between us and the devil, then that is to allow that he is right at least in a measure. It is to believe, even though unconsciously, that he has a case, there is success in some of his methods, and that he ought not to be treated as sternly as he is being dealt with.

It would be impossible to give total allegiance to God while such a sympathy existed between us and Satan, though we might choose to remain loyal to God nonetheless. So it was with the loyal angels right down to the cross of Calvary for it was there, and not before then, that the last link of sympathy between Satan and the heavenly world was broken.

But, when that last link of sympathy between Satan and the heavenly world was broken by their seeing the true nature of his lies against God, they then saw and understood the character of God as it truly was. Christ had destroyed the works of the devil in them and, for them, the purpose of

THE ENDING OF THE GREAT CONTROVERSY 31

32 BEHOLD YOUR GOD

the great controversy had been achieved. Therefore, if only angels were involved in the struggle, Satan’s end would have come at the cross. But what had been done for angels had also to be done for men, for while angels saw the real nature of the character of God and of Satan at the cross, man certainly did not and still has not.

In fact, it will not be until the time of Jacob’s trouble that even the righteous people of God will lose their last link of sympathy with the devil. We may not know it today, but even those of us who walk nearest to God still have a measure of sympathy with Satan and his ways. Not until that final testing time will this at last be removed from us. "The time of trouble is the crucible that is to bring out Christ-like characters. It is designed to lead the people of God to renounce Satan and his temptations. The last conflict will reveal Satan to them in his true character, that of a cruel tyrant, and it will do I or them what nothing else could do, uproot him entirely from their affections. For to love and cherish sin, is to love and cherish its author, that deadly foe of Christ. When they excuse sin and cling to perversity of character, they give Satan a place in their affections, and pay him homage." The Review and Herald, August 12, 1884. Also Our High Calling, 321.

Because this work has yet to be accomplished for human beings so that the purpose of the great controversy is fulfilled for them as it was for the angels, the battle was not terminated at the cross as it is written:

"Yet Satan was not then [at the time of the cross] destroyed. The angels did not even then understand all that was involved in the great controversy. The principles at stake were to be more fully revealed. And for the sake of man, Satan’s existence must be continued. Man as well as angels must see the contrast between the Prince of light and the prince of darkness. He must choose whom he will serve." The Desire of Ages. 761.

Therefore, the Saviour took the work of ending the great controversy one giant step toward its completion when He revealed the character of God as it is to the angels and thus exposed Satan for what he is. The progressive development of this is clearly portrayed in Revelation 12. The original confrontation in heaven with the resulting removal of Satan from the celestial precincts is described in verses 7-9.

"And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

"And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

"And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."

Note that it was at this time that Satan was cast out into the earth. The place from which he was cast out was heaven, but he still had the opportunity of accosting the angels as they moved to and from heaven and "before them accuse Christ’s brethren of being clothed with the garments of

THE ENDING OF THE GREAT CONTROVERSY 33

blackness and the defilement of sin." The Desire of Ages, 761. But that activity was terminated when at the cross he was cast down. Firstly he had been cast out, and then he was cast down.

‘Christ bowed His head and died, but He held fast His faith and His submission to God. ‘And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.’ Revelation 12:10." ibid.

This reference confirms that the devil lost tremendous ground through the victory accomplished by Christ during His life and by His death. The angels were set free from his power. His delusions no longer had any claim upon their thinking. Their loyalty to God became stronger and more intense. For these reasons there was indeed great gladness throughout the entire universe for the salvation which they had gained through the revelation of God’s character as given by Christ.

So it is written: "Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them." Revelation 12:12. It is to be noted that this call goes forth subsequent to the casting down of the old dragon at the cross of Calvary.

But the time for rejoicing in the unfallen universe is no time for joyous songs upon this earth for very good reason. Firstly, before the cross, the energies of Satan and his angels had been divided between his attacks on the angels and on man. But after the cross, he was left to devote all his power upon the children of men. They now have his undivided attention.

Secondly, his fearful losses sustained at the cross do not discourage but only madden him into a frenzy of desperate and determined activity, for he knows that his time is shortened and that he must work with a feverish madness to stave off the day of his final obliteration. All of that fury is directed to mankind. Therefore it is written to those who live upon this earth after the crucifixion, "Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time." Revelation 12:12.

The crushing defeat suffered by our great adversary at Golgotha was likewise a resounding victory for the cause of righteousness. Ground was gained there which shall never again be lost, for the angels and the unfallen worlds are now eternally free from Satan’s deceptive arguments.

But while great gains were made, full recovery had not been achieved. Another great baffle must be fought wherein will be accomplished for man that which had been accomplished for the unfallen universe. The victory will be gained exactly as it was gained by Christ, for we are to overcome as He overcame." See Revelation 3:21.

To understand how that last battle is to be fought and won, we have but to understand how Jesus gained His victory over the devil. Firstly, we must recognize that the most difficult person to expose is one who is a deceiver and an accuser. Counter-accusation is totally ineffective. At best, it only

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serves to further confuse the issue, while at the worst it multiplies support for the initial accuser.

The use of force is likewise counterproductive for it generates sympathy for the one in rebellion through the natural tendency to take up the cause of the underdog.

There is only one way to reveal evil at its worst and that is for it to be exposed to righteousness at its best. God is righteousness. His very character is that, Therefore, the exposure of sin by the revelation of righteousness was the exposure of sin by the revelation of the character of God.

Throughout His lifetime upon this earth, this is precisely what Jesus revealed every day, all day. To look at Christ was to see the Father. He exemplified what the Father is and all that He is. He demonstrated how the Father relates Himself to the sin problem, to the sinful, and to those who are His worst enemies. He spelled it out both in His life and in His teaching.

So perfect and complete was the revelation of the Father as given by Christ that, to Philip’s inquiry, "Lord, shew us the Father," He could reply, "Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?" John 14:8, 9. "All that man needs to know or can know of God has been revealed in the life and character of His Son." Testimonies 8:286.

Extensive study will be given later to the work of Christ as the Revealer of God’s character. What is being established now is that by that revelation, Christ was able to signally defeat Satan to the point where the unfallen universe was completely and eternally delivered from the power of Satan’s deceptions.

Throughout His lifetime, Jesus revealed the character of God and as He did so, Satan mustered his forces to break that perfect revelation. But steadily and faithfully Jesus continued on His way so that Satan found it necessary to draw even more heavily on his armament in his desperate efforts to break the witness of God in Christ. At last, a still undefeated Christ came to the cross to give, in that ultimate sacrifice, the revelation of the righteous character of God at its glorious, undimmed best. Eternity will never again be able to provide so complete and clear a manifestation of God as He really is. It is the central and high point of history, past and future. It is the pinnacle of all divine achievement in the resplendent light of which all other is dimmed.

Such an unfolding of righteousness at its very best forced the devil to reveal his own sinful character at its worst. He had no choice. If he had not attacked Christ, if he had seen that to do so was to expose himself and had therefore withdrawn from the battle, he would have lost anyway. His only hope was to bring out everything in his onslaught and hope that he could break the witness of the Son of God and man. But he failed, and in that failure he salvaged nothing so far as the unfallen universe was concerned.

THE ENDING OF THE GREAT CONTROVERSY 35

They saw that full manifestation of divine light and satanic darkness simultaneously, and Satan’s cause was lost among them—eternally.

What Christ accomplished upon the cross never needs to be repeated. What Satan lost there he will never regain, so now he works desperately to retain what he still has—the minds of men which were not released from his power at the cross for the simple reason that they did not see either the fulness of the glory of God’s character or the depths of the satanic nature there displayed.

Thus, for man the purpose of the great controversy has not yet been fulfilled. Until it is, the struggle must and will go on, no matter how long that may take. There must again be exhibited such a complete and full revelation of the righteousness of God, which is the law and character of God, that Satan will again be forced to display the fulness of his iniquitous character to the point where even fallen men who have rejected God’s truth will see the difference and reject all allegiance to his satanic majesty.

But Christ is not returning to this earth to repeat the demonstration already given. He has other plans. This full and final display of the merciful, gracious, kind, good, and just character of God is to be given through His people. Christ will reveal through them exactly what He personally revealed while upon the earth.

Only as He is able to do this will the purpose of the controversy be finally achieved for men as it was for angels. Then the Saviour can and will return.

The Scriptures are very clear in stating that it will be the children of God who will give that final revelation of His character. This is a fact which every Christian must understand if he is to effectively occupy his appointed place in the concluding events of the long-standing war. Failure to comprehend this will result in an inadequate and misdirected preparation which will effectively disqualify such a person from fighting in that last army of the Lord.

It is because this is so that the following words of waning have been written: "In order to endure the trial before them, they [the people of God who will live through the final time of trouble and conflict] must understand the will of God as revealed in His word; they can honour Him only as they have a right conception of His character, government and purposes, and act in accordance with them." The Great Controversy, 593.

This counsel does not say that we who live in these last times and face that final testing and task would merely be in a better position to have a right concept of God’s character, government, and purposes. It does not say this. If it did then it would be largely an optional matter whether we did or did not understand these things. Either way we could come through.

The statement warns that we do not have these options. Either we understand correctly the true nature of God’s character, government, and Purposes, and act in accordance with them, or we will not be able to endure

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the trial before us. To fail at this time and under these circumstances means that eternal life will never be ours. In the light of these considerations, the importance of having an accurate and thorough knowledge of God’s character, the nature of His government, and the scope of His purposes cannot be overstressed.

The final movement of people who will provide the Lord with the means of making that ultimate manifestation of His character is prophetically described in Revelation 18:1, "And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory."

Briefly, it needs to be established here that this is the final message to be given to the world. Before it, God will have sent many warnings, instructions, and entreaties, but beyond the dispatch of this there will be no other. This is plainly attested in the following quotations.

"Revelation 18 points to the time when, as the result of rejecting the threefold warning of Revelation 14:6-12, the church will have fully reached the condition foretold by the second angel, and the people of God still in Babylon will be called upon to separate from her communion. This message is the last that will ever be given to the world; and it will accomplish its work." The Great Controversy, 390.

A complete chapter in The Great Controversy, beginning on page 603, is devoted to describing the giving of this message of Revelation 18:1-4. The title of the chapter is "The Final Warning." On page 604 we read, "These announcements [those of the Revelation 18 angel], uniting with the third angel’s message, constitute the final warning to be given to the inhabitants of the earth."

The second point to establish is that the angel is a symbol. The angels themselves do not come to the earth and personally deliver these messages. This we understand clearly from the way in which the first three angels’ messages were given. The Scriptures declare that they are given by movements of people on this earth. So it will be with the last message as foretold in Revelation 18:1. This message will be given by a movement of people.

This is further certified by these words from The Great Controversy, 604. "Hence the movement symbolized by the angel coming down from heaven lightening the earth with his glory, and crying mightily with a strong voice, announcing the sins of Babylon."

Next, the question must be raised, With whose glory will the earth be lightened?"

It is usual to receive the answer, "It will be the glory of God." This is correct, but it is not what the verse says. It says, ". . . another angel came down from heaven, . . . and the earth was lightened with his glory."

It is the glory of the angel which lightens the whole earth. It is true that this is also and primarily the glory of God for it is from God that this glory is

THE ENDING OF THE GREAT CONTROVERSY 37

acquired. But it has been so truly given to the angel that it has become his own and can be described as being his glory.

What is the glory of the angel and the glory of God?

As used in Scripture the word "glory," especially in reference to God, has two meanings. To the human mind it is mostly associated with a dazzling display of physical splendour, and, without question, such an outshining of glory does surround the person and throne of God. Such a glory as this was witnessed by both Daniel and Isaiah. Daniel described what he saw in these words, "I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like the pure wool: His throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheels as burning fire.

"A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him: thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened." Daniel 7:9, 10.

Here is Isaiah’s description of the heavenly glory of the God of heaven.

"In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple.

Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.

‘And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory.

"And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke," Isaiah 6:1-4.

But there is a meaning to the word "glory" other than the outshining of radiant light and pulsing power. When Moses asked the Lord to show him His glory, the Lord revealed to Moses His character. Here is God’s response to his request. "And He said, I will make all My goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy." Exodus 33:19.

At the appointed time the Lord did this, as it is written: "And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood before him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord,

"And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,

"Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation." Exodus 34:5-7.

Moses specifically asked God to reveal His glory. The Lord did not refuse this request. However, in response, He did not show him the out-

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shining radiance of personal and physical splendour, but the wonder of His great and lovely character, From this we deduce that the glory of God is His character, The more the Word of God is studied, the more clearly this will be seen.

When Jesus came to this earth, He left behind al] that glory which was of a physical nature. Physically speaking, He was a very plain and unaftractive person as the prophecy of Isaiah 53:2 describes: ‘For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him."

Yet despite the plainness of His outward appearance, He revealed the glory of God to those with the spiritual vision which would enable them to see it. "And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." John 1:14.

John testifies that he, along with others, saw the glory of the Father in Jesus Christ as He walked as a man among men. It is certain that the glory seen day by day was not a radiant outshining of dazzling light. What they saw was that other and more important glory, the character of God.

In Christ’s Object Lessons, 414, the word "glory" is directly equated with character in this way, "The light of His glory—His character—is to shine forth in His followers." These references clearly define this other meaning of the word as being a definition of the character of God. In truth this is His real glory, the one which He knows is the more important for men to know and emulate.

We are seeking these definitions of this word so as to better understand the meaning of Revelation 18:1. We desire to know the nature of the glory which shall lighten the whole earth in the last warning message.

Nowhere, in all the prophetic descriptions of the order of last day events, are we given any picture of God revealing Himself in shining brightness either personally or through His people on the earth. On the contrary, God is careful not to work in this way for He is anxious that people will accept the message of truth because it is the truth and not because of any spectacular displays. Therefore, it will be the other glory, the glory of character, which will lighten the earth at this time.

A summary of the message of Revelation 18:1, then, is as follows:

This is the final message to be given to the world;

The angel is the symbol of a movement of people;

The glory of the angel is the glory of the character of God;

It is the angel’s glory and therefore the character glory within the people of the movement which shall lighten the whole earth.

It is of value to take a text in which symbolic language is being used and substitute for the symbols the things being symbolized. This makes the text much clearer. By doing this Revelation 18:1 would read "And after these

THE ENDING OF THE GREAT CONTROVERSY 39

things I saw another movement of people come down from heaven Lnot in the physical sense], having great power; and the earth was lightened with the glory of the characters of those people." That character is the character of God Himself, which has been formed in them through the saving ministry of Christ in the sanctuary above.

For some, real difficulty is experienced in believing that the character of God is actually reproduced within the believer, so that it becomes the believer’s character to the point where to look at one is to see the Other. Vet thisis the plain teaching of the Word of God. It is the teaching of Revelation 18:1 and is further expressed in these beautiful words: "When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own." Christ’s Object Lessons, 69.

A reproduction is the same thing all over again.

A perfect reproduction repeats itself to the point where it is impossible to tell the difference between it and the original. When Christ was upon this earth, it was necessary to so reveal God’s character as to enable the unfallen worlds to see how great a lie Satan’s description of God was. That manifestation of God’s character in Christ had to be so complete and perfect that to see Christ was to see God. If Christ’s revelation of God’s character had been defective or incomplete in the least degree, then He could never have succeeded in delivering the unfallen universe from the grip of Satan’s deceptions.

That should not be so difficult to perceive, for all understand the perfection of Christ’s character. It is much more difficult to believe, as we look at ourselves with all our defectiveness, that Christ could so reproduce Himself within a human agent that to see that person is to see the very character and nature of God.

Yet, this is how it must be, for if it required a faultless manifestation of God’s character to deliver the sinless beings of heaven and the unfallen worlds and thus achieve the purpose of the great controversy for them, it will require nothing less than the same faultless and complete manifestation of God’s character to deliver mankind from Satan’s deceptive power and accomplish the purpose of the great controversy for fallen man. Nothing less than this will bring the finishing of the work, and this is why "Christ is waiting with longing desire for the man ifestation of Himself in His church. When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own." Christ’s Object Lessons, 69.

So it will be that "The church, being endowed with the righteousness of Christ, is His depository, in which the wealth of His mercy, His love, His grace, is to appear in full and final display." Testimonies to Ministers, 18.

Not until it is understood that the finishing of the work can only be accomplished by the manifestation of the very character of God as that character is, to the point where to look upon the true child of God in the last days is to look upon the character of Christ, will there be a true appreciation of the importance of this vital subject.

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Such an appreciation is essential to stimulate earnest searching into this great theme—a stimulus which will be enlivened as the wonderful beauty of God’s character opens before our astonished gaze and we find our lives being changed into the same image from glory to glory.

The closing scenes of the great controversy are right upon us. Soon its purpose will have been fulfilled for fallen man as it was for the angels and the unfallen worlds. In that final and finishing work the true understanding and manifestation of the character of God, as that character is, will play a role so vital that without it there would be no possibility of the work being finished. Let every true child of God then place this topic in its correct perspective of paramount importance in his study and in his own character development.

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Revelation 18 clearly foretells the time when the glory of Gods character shall be revealed through His people as the final and finishing message to lost mankind. But the book of Revelation is not a book apart from the rest of the Bible. Rather, "In the Revelation all the books of the Bible meet and end." Acts of the Apostles, 585. Therefore, the message of Revelation 18, showing a people who reveal the character of God as the last work on the earth, must also be found in the Old Testament. One such place is Isaiah 60. The entire chapter is worthy of the closest and most spiritual study, though here we will be concentrating mostly on the first three verses.

"Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.

For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee.

"And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising." Isaiah 60:1-3.

It is true that these verses do have an initial application to the work and ministry of Christ. Some therefore tend to limit the application to Him, but when it is understood that the people of the last church on earth have to reveal the character of God exactly as He did, to accomplish thereby for fallen man what Christ accomplished for the unfallen, it will be seen that the texts do have an equal application to God’s last movement on earth.

God sent Jesus Christ to reveal His character and set the angels free. He gave Him the light of truth and the full glory of His character. Then He said "Arise, shine; for Thy light is come, and the glory Lcharacterl of the Lord is risen upon Thee."

In precisely the same way, God is calling for a people in these last days. To them He is giving the light of His truth and in them He is building the perfect reproduction of His character. As He said to Christ, so He will say to them, "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory [character] of the Lord is risen upon thee."

There in Christ’s Object Lessons, 415, it is written, ‘To His people He says, ‘Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen Upon thee.’ Isaiah 60:1.’

The picture of things prophesied here is one of greatest contrast. On one side it is the picture of gross darkness and on the other of glorious illumination. Darkness covers the earth and gross darkness the people, but by contrast and as an answer to it all, the Lord rises upon His people and then His glory—His character—shall be seen upon them.

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It would be impossible for God’s character to be seen upon them if it was not already there to be seen. Therefore this verse is repeating what has already been understood from Revelation 18:1 and Christ’s Object Lessons, 69. The character or righteousness of God is not something which is simply credited to the person but is his in fact. It is actually built into the person in reality. It becomes his own character, so that when others look upon him they will see the glory of God’s character just as if they were looking at the great original. There they will see the same love, justice, righteousness, peace, goodness, honesty; the same disposition to save and never to destroy.

In Christ’s Object Lessons where comment is made upon Isaiah 60:1, 2, the prophecy of the experience of the five wise virgins is drawn on as a further illustration of the truth revealed in Isaiah’s prophecy.

The parallel is immediately apparent. Both prophecies relate to the closing events, telling how things will be just before the coming of the Son of man. The same picture of darkness broken by clear light is presented, for the virgins are represented as sleeping until the midnight hour, which is the very darkest hour of the night. Then they arise with their lamps by which they light the way for the Bridegroom’s coming. Without the lighting of the path, the Bridegroom could not make His way. He is dependent upon that light to make His arrival possible.

In this book, emphasis has been placed on the concept that the righteousness of God must be formed within the human agent, as it was in the character of Christ and nothing less than this will suffice to finish the work. Note how that thought is further strengthened in these comments on the parable of the ten virgins.

"In the parable the wise virgins had oil in their vessels with their lamps. Their light burned with undimmed flame through the night of watching. It helped to swell the illumination for the bridegroom’s honor. Shining out in the darkness, it helped to illuminate the way to the home of the bridegroom, to the marriage feast.

"So the followers of Christ are to shed light into the darkness of the world. Through the Holy Spirit, God’s word is a light as it becomes a transforming power in the life of the receiver. By implanting in their hearts the principles of His word, the Holy Spirit develops in men the attributes of God, The light of His glory—His character—is to shine forth in His followers. Thus they are to glorify God, to lighten the path to the Bridegroom’s home, to the city of God, to the marriage supper of the Lamb." Christ’s Object Lessons, 414.

There can be no mistaking the message contained in these lines. Here it is shown how the Word of God becomes a light capable of dispelling the darkness around. To be such requires much more than merely understanding the theory of the truth and then preaching it to others. God’s Word is a light as it becomes a transforming power in the life of the receiver. This

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speaks of an Inner working by the transforming agency of the Holy Spirit. This is the changing of the person’s inward nature so that he in himself becomes formed into the likeness of God.

This is not a false interpretation of these words, as the next sentence, by giving further explanation, clearly shows. "By implanting in their hearts the principles of His Word, the Holy Spirit develops in men the attributes of God."

The attributes of God are His characteristics, His glory, His dispositions, His qualities, though not His great dynamic powers. Let no one assume that the implantation of the life and character of God within the believer gives him the power to impart life, creative power, God is the Father. We are the children. Just as parents have the power to reproduce themselves, while the children they bear do not have this power until they are themselves adults, so we, as children of God forever, do not have the power to reproduce spiritual life or to create. That is the power of the Father—God, Christ, arid the Holy Spirit.

The reproduction is in character, and these attributes which are in God are formed, in turn, in the believer himself so that he becomes like God in this sense, Pursuing this thought the pen of inspiration leaves no room for misunderstanding this important truth. Once the Holy Spirit has implanted the attributes of God in the person, then has come the time when those qualities can be seen. That is the message of the next sentence. "The light of His glory—His character—is to shine forth in His followers." Firstly it must be developed within. Then it shines forth.

Compare these three expressions to see how they all speak the same message in the clearest terms.

". . . I saw another angel [movement of people] come down . . . and the earth was lightened with his [the people’s] glory." Revelation 18:1.

". . . the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee." Isaiah 60:2.

‘The light of His glory—His character—is to shine forth in His followers." Christ’s Object Lessons, 414.

"When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own." ibid., 69.

The thought being developed and emphasized in the last chapter and this one is that it will be by the manifestation of God’s character through the human instrumentalities in the last phase of the great conflict which will bring the end. It is strongly stated that the purpose of the great controversy cannot be fulfilled unless that demonstration of God’s character is given. Any delay in this revelation of God will likewise delay the return of Jesus.

The paragraph under consideration from Christ’s Object Lessons, 414, develops this same concept. Let the development of the argument in this paragraph be quickly traced through again.

"Through the Holy Spirit, God’s word is a light as it becomes a transforming power in the life of the receiver.

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"By implanting in their hearts the principles of His Word, the Holy Spirit develops in men the attributes of God.

"The light of His glory—His character—is to shine forth in His followers.

"Thus they are to glorify God, to lighten the path to the Bridegroom’s home, to the city of God, to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’

Could any teaching be plainer than this? Do you desire to know the way in which you can glorify God, to lighten the way to the Bridegroom’s home, to the city of God, to the marriage supper of the Lamb?

Then here is the answer.

It is not by becoming acquainted only with the theory of the truth, nor by attempting to wrap around yourself the cloak of Christ’s covering righteousness, nor by ceremonies or forms, nor loyalty to a code of religion. It is by none of these things, though some parts of all this may have a place.

It is by having the Holy Spirit form the very character of God, His attributes, His righteousness within the believer. This is the way in which He will hasten and then bring about the ending of the great controversy and will prepare the way for the coming of the Bridegroom. By exactly the same means through which the Saviour accomplished His mission, must the followers of Christ in the final conflict likewise fulfil their commission.

It was not the possession of mere theory that gave His work and teaching, power. It was because He was the living embodiment of that truth.

"What He taught, He lived. ‘I have given you an example,’ He said to His disciples; ‘that ye should do as I have done.’ ‘I have kept My Father’s commandments.’ John 13:15; 15:10. Thus in His life, Christ’s words had perfect illustration and support. And more than this; what He taught, He was. His words were the expression, not only of His own life experience, but of His own character. Not only did He teach the truth, but He was the truth. It was this that gave His teaching, power." Education, 78, 79.

It will be this which will give our teaching power as well. "It was on the earth that the love of God was revealed through Christ. It is on the earth that His children are to reflect this love through blameless lives. Thus sinners will be led to the cross, to behold the Lamb of God." Acts of the Apostles, 334.

True and necessary as these principles have been in past history, they will be even more so in the coming darkest hour of all. "The coming of the bridegroom was at midnight—the darkest hour. So the coming of Christ will take place in the darkest period of this earth’s history." Christ’s Object Lessons, 414.

Though it may seem an unnecessary question, it is well worth the time to ask what the nature of this last-day darkness will be. The answer likely to come most quickly is that it will be a moral darkness wherein men and women will practise every iniquity imaginable. Such an answer is correct,

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though it will fail to give the full picture of that darkness. That it will be a time of the worst kind of moral darkness is stated in the next sentence, from the paragraph above. "The days of Noah and Lot pictured the condition of the world just before the coming of the Son of man.

But what men do is only the result of what they are. Therefore, this iniquity is the outworking of deeper problems. The next sentences in the same paragraph trace this further back still, toward the source of the trouble. Here it is revealed that there will be the darkness of Satan’s delusions, heresies and false teachings such as there never has been in the past until the great apostasy develops into darkness deep as midnight.

"The Scriptures pointing forward to this time declare that Satan will work with all power and ‘with all deceivableness of unrighteousness.’ 2 Thessalonians 2:9, 10. His working is plainly revealed by the rapidly increasing darkness, the multitudinous errors, heresies, and delusions of these last days. Not only is Satan leading the world captive, but his deceptions are leavening the professed churches of our Lord Jesus Christ. The great apostasy will develop into darkness deep as midnight, impenetrable as sackcloth of hair."

It is because, firstly, there is the proliferation of the multitudinous errors of the devil and their acceptance by the vast majority, that the Iniquity will abound. The darkness of deception is the root cause of the darkness of behaviour.

Great as that darkness will be, it will not extinguish the light which instead will shine brighter. "To God’s people it will be a night of trial, a night of weeping, a night of persecution for the truth’s sake. But out of that night of darkness God’s light will shine." ibid., 414, 415.

But we are not left to think of the nature of the darkness of those false teachings in merely general terms. Instead, we are told specifically what they are. It is as the exact nature of those delusions are unfolded, that we understand the real cause for the moral darkness in the world at the end.

"‘Behold,’ says the Scripture, ‘the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people; but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee.’ Isaiah 60:2.

"It is the darkness of misapprehension of God that is enshrouding the world. Men are losing their knowledge of His character. It has been misunderstood and misinterpreted." ibid., 415.

This then is the darkness which shall cover the entire world in the last days. It is the misunderstanding of God’s character. Satan will still be using the same means in the end that he has used right through past history. He knows that rebellion against God is begun, developed and sustained by ignorance of God’s character, while the dispelling of that error will return men to allegiance to God. He knows that the great conflict can never be terminated until men are set free from erroneous ideas in respect to what God really is, so he puts forth superhuman efforts to lock man in the gross darkness of misapprehension of God.

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There is no such thing as the great controversies, only the one great controversy. The nature of the baffle does not change from age to age. Satan uses the same methods from generation to generation, and God’s answer to it is likewise ever the same. His answer in every age and dispensation is to reveal the truth in regard to His character and His righteousness.

We are now living in the very time when these prophecies of Isaiah 60. Revelation 18 and the parable of the ten virgins are to be fulfilled. Around us, darkness does cover the earth and gross darkness the people. The earth is filled with the most terrible ignorance of the true nature of God’s character and men are behaving in harmony with those misconceptions.

As surely, then, as we are living in this time of human history, so surely can we expect to see the Lord providing His answer to Satan’s deceptions. The time has come for the clearing away of the misconceptions in regard to God’s character so that He might be revealed as He is. The time has come for the proclamation of a message on the character of God and His righteousness.

It is not an idle expectation to anticipate this, for "At this time a message from God is to be proclaimed a message illuminating in its influence and saving in its power. His character is to be made known. Into the darkness of the world is to be shed the light of His glory, the light of His goodness, mercy, and truth.

"This is the work outlined by the prophet Isaiah in the words, ‘0 Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, ‘Behold your God.’ Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him.’ Isaiah 40:9, 10.

"Those who wait for the Bridegroom’s coming are to say to the people, ‘Behold your God.’ The last rays of merciful light, the last message of mercy to be given to the world, is a revelation of His character of love. The children of God are to manifest His glory. In their own life and character they are to reveal what the grace of God has done for them." ibid., 415,

416.

Could we but comprehend the magnitude and glory of the promise here given to us in the inspired Word, our hearts would burst with unlimited praise to God for His unspeakable provisions when they are most needed. "At this time," the very time when the darkness of satanic delusion is overspreading the world, a message from God is to come.

Let us be so grateful that the message does not come from man or from the devil, but from God Himself. Thereby, it can only be the truth—saving, illuminating, uplifting and delivering truth.

Nor is it a message to be argued, debated or contested. It is a message to be proclaimed, not only by the lips but by the witness of the life itself; a witness made effective by the forming of the very character of God within so that when men look upon the messenger they see the character of God

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revealed. Then they come to know God as God is, as they see Him for themselves, reflected from the transformed hearts of the believers.

This message is the very last ever to be given to mortals. As the last warning and entreating words are given, they will be words proclaiming the character of God. "Behold your God," will be the keynote and the entire orchestration. Thus and only thus, will the work be finished with the ultimate conquest of Satan and his hordes.

The coming of this message from God is no longer a prophetic expectation but a present reality. The truth has come bearing the divine credentials. It has been found to do just what God said it would do. "It is illuminating in its influence and saving in its power."

This book is the presentation of this light on the character of God. The unfolding of the great evidences and truths herein has not come to light in a moment, but has been years in formation. With greater care than with any other theme, every concept has been carefully checked with the correct principles of Bible interpretation until a beautiful harmony has developed.

No knowledge of the prediction that such a message would come was possessed by us when the first light of this truth opened into a fuller understanding. Otherwise we might well have gone seeking a message of our own upon the character of God and sought to fulfil the prophecy out of our own inventions. Rather, first the light on the message came, and. then we discovered that it had come in fulfilment of Bible and Spirit of Prophecy predictions. How warmed and encouraged we were to find that the very things we had been taught, the Lord had foretold would be taught.

The message is from God. It is illuminating in its influence and saving in its power. It is the great light which alone can dispel the darkness with which the devil is filling the world. It is the one means whereby the work of the gospel can be finished, men be delivered from Satan’s sophistries. and the purpose of the great controversy be fulfilled so far as man is now concerned.

It is hoped prayerfully that each reader by this time will have gained some concept of the unutterable importance of this theme to the point where each will be inspired to search with great earnestness and intensity to understand and to possess that wonderful character.

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Character is revealed by the way in which one acts, for the very simple reason that we do what we do because of what we are. Allowance must be made for the work of deception which sinful human beings practise, for some are very adept at making themselves appear to be what they are not. Nevertheless, the time comes when the masquerade is rent and the real person is seen for what he is.

With God there is no deception for He is the truth. Therefore, what He does, when rightly understood, is a true and accurate revelation of what He Is.

The doings of God may be divided into two general parts. Firstly, there was the revelation of God by what He did during the eternity of the past when there was no sin problem, and secondly, there is the revelation of His character by what He did in response to the appearance of sin.

In the natural way of things, it follows that the greater of these two revelations must be the one forthcoming during the great rebellion, for it is under the pressure of great testing and difficulty that the otherwise hidden depths of one’s nature and capabilities are revealed. Therefore, the fullest and clearest revelation of God’s character is afforded us because of the entrance of sin. This being so, there are some who have wickedly charged God with deliberately introducing sin so that He would be provided with the theatre in which to display such depths of Himself as would otherwise be impossible.

The enemy of God and man is the originator of these charges which the true child of God will treat with the utter disdain they deserve. Albeit, there are still the two situations in which the behaviour of God is the revelation of His character. The conditions prevailing in these two eras are as different as they can be, but God remains unchanged through it all. Sin’s appearance, problem, and pressure made far-reaching changes in angels, men, and nature, but it made absolutely no change in God. He is "the same yesterday, and to day, and forever." Hebrews 13:8. While this Scripture directly relates to Jesus Christ, it is equally true of the Father for, what can be said of the One, is equally true of the Other.

God is unchanged and unchangeable. He declares, "I am the Lord, I change not.’ Malachi 3:6. He is ". . . the Father of lights, with Whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." James 1:17. He is "the uncorruptible God." Romans 1:23.

These evidences confirm that God did not follow a certain line of behaviour before the entrance of sin and then, when sin appeared, engage in activities utterly unknown before the uprising of evil. Rather, the

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emergency of sin brought forth from God only more of the same things He had always done.

Because there was no occasion to punish, none have any difficulty in seeing that, before the fall, God never did such a thing. Subsequent to that sad day, however, an entirely different set of conditions demanded of God as the responsible Ruler of all, a satisfactory and permanent solution. Because most men understand only the use of force as such a solution, they cannot see God doing other than bearing down with terrible punishments on the guilty. This is the only way they know, resulting in their quickly interpreting all the reported actions of God in the Old Testament as being of this character. To such, the declaration that God did absolutely nothing after the fall that He did not do before, with all the implications thereof, will certainly be a startling statement, hard to accept.

But it has to be true nonetheless. Otherwise we are compelled to accept the thought that sin did make changes in God, forcing Him, after its appearance, to do things He had never done before. This cannot be and yet God remain as the unchangeable, incorruptible God.

Some may counter that this argument breaks down when it is considered that God did do something different in giving His Son as a sacrifice for the lost.

But, when Christ’s role in the eternity of the past is rightly understood, it will be seen that God had given His only-begotten Son to the created world for their blessing long before sin ever entered the universe. The incarnation of Christ into the human family was not something new for Him. It was a wonderful extension of the role He had eternally occupied and of the work which He had everlastingly done. From the eternity of the past, Christ has ever been God’s gift to His creatures even unto the death, for their salvation. Of this, more will be revealed as the study progresses.

As surely as this is true, then so surely has God done nothing new in the period when sin emerged to establish its pernicious corruption. Therefore, by studying what God did in the unmarred ages, we will study those revelations of His character which find confirmation in the greater display of those same things in the vastly more difficult era which has followed.

The study of what God did in the sunny days of universal innocence and harmony is the investigation of the constitution of the kingdom which He formed in such wondrous perfection. How God organized that government, how He related Himself to His subjects, what He provided for them and how He ruled them is a very clear and wonderful revelation of His character. He is a perfect God, has been and will be eternally so, and therefore the government which He formed is likewise as perfect. It is the only perfect rulership ever to exist. It is the pattern for all governments to copy and they can have perfect government only as they form theirs after the divine similitude.

Before we begin the study of that government, a necessary note of warning must be given. This is necessary because of the universal human

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tendency to form concepts of God’s government after the measure of human leadership. We are very familiar with the latter, from personal acquaintanceship. It is all that we really know, and so we tend to think of God and His kingdom as being the same.

But the Word of God warns of this danger and directs us to approach this study from a different standpoint. God states very clearly, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord.

"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8, 9.

In His efforts to reveal to men the principles of God’s kingdom, Christ was forever faced with the problem that there was nothing in this earth with which to compare it. Everything with which man was familiar served to give a wrong, instead of correct, concept of it. So Christ said: "Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it?" Mark 4:30.

"The government of the kingdom of Christ is like no earthly government. It is a representation of the characters of those who compose the kingdom. ‘Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God?’ Christ asked. ‘or with what comparison shall we liken it?’ He could find nothing on earth that would serve as a perfect comparison. His court is one where holy love presides, and whose offices and appointments are graced by the exercise of charity. He charges His servants to bring pity and loving-kindness, His own attributes, into all their office work, and to find their happiness and satisfaction in reflecting the love and tender compassion of the divine nature on all with whom they associate." Review and Herald, March 19, 1908.

"‘Whereunto,’ asked Christ, ‘shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it?’ He could not employ the kingdoms of the world as a similitude. In society He found nothing with which to compare it. Earthly kingdoms rule by the ascendency of physical power; but from Christ’s kingdom every carnal weapon, every instrument of coercion, is banished. This kingdom is to uplift and ennoble humanity. God’s church is the court of holy life, filled with varied gifts, and endowed with the Holy Spirit. The members are to find their happiness in the happiness of those whom they help and bless." Acts of the Apostles, 12.

There was always the danger that the apostles might lose sight of the principles of the kingdom of righteousness. Jesus sought to teach them the great differences between that kingdom and the kingdom of men, as it is written:

"Lest the disciples should lose sight of the principles of the gospel, Christ related to them a parable illustrating the manner in which God deals with His servants, and the spirit in which He desires them to labor for Him.

‘The kingdom of heaven,’ He said, ‘is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his

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vineyard.’ It was the custom for men seeking employment to wait in the market places, and thither the employers went to find servants. The man in the parable is represented as going out at different hours to engage workmen. Those who are hired at the earliest hours agree to work for a stated sum; those hired later leave their wages to the discretion of the householder.

‘So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.

"The householder’s dealing with the workers in his vineyard represents God’s dealing with the human family. It is contrary to the customs that prevail among men. In worldly business, compensation is given according to the work accomplished. The laborer expects to be paid only that which he earns. But in the parable, Christ was illustrating the principles of His kingdom—a kingdom not of this world. He is not controlled by any human standard. The Lord says, ‘My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways. - . . For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.’ Isaiah 55:8 9.’ Christ’s Object Lessons, 396, 397.

Thus, in His Word, the Lord has warned us not to think of the kingdom of God in terms of earthly kingdoms. It is impossible to learn of the heavenly from the earthly. It cannot be done. Anyone who attempts to do so either consciously or unconsciously, will certainly be led into incorrect understandings on the nature of God’s kingdom.

Few if any, conscious/y set out to learn of God’s government in this way. The student does not even question this approach because, throughout the lifetime, no other than earthly kingdoms have been known. He comes to the study of the heavenly with definite ideas already established in his mind of what a kingdom has to be. The Scriptures are read in the light of these understandings and the result is a view of God, which is opposite from reality.

Christ’s disciples took a long time to overcome this problem. From their earliest days they had heard their elders talk of the Messianic kingdom. No question was ever raised as to the constitution of that kingdom. It was taken for granted that it would be just like the kingdoms round about them, and as the Old Testament was read, every verse describing that kingdom was misread in the light of those misconceptions.

When the disciples joined the company of Christ, this misunderstanding of the true nature of the kingdom and therefore of God’s character, proved to be the greatest hindrance to their drawing into full intimacy with Christ in His divine mission. It caused Christ many unnecessary burdens.

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added sorrow and terrible heartache. Despite His continual effort on their behalf, they were not delivered from this false position until after the resurrection.

No lesson from the past should be learned with greater care than the one from the experience of these men. We are to fear greatly lest we, too, come to the study of God’s kingdom with the same pre-conceived ideas and notions in our minds. If we do, then we will certainly emerge with an erroneous view. This in turn will make it impossible to endure the trial which is before us, for of that last successful people it is written, "In order to endure the trial before them, they must understand the will of God as revealed in His Word; they can honour Him only as they have a right conception of His character, government, and purposes, and act in accordance with them" The Great Controversy, 593.

Therefore, the very beginning of the study of the constitution of God’s government is conversion to the realization that the kingdom of God is different. It is unique. There is nothing in this world that can be likened to it. Once this conviction is gained so that the tendency to refer to earthly conditions as a guideline to understanding the heavenly has been destroyed, we can approach the study with minds fresh and clean to receive the correct understanding of God’s character as revealed in the constitution of His kingdom.

Earthly kingdoms do have a reference value in the sense that they tell us what the kingdom of God is not. In other words, wherever we find ourselves seeing the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of men to be the same in any respect, we can know that we have strayed from a true knowledge of God’s realm.

So with minds fresh and clear, let the approach to the study of God and His wonderful works begin. Let us not be among that class who "fail of a satisfactory understanding of the great problem of evil, from the fact that tradition and misinterpretation have obscured the teaching of the Bible concerning the character of God, the nature of His government, and the principles of His dealing with sin." The Great Controversy, 492.

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The full title of this chapter is "The Constitution of the Government of God As It Was Before the Entrance of Sin." Such a study is an essential introduction to understanding God’s government as it was after the entrance of rebellion. While such an investigation is proceeding, continually keep in mind "that tradition and misinterpretation have obscured the teaching of the Bible concerning the character of God, the nature of His government, and the principles of His dealing with sin." The Great Controversy. 492.

Every one of these traditions and misinterpretations of God have been authored by Satan. This explains why, when Christ came to the earth, the representation of God which He gave was totally opposite from that given by Satan, as it is written, "He presented to men that which was exactly contrary to the representations of the enemy in regard to the character of God. . . ." Fundamentals of Christian Education, 177.

Therefore, if we find the truth on this question as that truth is written in the Holy Scriptures, then we will find that which is exactly contrary to what is generally believed. This means we would enter into a set of wholly revised and reversed concepts of God’s government and character. At the same time, there would be the continual pressure of traditionally held theories seeking to drag the mind back to the old ways again—a pressure which must be consciously resisted in order to arrive at the pure truth.

The whole structure of God’s government is perfection. It cannot be improved and, to it, there is not a single alternative. God’s way is not the best way—it is the only way. While other ways have been proposed and have even existed for a time, they cannot be counted as a way of life for they shortly die by their own imperfections.

Essential in the structure of divine government is the existence of law. The necessity is there because of the provision of mighty powers without which life would be impossible, hut which have in them the potential for destruction. God’s law, as we shall heifer learn, is a love gift from Him to His creatures, perfectly designed to save them from destruction. That law is perfect as it is written:

"The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.

"The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.

"The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

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More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

‘Moreover by them is Thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward." Psalms 19:7-11.

"Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good." Romans 7:12.

That perfect, holy, just, and righteous law is the very foundation of God’s government. "In the earthly temple the ark of the testimony took its name from the testimony—the Ten Commandments—which was put within it. These commandments the Lord Himself wrote with His own hand, and gave to Moses to deposit beneath the mercy-seat, above which the presence of the glory of God dwelt, between the cherubim. It is therefore evident that the ark of His testament in the heavenly temple takes its title also from the fact that therein, beneath the mercy-seat and the cherubim upon it, there is the original of the testimony of God—the Ten Commandments—of which that on earth was a copy. And as this holy law—the Ten Commandments—is but the expression in writing, a transcript, of the character of Him Who sits upon the throne, therefore it is written —

" ‘The Lord reigneth, let the people tremble,

He sitteth upon [above] the cherubim, let the earth be moved.’

‘Clouds and darkness are round about Him:

Righteousness and judgment are the foundation of His throne.

‘Righteousness and judgment are the foundation of Thy throne:

Mercy and truth go before Thy face.’ Psalms 99:1; 97:2; 89:14. Revised Version." Ecclesiastical Empires, 571, 572, by A.T. Jones.

The law of God being, as it is, the very foundation of His throne, the nature of that law and the relationship of God to it is a very important aspect of the study both of the character and government of God. Consider then what the law is in its sublime perfection. In that consideration we will find striking differences between the character of the laws of men and those of God.

In the statement above, A.T. Jones declared that the law of God is "the expression in writing, a transcript," of the character of God. This truth is not merely his belief. It is found in the Word of God where it is written:—

"His law is a transcript of His own character, and it is the standard of all character. Christ’s Object Lessons, 315.

"The law of God is as sacred as God Himself. It is a revelation of His will, a transcript of His character, the expression of divine love and wisdom." Patriarchs and Prophets, 52.

"He has given in His holy law a transcript of His character." Testimonies 8:63.

Here is a truth wherein lies something of the greatest importance. A transcription is the rewriting of the former in a new location. It does not

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matter whether you read the former or the latter, for the message will be the same. Therefore in reading the holy law as the transcript of God’s character, the character of God itself is being read. Inasmuch as God does what He does because of what He firstly is, then the law being what God is, s the guide to His behaviour. God will do nothing which is not in His character. Therefore, He will do nothing that is contrary to the law.

As surely as the understanding of the law will lead to a clearer understanding of God’s character, so. in turn, the better His character is understood, the greater will be the comprehension of the perfection of that law. It is impossible to separate one from the other and still remain in the truth.

Yet there is a most serious tendency to do this, It is so natural and easy to think of the law as something that God decreed as being His wishes for our deportment, but which has little or no bearing upon His own conduct.

We tend to think this way because of our familiarity with human law makers. Professedly, in modern democracies, the same laws made to control the behaviour of the citizenry, are to be obeyed by the rulers who make them. But ever more frequently of late the cover has been lifted to reveal that this is not so in fact. It is seen that the leaders are guilty of the worst kind of crimes—bribery, deceit, theft, murders, and invasion of individual privacy. The only mistake with them is not in doing it but in being found out. Yet even when they are, they do not suffer the penalties imposed upon the man in the street for the same crimes.

The more absolute the ruler is, the more open and obvious is this practice of making laws for the people which are not in any sense for the monarch.

This is not so in God’s government. His law is first of all His very own character. As such, it is the revelation of the way in which He will act under all circumstances. Then He simply calls upon us to behave as He does. He is righteous in all His works. He calls upon us to be and do the same. The same law is for God as for His people.

Therefore He says to us. "For I am the Lord your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy: for l am holy." Leviticus 11:44.

"But as He which hath called you is holy. so be ye holy in all manner of conversation:

"Because it is written, Be ye holy; for l am holy." 1 Peter 1:15 16.

The Revised Standard Version renders this as follows: "But as He who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’

""Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Matthew 5:48.

"Throughout the Sermon on the Mount He [Christ] describes its fruits, and now in one sentence He points out its source and its nature: Be

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perfect as God is perfect. The law is but a transcript of the character of God, Behold in your heavenly Father a perfect manifestation of the principles which are the foundation of His government.

"He tells us to be perfect as He is, in the same manner.

"Jesus said, Be perfect as your Father is perfect. If you are the children of God you are partakers of His nature, and you cannot but be like Him. Every child lives by the life of his father. If you are God’s children, begotten by His Spirit, you live by the life of God. In Christ dwells ‘all the fullness of the Godhead bodily’ (Colossians 2:9) and the life of Jesus is made manifest ‘in our modal flesh’ (2 Corinthians 4:11). That life in you will produce the same character and manifest the same works as it did in Him. Thus you will be in harmony with every precept of His law; for ‘the law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul.’ Psalm 19:7, margin. Through love ‘the righteousness of the law’ will be ‘fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.’ Romans 8:4." Mount of Blessing, 77, 78. Emphasis original.

Consider carefully the message of these words and their implications.

The law is the transcript of God’s character. He keeps that law not as something to which He is bound but because it is the natural expression of what He is and therefore it is not possible for Him to behave in any other way. A character which gives expression to a holy law is a holy character. God calls upon us to be holy as He is holy so that our behaviour will be as His behaviour is. Therefore, we are to receive His life, which is His character, which is the transcript of the law, so that the law is written on our hearts. Then that will "produce the same character and manifest the same works as it did in Him." thus there is to be no difference in essence or nature between the character of the Sovereign Father of the universe and the creatures whom He has created to fill that-universe.

The only difference lies in the fact that the same love, mercy, justice, goodness, power, tenderness, hatred of sin, and so on, which the true people of God have to a certain degree, God has to infinitude. This is in no sense of the word bringing God down to us but it is bringing us up to Him. He is the Father. We are the children. As such He provides us with the perfect example of how we are to live, asking of us nothing which He does not firstly do Himself.

As we look as best we are able through the revealed word into the eternity of the past we have no difficulty in seeing that never in all the time before sin appeared, did God ever behave out of harmony with His sacred law and character. It is inconceivable to think of God acting out of harmony. with some of the commandments at least, such as putting another god in His own place, setting up graven images for Himself to worship and such like. The areas where dispute in regard to God’s behaviour does exist is in respect to the commandments "Thou shalt not kill," "Thou shalt not steal," and "Thou shalt not bear false witness."

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During all the eternity of the past, we know that death never made its appearance until sin entered and brought death with it. Therefore as certainly, God never once raised His powerful arm to take the life even of the minutest organism in His vast realm. Nor did He ever act deceitfully, or retrieve by force, or steal back that which He had given to any one of His creatures.

It may be protested that there was no necessity for the Lord to destroy the life of any creature during that time because none had rebelled against Him to incur the penalty of death. It was for this reason, it may be argued, that the Lord never terminated life prior to the fall of angels and then of men, but, when sin did enter, a situation arose different from an which had ever existed and this required the Lord to take decisive action to cut the sedition short and preserve the entire universe from corruption. After the fall, it is contended, the state of things, the absence of which before the festering of rebellion excluded any necessity for capital punishment loft God with no choice but to kill the insurgents.

Such an argument is not consistent with the truths laid down earlier in this chapter. Aware as we are of the existence of these contentions about the character of God and in anticipation of their appearing in the minds of those especially who have long held to the traditional views of God’s character, we laid out those clear evidences from the Inspired Word.

Those evidences are summed up in these words, "I am the Lord I change not." "The same yesterday, today and forever," "with Whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." Link with those words the truth that the law is the very expression of His character. So if the transcript of that character says "Thou shalt not kill," then how could we possibly conceive of God taking life?

Certainly at this point there will run through the reader’s mind the many statements, especially in the Old Testament, where it appears that God did come down and, by the direct and personal exercise of His mighty power, destroy, sometimes with great cruelty, many thousands of people. We are equally aware of these references and later we will invite you to take another look at these incidents. They will be dealt with after we have studied the constitution of God’s character as it was before the admission of the great mutiny.

For now we wish to consider the nature of that character in the original kingdom and some of the implications of what we learn.

The Scriptures make it forever plain that the Lord has never changed. Therefore. He has done nothing this side of the fall that He did not do before, or will do in the eternity of bliss to be reinstated in the near future.

Therefore, it is impossible to believe the Scriptural truth that God changes not and, concurrently, hold the belief that He takes the lives of the disobedient, unless there is a willingness to be an inconsistent thinker. To recognize that God never destroyed before there was sin, and to accent the

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idea that He does destroy after its emergence, is to believe that He has changed. It is to admit that with Him, of Whom it is written that there is no variableness nor shadow of turning, there has been variation, a complete turning about. It is to believe that God respected the law in one way before iniquity arose, and then in a different and opposite way thereafter. It is to believe that when sin is finally ended, He will return to the original pattern of behaviour.

Just now the reader may feel disposed to discontinue the pursuance of the arguments here because they are so contrary to what he has formerly believed. We agree that they are contrary, for they are Christ’s teachings and He came to present "to men that which was exactly contrary to the representations of the enemy in regard to the character of God. . ." Fundamentals of Christian Education, 177.

If, in the days of Christ, men had retained a correct knowledge of God’s character, then there would have been no need for the witness so contrary to their understanding which Christ gave of His Father, and if, in the intervening time, men had retained the picture of God as given by Christ, there would have been no need for producing this volume as an effort directed to turning the minds of all back to the divine pattern.

That which has so far been presented is only the barest beginning of the evidences to be tendered. It is important that all the evidences be considered before the conclusions herein are rejected.

Consideration must now be given to the way in which God keeps the law. He does not do it by reining Himself up to a code of behaviour which is foreign to His nature. He obeys it as a natural outworking of that which He Himself is. It is His pleasure to do righteousness and He has interest in no other course of action.

This is the only kind of obedience God wishes to receive from His creatures—that which springs from a personal conviction that His way is the only way, and from a heart created in the image of God and as a transcript of His holy law.

"Since the service of love can alone be acceptable to God the allegiance of His creatures must rest upon a conviction of His justice and benevolence." The Great Controversy, 498.

"The law of love being the foundation of the government of God, the happiness of all created beings depended upon their perfect accord with its great principles of righteousness. God desires from all His creatures the service of love,—homage that springs from an intelligent appreciation of His character. He takes no pleasure in a forced allegiance, and to all He grants freedom of will, that they may render Him voluntary service." ibid., 493, Patriarchs and Prophets, 34.

God recognizes that if obedience to His law has to be compelled, then He would have a form of government which was short of perfection. But He will have nothing that is anything less than the ideal. He is determined

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on this for He will be content with the provision only of the ultimate in happiness and prosperity for all His subjects. Therefore, in God’s kingdom, no force is ever employed to bring about allegiance to Him or to put down rebellion. We can be certain of this for it is plainly written that it is so.

"God could have destroyed Satan and his sympathizers as easily as one can cast a pebble to the earth; but He did not do this. Rebellion was not to be overcome by force. Compelling power is found only under Satan's government. The Lord's principles are not of this order. His authority rests upon goodness, mercy, and love; and the presentation of these principles is the means to be used. God's government is moral, and truth and love are to be the prevailing power." The Desire of Ages, 759.

"The exercise of force is contrary to the principles of God’s government: He desires only the service of love and love cannot be commanded it cannot be won by force or authority." ibid., 22.

"Earthly kingdoms rule by the ascendancy of physical power; but from Christ's kingdom every carnal weapon, every instrument of coercion, is banished." Acts of the Apostles, 12.

"In the work of redemption there is no compulsion. No external force is employed. Under the influence of the Spirit of God, man is left free to choose whom he will serve. In the change that takes place when the soul surrenders to Christ, there is the highest sense of freedom." The Desire of Ages, 466.

"God does not employ compulsory measures; love is the agent which He uses to expel sin from the heart." The Mount of Blessings, 77.

The message of these statements is very clear. They tell us that "Compelling power is found only under Satan’s government." If compelling power or force is exclusive to Satan and his government then it is never found under God’s government. It is foreign to Him. "The exercise of force is contrary to the principles of God’s government." If there is one thing of which there is absolute certainty, it is that God does nothing that is contrary to His principles. Men do over and again, but God never. Therefore, it needs to be fixed in mind that because the exercise of force is contrary to the principles of God and His government, under no circumstances will He use force to solve any problem.

Certainly He never did in the eternity of the past before sin entered for clearly no situation arose to necessitate it. Perfect harmony pervaded the entire universe and not one being stepped out of line until the betrayal of God by Lucifer.

Since the fall, men and devils have continually exercised force in their efforts to solve their problems for this is the way of Satan and men. They are fully convinced that the circumstances in which they are placed make it impossible not to use force both for survival and for achieving their ambitions.

The words as quoted above are God’s positive assurances to us that He never resorts to the use of compelling power. What God says, is the truth,

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and His every action is consistent with that truth for, unlike sinful men and devils, He does not say one thing, then do another. Therefore, confidence should fill every child of God, that the use of force is never to be found with God. God affirms it Is so. Accordingly, let us simply and implicitly believe it to be so.

It is a principle of faith that belief in God’s words must be maintained in the face of evidences which declare the contrary is true. Thus in the Old Testament, God’s actions seem to say that He did use compelling power to achieve His righteous ends, that He did resort to force to put down rebellion, and that He did make an example of some by crushing them with terrible punishments that were often fatal.

The choice of belief between the declarations of God and the appearances of what God did in the human arena, is before every person. The greater proportion choose to believe what they think they see rather than what God has said. Therefore, the almost universal belief is that God does use force, that He exterminates whole nations who have utterly rejected Him, and that He relies on compelling power to put down rebellion.

But the true child of God will believe what God said despite any evidences which at least appear to be contrary. God said that He does not use force or compelling power, so he believes that, even though he cannot rightly understand what God really did in those Old Testament incidents. He will simply admit to the challenger of his faith that he does not yet understand just what God did, nor does he have to necessarily. In the meantime, he will assure the doubting questioner that he has the plain utterances of the Word of God, so that he can be assured that, even though he cannot explain it in detail, God does not do what He appears to do. This is the way faith works. It is based on the Word of God, not on appearances. In due time such a faithful one will discover, under God’s wise tutelage, just what God actually did in each varied incident. When he does, he will find that God did not once act contrary to His principles, but only in perfect harmony with them.

Thus each person today falls into one or the other of two categories. Either he is a believer in the Word of God or he builds his belief on the witness of sight and circumstances. It is simple to know which you are. If you believe God’s declaration that compelling power is found only under Satan’s government, that He never turns to the use of force, and never crushes to destruction those who do not serve Him, then you are a child of faith.

Otherwise, if you believe that God did find it necessary to use force to destroy His opponents, then you are an unbeliever, because you have allowed the witness of appearances to take precedence over the witness of God’s Word.

Without question, the witness of sight and circumstances is very powerful, When the Old Testament stories are read wherein It is reported that

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God rained fire and brimstone on the Sodomites; that He poured forth the waters of the flood until they were all drowned; and so on, it is easy and natural to believe that God was personally resorting to the weapons of force.

But that pure faith, the faith of Jesus, which clings unswervingly to the spoken word of God, recognizes that if this is so, then God is truly inconsistent. He has spoken one thing but does another. This is the charge which Satan laid against God in heaven and which the great controversy is designed to remove. If the Lord was to act contrary to His stated principles, then He would quickly and effectively give Satan the very evidences ho needed to prove the point he had sought to make up in heaven. It would have been much better for the Lord to have admitted inconsistency to Satan in the first case than to blatantly continue it where it could be openly seen by all. But, the very nature of the great controversy and the issues involved in that, demand that if the Lord is to triumph, He must be utterly consistent with Himself. He cannot say one thing and then do another. To do so, even for a single instance, would be to lose everything and give the victory to Satan and his angels.

It has been the false interpretations of God’s behaviour in the sin problem, imposed on men’s minds by Satan, which have made it appear that the Lord has been inconsistent. In verity, there has been no Inconsistency whatsoever. God has been impeccably faithful to His word. What Is more, when God’s actions are correctly evaluated, it will be confirmed that His ways are so perfect and Infallible that He experiences no need to turn to the use of force. There has been an aptness to conclude that there is only one possible interpretation of the Old Testament incidents. What is needed is a second and more educated investigation into those happenings. This research, conducted along the lines of correct principles of Scriptural interpretation, will bring the student to conclusions which will dismiss Ideas formed on the basis of what it seemed God did. It will be found that there are vital differences between what the Lord appeared to have done and what He really did. This will be undertaken later when time is given to studying the manifestation of God’s character In His dealing with the sin problem. For the present the study of His government as it was constituted before sin appeared, must be continued.

We now need to consider a most Important aspect of God’s relationship to His subjects. It Is a matter closely linked to, and consistent with, the fact that any use of force Is contrary to the principles of God’s government and to the purpose and nature of God’s law. Only as all three of these are studied together will it be possible to understand any one of them.

This vital aspect is the one of freedom, one of the most precious gifts ever given by God to His subjects. A little thought will show that as surely as God has no intention of using compelling power to enforce the observance of His law, then as certainly has He set His creatures absolutely free to serve

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Him or not to serve Him. The two are consistent with and inseparable from each other, As soon as all compelling power is removed from a person, then so soon is that person given complete freedom to choose not to serve if that is his wish and desire.

"God never compels the obedience of man He leaves all free to choose whom they will serve." Prophets and Kings, 511.

"They [the angels told Adam and Eve that God would not compel them to obey—that He had not removed from them the power to go contrary to His will; that they were moral agents, free to obey or disobey." The Story of Redemption. 30.

"Our first parents, though created innocent and holy, were not placed beyond the possibility of wrong-doing. God made them free moral agents capable of appreciating the wisdom and benevolence of His character and the justice of His requirements, and with full liberty to yield or to withhold obedience." Patriarchs and Prophets, 48.

The law of love being the foundation of the government of God, the happiness of all created beings depended upon their perfect accord with its great principles of righteousness. God desires from all His creatures the service of love.—homage that springs from an intelligent appreciation of His character. He takes no pleasure in a forced allegiance, and to all He grants freedom of will, that they may render Him voluntary service." The Great Controversy, 493. Patriarchs and Prophets, 34.

This is not to be understood as stating that the Lord gave His creatures freedom to sin with impunity. There is a doctrine abroad which paints God as being so sweetly loving, that He will excuse and protect all sin and sinners rather than see anyone perish. That doctrine is not to be confused with the positions taken here. The sinner will die. The heavens and earth will be destroyed and the entire universe will be rendered clean from the stain of sin. But it will not be God Who wields the scourge of destruction to effect this Rather He will firstly have warned every created being of the terrible consequences attendant on choosing to take the path of disobedience. Then, when they do, He will expend every effort to save them from it, and, only when they reject His saving effort, will He finally leave them to perish.

Observe the relationship between rendering to God a service of love based upon an intelligent conviction of God’s justice and goodness and the granting to each of perfect and complete freedom to obey or to disobey as the individual himself shall choose. This connection is made particularly in the last statement quoted. Interestingly, the exercise of that freedom in the wrong direction immediately deprives a person of liberty, for sin is a cruel taskmaster which forces its subjects into service. It is not God Who deprives of this freedom. This is the work of sin and Satan.

But on the positive side, only where there is complete freedom of choice is it possible for an intelligent service of love to be rendered. Just so soon as any element of compulsion such as the threat of punishment, is in-

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troduced, then to that extent will there be a service motivated by fear. Cod’s subjects would then obey Him because they were afraid not to.

This, God can never accept. He knows that such a kingdom cannot be blessed with flawless happiness and fulness of joy. In His kingdom, each and every subject is so intelligent on the perfection of God’s ways that his admiration and love for his Sovereign spring spontaneously, naturally and joyously in devoted allegiance. Thus in the kingdom of God, perfectly and fully established, there is no question of the service rendered being real or feigned. It can only be genuine. Thus God will have in eternity’s coming perfection, what every earthly monarch through all time has craved—the total and loving loyalty of every one of His people. Such indeed would be a blessed kingdom in which perfect love and confidence would forever reign. Any ruler who had this, could and would walk among his people without fear. Of him it could not be said, "Uneasy lies the head which wears the crown.

No kingdom has ever been like this, though some have approached it. Earthly kingdoms always tend to servitude in one form or another and seek to hold the loyalty of their citizens with the threat of punishment for disobedience. No crime is considered worse than treason—disloyalty to the state.

But Jesus came to deliver men from all this, testifying of this mission in these words, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." John 8:32, 36.

Jesus Christ does not come to transfer the sinner from one form of bondage to another. God’s object in Christ is to restore the kingdom to its original perfection, the perfection of complete freedom to serve God. Accordingly, Jesus said that those whom the Son set free would be free indeed. Here Christ envisaged a total freedom for His children, That is the nature of God’s kingdom, the revelation of His purpose of beneficence and love toward every creature.

AT. Jones in Ecclesiastical Empires, 586-588, has set forth these principles with the greatest force and clarity.

"It may be further asked: Could not God have prevented it all, by making Lucifer and all others so that they could not sin? It is right and perfectly safe to answer. He could not! To have made creatures so that they could not sin, would have been really to make them so that they could not choose. To have no power of choice is not only to be not free to think hut to be unable to think. It is to be not intelligent, but only a mere machine Such could not possibly be of any use to themselves or their kind, nor be of any honor, praise, or glory to Him who made them.

"Freedom of choice is essential to intelligence. Freedom of thought is essential to freedom of choice. God has made angels and men intelligent. He has made them free to choose, and has left them perfectly free to choose. He made them free to think as they choose. God is the author of

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intelligence, of freedom of choice, and of freedom of thought. And He will forever respect that of which He is the author. He will never invade to a hair’s breadth the freedom of angel or man to choose for himself, nor to think as he chooses. And God is infinitely more honored in making intelligences free to choose such a course, and to think in such a way as to make themselves devils, than He could possibly be in making them so that they could not think nor choose, so that they would be not intelligent, but mere machines.

"It may be yet further queried: As God made angels and men free to sin if they should choose, did He not then have to provide against this possible choice before they were made—did He not have to provide for the possibility of sin, before ever a single creature was made?—Assuredly He had to make such provision. And He did so. And this provision is an essential part of that eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord, which we are now studying.

"Let us go back to the time when there was no created thing; back to the eternal counsels of the Father and the Son. The existence of God is not a self-satisfied existence, His love is not self-love. His joy is not fulfilled in wrapping Himself within Himself, and sifting solitary and self-centered. His love is satisfied only in flowing out to those who will receive and enjoy it to the full. His joy is fulfilled only in carrying to an infinite universe full of blessed intelligences, the very fullness of eternal joy.

"Standing then, in thought, with Him before there was a single intelligent creature created, He desires that the universe shall be full of joyful intelligences enjoying His love to the full, In order to do this they must be free to choose not to serve Him, to choose not to enjoy His love. They must be free to choose Him or themselves, life or death. But this involves the possibility of the entrance of sin, the possibility that some will choose not to serve Him, will choose the way of sin. Shall He then refuse to create because, if He does, it must be with the possibility that sin may enter?—This would be but eternally to remain self-centered and solitary, More than this, such a shrinking would in itself cause Him to cease to be God. For what is a god, or what is he worth, who can not do what he desires? who can not fulfill his own will? Such a god would be worthless.

"Thank the Lord, such is not the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He made all intelligences free to choose, and to think as they choose; and therefore free to sin if they choose. And at the same time, in His infinite love and eternal righteousness, He purposed to give Himself a sacrifice to redeem all who should sin; and give them even a second freedom to choose Him or themselves, to choose life or death. And those who the second time would choose death, let them have what they have chosen. And those who would choose life,—the universe full of them—let them enjoy to the full that which they have chosen,—even eternal life, the fullness of perfect love, and the dear delights of unalloyed joy forever.

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"This is God, the living God, the God of love, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is fully able to do whatsoever He will, and yet leave all His creatures free. This is He who from the days of eternity worketh ALL THINGS AFTER THE COUNSEL OF His own will.’ Ephesians 1:11. And this is ‘the mystery of His will. . . . which He hath purposed in Himself; that in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him.’ Ephesians 1:9, 10. This is ‘the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ Ephesians 3:11.

‘The choice of self is sin, bondage, and death. The choice of Christ is righteousness, freedom, and life eternal in the realm and purpose of the eternal God."

Let careful contemplation be given to the thoughts expressed in this statement and the implications thereof.

"Freedom of choice is essential to intelligence." The proving ground of history provides evidence enough of the truth of this. It is the work of the gospel to set men free, and never was the gospel more gloriously and effectively preached than in the days of Pentecost and thereafter until the decline in the Christian Church. As the liberating influence of the truth was robbed of its power, the world was carried down into the Dark Ages. Freedom of choice was unknown, as the papal hierarchy ruled the world with an absolute despotism. Such a state of ignorance and corruption developed that the period was given the designation of the Dark Ages.

There can be no fair argument to the effect that that condition of things was due to something other than the deprivation of the freedom of the world. Against any such argument can be marshalled evidence upon evidence to show that wherever men are despoiled of their liberties they sink into a state of ignorance and darkness. Conversely, wherever the living gospel of Jesus Christ sets men free, there is the greatest advance in knowledge and intellectual development. It was the gospel preached in the Reformation which set men free. That work had far greater impact in some areas than in others. There were those cities and countries where the dominant influence was Protestant while others remained bastions of the papacy. Those areas today where the Reformation influence was the strongest are the places where the greatest advances have been made in every form of intellectual development. In fact, the great wave of increased knowledge came directly upon the heels of the Reformation. AT. Jones is wholly coned in his assertion that freedom of choice is essential to intelligence.

God could never be honoured or blessed by filling His kingdom with unintelligent creatures. His is a kingdom of light—not darkness. Therefore He made angels and men intelligent. He filled them with light and, in order to give that light the fullest scope for increase, He gave them, as He had to do to achieve this, freedom of choice.

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Therefore, "God is the author of intelligence, of freedom of choice, and of freedom of thought." These are God’s gifts to His creatures which are inseparably and eternally associated with His dominion. They cannot be taken away from Him and His creatures without changing the whole nature of His character, government and law. This God will not do, for it would make perfection imperfect, and would limit to destruction the happiness and contentment of His creatures.

Therefore, "He will ever respect that of which He is the author. He will never invade to a hair’s breadth the freedom of angel or man to choose for himself, nor to think as he chooses."

This is eternally true of God. He has given that freedom and never much as by a hair’s breadth will He ever violate the right of any of His creatures to choose the course they will pursue. This is the only way God would, and will, have it, and it is the only way which any enlightened child of God would have it too, Anything short of, or other than this, is less than perfection and therefore less than total happiness.

This granting of freedom because it was essential to fullness of development and happiness, possesses in itself terrible danger. It is the danger that, despite the overwhelming evidences that God’s way was free from the slightest stain of imperfection and had provided all with unspeakable joy and fulfilment, some, or even all, of His subjects would choose to go their own way, making themselves into demons of horror and destruction. But, even though God thoroughly understood the possibilities of there being a period when some or even all of His creatures would undertake a terrible experimentation with a supposed way of life other than His, He would not and did not, institute any safeguards involving the element of force. He would have nothing less for them than perfection wherein lay the unlimited possibilities of infinite development. That could not be if there was not the total freedom to serve God or to serve themselves as they themselves should choose.

What are the implications of these points in the heavenly constitution? To what extent did this determine how God would react to any of His subjects turning away from Him and choosing another way?

Put these two principles together again—the principle of no coercive force being used and the principle of granting absolute freedom to choose. As surely as these two things are combined in the constitution of God’s kingdom. then just so surely does God place Himself where He cannot punish those who do do what He said they could do, namely, choose another master if they wished.

This is a most difficult principle for man to understand because it is so foreign to his way of thinking. In human government there exists only lawmakers who firstly frame the legislation, then draft punishments for those who do not obey, and finally appoint enforcement machinery to administer the sentence. This is alt that is known to human experience in the

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framework of human justice. Because it is so hard to divorce the mind from this concept, it is difficult to conceive of God placing Himself where He cannot personally visit penalties upon the head of the evildoer.

Civil rulers do not grant to anyone, freedom of choice, Their mandate is Obey. or suffer at our hands." Those who make the law are the ones who punish the lawbreaker, but it is not so in God’s kingdom. He has spelled out the law as the expression of His own character but it is sin and death which enslave the transgressor.

if it is possible for the dismissal of the human concept from the mind so that the steps taken by God in putting together His empire can be viewed dispassionately and objectively, it will be seen that to totally reject the use of force and at the same time grant to all, freedom of will, Is to set up a situation wherein it would not be possible to administer punishment and death in order to correct the problem. It does not matter how it may appear that during the Old Testament period, for example, the Lord did administer punishments as earthly rulers do, the fact remains that a government constituted on the lines of total rejection of the use of force as a solution while at the same time giving freedom of choice to the subjects, simply cannot punish those who do choose to go another way. God pave them the right to make that choice and He cannot punish them for making the decision He Himself gave them the liberty to make.

All that He can do, prior to their making the wrong choice. is to work to save them from making it by revealing the certain results of choosing the other course. It is the same work as done by the mother who solemnly warns her child of the consequences of painful burns which will certainly follow if the child touches a hot stove.

When His subjects had entered into a course of sin, God did all He could to save them even then, if they would choose to be saved. He even went so far as to give His own life in the Person of His Son, so that men might have a second opportunity to choose life instead of death. Mans first choice was made from the side of righteousness and freedom which he left for bondage and death. His second choice is made from the opposite side from where he decides either to remain in bondage and under sentence of death, or to come back to the side of purity and eternal life. But the choice is just as free in the second stage as it was in the first. The one difference is that in making the second choice, man knows by experience the hurt of sin and so has first-hand evidence of the truth of God’s word.

If for the second time men choose to go the way without God, then He has no recourse but to leave them to that which they have chosen. Note again the way this truth is expressed in the words of A.T. Jones, "He made all intelligences free to choose, and to think as they choose; and therefore free to sin if they choose. And at the same time, in His infinite love and eternal righteousness, He purposed to give Himself a sacrifice to redeem all who should sin; and give them even a second freedom to choose Him or

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themselves, to choose life or death. And those who the second time would choose death, let them have what they have chosen. And those who would choose life—the universe full of them—let them enjoy to the full that which they have chosen—even eternal life, the fullness of perfect love, and the dear delights of unalloyed joy forever." Ecclesiastical Empires, 588. Emphasis original.

Therefore, "God does not stand toward the sinner as the executioner of the sentence against transgression; but He leaves the rejecters of His mercy to themselves, to reap that which they have sown." The Great Controversy, 36.

Before Lucifer arose, the sincerity of God’s gift of freedom to every creature remained untested. In those days when no one chose anything but faithful service to Him, it was a simple matter for God’s methods to work. No one even thought about the possible implications to the system.

It was when those powerful beings stood up under Lucifer’s leadership, determined to set up a rival dominion, that the first challenge to God’s promise was raised. Satan and his followers have pressed that challenge to the utmost limits, exploring, probing and searching for some weakness whereby they might gain a foothold and topple the divine organization. God had declared that His ways were perfection, not simply for the sunny, prosperous days, but for any possible circumstances from the best to the worst. Under this searching inquisition, this endless pressure, would those principles stand or would they prove to be faulty? That was the question to be decided in the great controversy. Would it be found that God had to make modifications and concessions, that He would after all be forced to acknowledge that He had gone too far in granting such complete freedom, and that He would have to withdraw it in order to rain punishments on the wrong-doer?

The darkness in which Satan has made God’s actions appear, contends that God and His ways did not survive the test, that He had to resort to force to punish those who exercised the freedom He gave them not to serve Him, and that He was not able to tolerate the exercise of the freedom of choice which enabled angels and men to establish a competing kingdom. The devil asserts that he has already won the debate, which claim would be entirely true if God had done what Satan charges Him with doing.

All too readily, men in general have subscribed to Satan’s lies. This gives support to his cause. The time has come when a revised understanding of God’s actions is imperative.

Such will be offered as this study progresses but firstly consideration must be given to another factor—the workings of the law of God. As already stated, the rejection of force, the granting of perfect freedom of choice to all, and the nature and purpose of God’s law are three things so closely related that they must be studied in conjunction with each other for any or all of them to be adequately understood. Study has been given to the former two, so we must now consider the last.

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The perfection of God’s law stands in marked contrast to the imperfection of the laws framed by earthly legislators.

The faultiness and inadequacy of men’s laws are marked in two ways at least. Firstly, men are obliged to constantly enact new laws and to modify or repeal old ones. Things which the law forbids today, it will permit in the near future. Behaviour which is allowed in one country is strictly banned in another.

Secondly, when kings or congress pass their laws, in order to ensure that the people will respect the government and obey those laws, they formulate a list of punishments which they then administer.

But these things are not true of God’s law. It is so perfect and complete that there has been no modification or addition needed from the day it was first expressed. Its principles are so complete and all-embracing that, if perfectly obeyed, they are the flawless pattern for both divine and human behaviour in either the sinless heavenly environment or the iniquitous situation on earth.

The life of Christ amply demonstrated the truth of this for He kept His Father’s commandments in conditions so wicked that it was described as the time "when the transgressors" had "come to the full," Daniel 8:23; the time when "The deception of sin had reached its height. All the agencies for depraving the souls of men had been put In operation. The Son of God, looking upon the world, beheld suffering and misery. With pity He saw how men had become victims of satanic cruelty. He looked with compassion upon those who were being corrupted, murdered, and lost. They had chosen a ruler who chained them to his car as captives. Bewildered and deceived, they were moving on in gloomy procession toward eternal ruin—to death in which is no hope of life, toward night to which comes no morning. Satanic agencies were incorporated with men. The bodies of human beings, made for the dwelling place of God, had become the habitation of demons. The senses, the nerves, the passions, the organs of men, were worked by supernatural agencies in the indulgence of the vilest lust The very stamp of demons was impressed upon the countenances of men. Human faces reflected the expression of the legions of evil with which they were possessed. Such was the prospect upon which the world’s Redeemer looked. What a spectacle for Infinite Purity to behold!

"Sin had become a science, and vice was consecrated as apart of religion. Rebellion had struck its roots deep into the heart and the hostility of man was most violent against heaven. It was demonstrated before the universe that, apart from God, humanity could not be uplifted. A new ele-

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-ment of life and power must be imparted by Him Who made the world." The Desire of Ages, 36, 37.

This was the condition of things when Christ came to this earth. Under those circumstances He demonstrated that God’s law was the only code of behaviour. To do this He kept that law to perfection thus proving that Satan lied when he declared the law of God was imperfect and needed tote modified to meet changing circumstances. In this perfect adherence to the righteous precept under these conditions, Christ not only proved to fallen man that the law was not too difficult for him to observe, but that it was the perfect guide and protection for all those who did keep it.

Consider now, the second factor in the difference between the law of God and that of man. This difference is that while men have to attach their own formulated penalties to the law, with God this is not necessary. In His system, breaking the law itself brings its own terrible fruitage in sorrow, and finally, destruction.

It is not to be concluded that God deliberately organized it this way. When it is understood why He formed and gave the law, it will be seen that this is the only way it could be. Essential to the successful accomplishment of the great aspirations within His creatures, is the possession of tremendous power. This power was designed for blessing and benefit only, but. unavoidably, it has in it the potential for destruction. Being the only way to safeguard against that other and destructive side of power, law became essential. While power is handled in strict accordance with law there is no problem. But let the law be disregarded and every kind of problem arises. Therefore, God did not formulate a law with a deliberately built-in system of punishments, but, instead, gave them a perfect protection from self-destruction. If they choose to set aside that protection then there is nothing to prevent the trouble from coming. First God gave the power and then the law to enable them to safely handle it.

Already it has been shown that compelling power, compulsion, the use of force and such, have no place in God’s work and are never found under His government but only under Satan’s. Likewise it has been seen that God, because He is interested only in voluntary obedience, gave to every one of His creatures "full liberty to yield or to withhold obedience." Patriarchs and Prophets,, 48. It would be impossible to give full liberty to withhold obedience, and then punish a person for exercising the very freedom given to him. To punish under those conditions is to deny that full liberty had been given.

There are two ways in which God could have administered punishments upon those who chose to withhold obedience. The first method would be to decree what the punishment should be and then to it by His own direct action. This is what the majority believe God does.

The second method would be to skilfully and deliberately build into the law, punishments which would automatically fall upon the transgressor. In

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modern language this is called booby trapping. The farmer, for instance, has a patch of delicious melons growing and he knows that, despite the law forbidding theft, the young lads of the village will come at night for the feast. So he installs a trip wire attached to a high explosive. He has built into the law an automatic punishment which will reach out and strike the lawbreaker apart from the action of the law itself.

This is the course the Lord could have adopted to avoid the necessity of exercising His own power in any direct act of destruction.

Whether God punishes directly by His own action or indirectly by building destruction into the law, He would still be denying that He had, in reality, given His subjects "full liberty to yield or to withhold obedience." He gave the liberty. Therefore He cannot punish any who exercise what He has given them.

If God used the first method, it would be a blatant denial of His claim to have given them full Liberty. If He used the second method, then He could well be charged with having adopted underhand means whereby He could claim that He had not directly denied their freedom, though in fact, indirectly He had.

God is not deceitful or underhanded. He is the God of truth. Therefore it needs to be clearly understood that He did not design a law with built-in punishments. Every one who is to have a part in the final presentations of the character of God must come to understand the real character of God’s law. The awful punishments which do fall upon the violators of God’s great principles are what the law was devised to protect man from, not what it was designed to bring upon him.

What must be understood with great clarity is that the law is in no sense God’s effort to protect His own position and authority. God is so completely outgoing, so utterly devoid of self-interest, self-justification or self-protectionism in any form, that He could never have formulated the law to save Himself. It is not something which He has "thought up" as His wish or pleasure whereby the people could be identified as His subjects, doing His will and obeying His commands. Far from it! That law is a masterpiece of protection for the people themselves. It is so wonderfully designed that obedience to it ensures absolute immunity from sickness, suffering, sorrow, fear, suspicion, robbery, violence, and death. On the other hand, violation of its principles guarantees the introduction of these things in their worst forms.

None of these things is God’s invention designed for infliction on the transgressor. "The wages of sin is death." Romans 6:23. It is a sound principle, universally practised, that the servant is always paid by the employer to whom he renders service. If a worker, having given a month of industrious labour to Mr. Jones, then went to Mr. Brown to receive his wages, he would be met with an indignant refusal.

"I am not responsible for the wages owed to you by Mr. Jones." he would emphatically say. "I do not pay the money earned by service on your

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part to another employer. If you work for me then I will pay you but not otherwise."

This reply is reasonable. It is equally reasonable that the same principles apply in the spiritual realm. Therein are two masters, God and Satan, or more correctly, righteousness and sin, Neither of these masters pays the wages earned in the service of the other.

The wages of sin is death and the gift of righteousness is life.

No one needs convincing that Satan never pays the gifts of God. All those who live the life of righteousness, know that they cannot look to the devil to pay even the smallest proportion of these. God alone can pay the gift of life. Satan has no part in this whatsoever.

If it is so easily seen that the devil never pays God’s gifts to the righteous, then it should be equally clear that the Lord never pays the wages owed by sin to its subjects. Sin and Satan alone pay those. God does, not traffic in death for He is the purveyor of life. That is His merchandise and He dispenses no other. He does not pay wages in the currency of death.

"Sickness, suffering, and death are work of an antagonistic power. Satan is the destroyer; God is the restorer." The Ministry of Healing, 113.

As the Restorer "God is working, day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment, to keep us alive to build up and restore us." ibid.,112. The law, then, has not been formed as an instrument of destruction but of salvation. The unfortunate attitude of hostility toward the law will be swept away entirely when its true purpose and role are understood. Then with the Psalmist, the exclamation of praise will go forth, "0 how love I Thy law! it is my meditation all the day." Psalm 119:97.

The Holy Spirit had certainly imparted to the writer of these words a very different view of the law from that generally possessed by man. He had come to see that the law was not designed for God’s exaltation and protection but for the protection and blessing of mankind.

This we need also to see. Accordingly our attention will now be directed to studying God’s law as the precious gift of God for man’s blessing and security.

Both the first part dealing with the relationship of man to God and the second part covering man to man, were designed along the same lines. Consideration will be given to the first part initially.

Statement number one in the decalogue is this: "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me." Exodus 20:3.

To the average person this suggests a picture of God concerned about His receiving the homage, respect, service, and worship which He felt was due to Him. To them, it is as if He were saying, "I am God and I do not intend that you shall forget that. I will tolerate no other god in My place for I will share My honour, position and glory with none. I want, and I demand, exclusive recognition of My sole authority from each of you. I shall be

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watching every one intently moment by moment with a vigilance which never slumbers nor sleeps. If I find any drifting away from Me, any rendering of homage or love to another, My anger shall become exceedingly great and I will come in My fury to punish you without mercy.

This is the view held by this earth’s majority. This is how they see God, because if they were in the same position with the same power, that is how they would relate themselves to their subjects. But, in fact, a more erroneous view of God’s intent could not be entertained. God had not thought of His honour, security and safety when He formed that commandment. He was entirely preoccupied with His subjects and their needs. He knew the danger in which they were, and to make them secure from it He gave them this and the other commands.

Difficult as it may be at first to understand, the truth is that it was not possible for God to create man without a very definite element of danger being involved. Vet, once careful consideration is given to the objectives of love in bringing the earth and its inhabitants into existence, it will be perceived that it was not possible to do this without that threat being in attendance.

It began with the divine purpose to give to man the precious love-gift of life. There was no obligation upon God to do it. Humanity should respond only with the deepest gratitude that God had elected to do this. But to give life was not sufficient. A home must be provided in which those possessed of this inimitable gift could enjoy such riches to the fullest: Without a home, existence would be an eternal drifting through super-cold space with nothing to see or do. This would convert what promised to be everlasting delight into perpetual horror.

Therefore, the creation of highly intelligent creatures necessitated the forming of a home in which they could develop and exercise the splendid powers given to them, achieving the highest aspirations of their active minds.

That was a wonderful provision but it was still insufficient. Both the individuals themselves and the world in which they lived must be equipped with suitable and sufficient powers to enable them to live their lives to the fullest potential. The infinitely wise and loving God saw this and without hesitation installed all those mighty powers in their proper place and balance. These powers may be grouped into two divisions, those within man and those outside him in the marvellous world of nature.

The powers in man may be listed as the power of thought, muscular power, the powers of speech, ambition, planning, reasoning, invention, love, joy, and so forth. The powers without in the world of nature are the powers of the sun, moon, gravity, wind, water, centrifugal and inertial forces, electricity, and many more.

All this seemingly, would provide the sum of all that could ever be needed to give every creature the fulness of happiness and joy. After all, what more could man desire or need?

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But it was still not enough.

It was not enough because power, though provided by God for only one purpose, the blessing and prosperity of all His creatures, inevitably possesses the potential of destruction, Enquiry may be made as to why the Lord did not provide powers that could not be subverted, but careful thought will show that this is impossible. Any power which is intended to do only. good can also be turned to an evil purpose.

Therefore, God needed to add one more gift to make the work of creation complete and secure. That gift was the law. It was something very necessary to man for without it he had no way of keeping those powers from becoming destroyers. This can readily be demonstrated by reference to the first commandment, the study of which, in the light of these principles, will prove that the law was not made by God for God but for man.

Any one of the great powers which God has invested in nature for man’s blessing can be chosen to develop this point. Accordingly the sun will be selected as the example.

Initially, the sun came into existence in response to the spoken creative word of God. This is the only way it could, for there is no other power in existence which can create anything let alone something of the magnitude and power of that flaming orb. Satan could not do it, neither can man. But, God’s work in respect to the sun and its role did not end with its creation for it cannot fulfil its mission unaided. It, like all other powers, is totally unintelligent, thus possessing no capacity to direct its ways. This must be done by a power outside of and greater than itself under the guidance of a suitable intelligence. The only power which can do this is the power which made it. That is God’s power directed by the intelligent mind of God. That creative power in turn is exercised through His Son, Christ, Who not only "made the worlds," but is constantly upholding all things by the word of His power." Hebrews 1:2, 3.

"God is constantly employed in upholding and using as His servants the things that He has made. He works through the laws of nature, using them as His instruments. They are not self-acting. Nature in her work testifies of the intelligent presence and active agency of a Being who moves in all things according to His will." Ministry of Healing, 416.

"Many teach that matter possesses vital power--that certain properties are imparted to matter, and it is then left to act through its own inherent energy; and that the operations of nature are conducted in harmony with fixed laws, with which God Himself cannot interfere. This is false science, and is not sustained by the word of God. Nature is the servant of her Creator. God does not annul His laws or work contrary to them, but He is continually using them as His instruments. Nature testifies of an intelligence, a presence, an active energy, that works in and through her laws. There is in nature the continual working of the Father and the Son. Christ says, ‘My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.’ John 5:17.

(PICTURE)

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"The Levites, in their hymn recorded by Nehemiah, sung ‘Thou, even Thou, art Lord alone; Thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things therein, . . and Thou preservest them all.’ Nehemiah 9:6. As regards this world, God’s work of creation is completed. For ‘the works were finished from the foundation of the world.’ Hebrews 4:3. But His energy is still exerted in upholding the objects of His creation. It is not because the mechanism that has once been set in motion continues to act by its own inherent energy, that the pulse beats, and breath follows breath; but every breath, every pulsation of the heart, is an evidence of the all-pervading care of Him In whom ‘we live, and move, and have our being.’ Acts 17:28. It is not because of inherent power that year by year the earth produces her bounties and continues her motion around the sun. The hand of God guides the planets and keeps them in position in their orderly march through the heavens. He ‘bringeth out their host by number; He calleth them all by names by the greatness of His might, for that He is strong In power; not one faileth.’ Isaiah 40:26 It is through His power that vegetation flourishes, that the leaves appear and the flowers bloom. He ‘maketh grass to grow upon the mountains,’ and by Him the valleys are made fruitful. All the beasts of the forest seek their meat from God, Psalms 147:8; 104:20, 21, and every living creature, from the smallest insect up to man, Is daily dependent upon His providential care. In the beautiful words of the psalmist. ‘These wait all upon Thee. . . That thou givest them they gather; Thou openest Thine hand, they are filled with good.’ Psalms 104:27, 28. His word controls the elements, He covers the heavens with clouds, and prepares rain for the earth, ‘He giveth snow like wool; He scattereth the hoar frost like ashes.’ ‘When He uttereth His voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and He causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; He maketh Iightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of His treasures.’ Psalms 147:16; Jeremiah 10:13." Patriarchs and Prophets, 114, 115.

These statements teach the active presence of God as the Controller of all the powers He has Installed in the universe for the good of His creatures. But, why is it necessary for God to do this? Is it because He Is determined to keep personal control over all things? Or Is it because it must be so? Why could God not have set the whole complex machinery in motion and then left it to run of its own accord from the very beginning? Or why does He not delegate the work to other hands to leave Himself free from such things?

God does what He is doing because that is the only way it can be done and certainly not because of any desire on His part to reserve to Himself any special position. It was not possible for God to leave all these tremendous powers to themselves for it is the very nature of power to be unintelligent. The sun is a power of gigantic proportions, but it has no power to think or to direct its ways and even if it did, it would still need God to keep it supplied with energy.

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Think of all the various powers in existence—fire, wind, gravity, the tides, hydraulics, and so on, and it will be seen that not one of them is intelligence nor could be. Power and force are just that, while intelligence is designed to control and guide the powers. Even the physical powers in the human body are not intelligent. They depend upon the intelligence centred in the brain for control and guidance.

Therefore, the mighty sun must have a controller and guide to keep it exactly on its course and, at the same time, a source of energy to keep it forever fuelled and burning at a constant level. Should there be no such controlling power, then think of the possibilities. The sun could swing a little too far out and away from the earth with the consequence of such tremendous cooling on this planet that it would freeze solid. On the other hand it could swing in too close and destruction would come with blazing heat. Again, it might burn too dimly or too brightly or even explode with the same destructive results.

Far more than we do, we need to appreciate how dependent we are upon that sun. If we were to carefully consider the effect of that power becoming either diminished then we would be far more grateful than we are for the Lord’s controlling and sustaining hand in the universe. The same facts and principles apply to all the mighty powers of heaven and earth.

Having, established the truth that the hand of a mighty controller and energy-supplier is indispensable for the continuation of our lives upon the earth, we can proceed to the next question. Why does God do this? Why does He not give it to one of His mighty creatures to look after, for Him?

The answer is because He cannot. It required a Creator’s power to set it up in the first case and it requires the same Creator’s power to maintain. Only He can do it. God gladly gives His creatures whatever He can, but this is one thing He cannot give, for there is not one of us, angel or man who can keep those mighty powers under perfect control.

Therefore, it is essential that no other god be placed in God’s position as the Controller, Guide and Sustainer of these mighty powers. To do so would be to put there a being who would have no hope of keeping those things under control. They would swiftly break out of their course in a holocaust of destruction.

To help in understanding this extremely important point let the following illustration serve. One of the biggest commercial passenger aircraft is the Boeing 747. In order to control and direct that tremendous power, a man must have, through long practice and training, highly developed skills. The law says that on a flight no one must set another person who is unqualified in the pilot’s place. Suppose that during a flight across the Pacific from Sydney to Honolulu, a passenger who has never flown a plane before goes onto the flight deck, overpowers the crew, binds them up securely, and then attempts to fly the machine to a destination of his own choice.

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What is the inevitable result? That man has no hope of bringing the plane in successfully. He will not even know how to navigate it across the uncharted oceans and he will crash the plane, killing every person on board. No one should have any difficulty in seeing this, especially if he has ever had his untrained hands on the controls of even a simple light aircraft and tried to bring it in to land. A 747 is a complex of unintelligent but gigantic powers which must have a master mind to direct it. Should such a trained and skilled person be taken from the controls and another untrained one take his place, then certain disaster is the result.

This is exactly the situation with this earth and the mighty powers attendant upon it. God alone, has the power and skill to guide them accurately and safely on their courses. Should that guiding hand be removed and another attempt to fill its place, then inevitable desolations would follow. There would be no way to prevent it. Some may object that God could prevent it. Certainly He has the physical power to do so, but, in order for that power to be exercised to prevent that destruction, it has to be in the very place from which It has been dismissed. Once another god has been put in the place of the true God, then God can only save the situation by forcing Himself back into the place from which He has been sent away, and this God will never do. This would violate the freedom of choice which He Himself gave to His creatures and which He will never invade even to a hair’s breadth.

But how would it be possible for God to vacate the position of control? How could this be brought about? Surely, it may be argued, no one could take God’s position away from Him!

It can be done quite simply and very quickly. What is more, it has been done.

In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were the rulers and owners of this world in a kingdom which they held under God and for God. "And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth on the earth.’ Genesis 1:26.

While they retained that dominion, God could and did maintain perfect control over the sun, the moon, and all the other mighty powers set in their places for the blessing and benefit of the human family. There was no problem, and the Edenic pair enjoyed perfect security, comfort and prosperity.

But the time came when they passed the kingdom into the devil’s hands and he became "the prince of this world." John 14:30 While Adam and Eve had held dominion under God, Satan did not He had put himself in God’s place and when Adam and Eve turned to give their dominion to Satan, they placed another god in the place of the true God They directly, broke the first commandment and thus removed from themselves the pro-

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tection the first commandment was designed to give. Another god was in the place of the real God and this new god could not control the mighty powers of nature. Sudden and terrible destruction immediately threatened them.

It may be objected here that the whole argument is disproved by the fact that the threatened destruction did not fall upon them that day as God had said it would. This is true, but that does not make God a liar, nor does it disprove the argument. God’s word was fulfilled for they did die that very day. On the spiritual side of their natures the life of God, the presence of the Holy Spirit, died out of them, to be replaced by another spirit, that of the devil.

They would have also died physically that day, had not the Lord interposed to introduce a delaying factor, designed in love, to give them a limited probationary period in which to reconsider their decision. In unquenchable love for the doomed, Christ stepped in to divert the punishment to Himself. He would take upon Himself, not that which God would administer to the sinner, but that which the sinner had brought upon himself.

Christ had to move swiftly for the Lord had warned that "in the day that" they ate of it they would surely die. Genesis 2:17. Christ had no time to lose if He would save them. So it is written, "The instant man accepted the temptations of Satan, and did the very things God had said he should not do, Christ, the Son of God, stood between the living and the dead, saying, ‘Let the punishment fall on Me. I will stand in man’s place. He shall have another chance’." Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary 1:1085.

Right there in the Garden of Eden all nature would have swung wildly out of its course with increasing ferocity had not Christ stepped in to give the world a period of probation in which to make a second choice either to serve God or to continue with another god—the god of death and destruction. When at last the time of probation is ended with every man, woman, and child having made their choice for eternity, this is just what will happen. Christ will step out from His place as Mediator and all nature will collapse in a cataclysm of destruction. Of this final destruction we shall study much more Later.

Now, let a summary be made of the facts just considered with particular emphasis being laid on the truth that the suffering and death which certainly follow the violation of the principles of the law, are not administered by God directly, nor are even a carefully built-in provision designed to automatically destroy the lawbreaker. The punishments are the unpreventable outworking of the removal by disobedience of the protections the laws are designed to give.

Here is that summary.

It would have been most unsatisfactory for the Lord to have made us without providing the supporting powers necessary to give us comfortable

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living and the opportunity to develop all the gifts within us. The sun is needed for light and heat, the forces of gravity for our equilibrium, electricity to open to us the thousand and one possibilities in communication, electronics and so on. Should we ponder upon a life without the many gracious provisions of God for our welfare and pleasure, we would be far more grateful to the Lord for what He has done.

But, it is impossible for power to exist without its being at the same time a potential for fearful and even total destruction. That is the very nature of power and it can be no other way. The greater the power, the greater the danger. Therefore, as surely as heaven is a place filled with the greatest of wonderful powers, it is therefore a potentially dangerous place.

God has no fear of introducing such peril for He knows that it is completely contained if the laws are faithfully obeyed. Under the control of laws faithfully obeyed, power can only be a blessing but let the laws be disobeyed and it ii nothing but a danger. The destruction which falls is not directed by God’s hands. It is the natural and unpreventable consequence of the violation of

These things must be meditated upon until the purposes and character of God in this are fully understood; until it is seen that God neither inflicts the punishment by His own hand nor has it as an inbuilt threat which reaches out to automatically destroy those who get out of line; until it is seen that the death and suffering is the direct and unpreventable result of the sin; and that the Lord does only one thing which is to work to save all from such disastrous results and guide them forever in those pathways which will ensure them perfect and complete happiness.

So it is with the violation of the first commandment. What is true of the results of its violation is true of all the rest. For instance, the second precept warns against bowing down to worship an image made of material things. There should be no difficulty in seeing that such an act of worship can only result in death to the worshipper on the following grounds. Every adoration of images as practiced by those who break the second commandment is on the basis of their believing that they can and will obtain all they need for life-support through the idol.

But they cannot believe that they will receive life through the idol and, at the same time, receive life from God, for, if they truly believed that God is the only source of life, then they would never have turned aside from Him to seek it from, and through, an idol. Therefore, the very fact that they do worship an idol is their declaration that they have no faith that God can care for them and that they have turned aside from seeking it from God to find it elsewhere.

What is the only possible outcome of such an action on their part? God is the only source of life. To turn aside from that life source and seek it where it does not exist, is to die. God will not kill such a person Such kill themselves. There is no fault with God, for He plainly warned them that

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they were not to place another god in His place. He is the only life-giver and life-sustainer.

To illustrate the point again, think of an aviator who has ascended to altitudes where the oxygen is too rare to support life so he has to plug his breathing apparatus into the outlet connected with the oxygen supply. He has received specific instructions as to which is the correct outlet, but he deliberately chooses to plug into another socket with no connection to the supply. What is going to happen to this foolish man? He will quickly die for want of the essential oxygen. He will die because he has failed to observe the law. His death will be the direct result of that, and not in any sense the act of God:

In precisely the same manner, the man who bows before idol to seek life from this source has pronounced his own death sentence. He cannot live, for, by his own choice, he cuts himself off from the channel of life. There is no fault with God. He provided the channel for life and warned that if man should discard that and seek life through an idol or an image, he would find none there and death would overtake him.

Accordingly, the second commandment forbidding the worship of images and idols, is perfectly designed to save God’s children from separating themselves from the source of life to thus bring upon themselves certain destruction.

To take God’s name in vain is to call one’s self a Christian or a child of God, a member of His family thus bearing His name, and yet at the same time to live out of harmony with the principles of the family. To do this is to separate from the family and the blessings which can only be obtained while in the family. Again this is but to bring death upon one’s self.

The breaking of the fourth commandment likewise, is removing the protection God has provided to sustain life. This precept has to do with the great principle of respect for that which is another’s. Its violation opens the door to every kind of trouble and sorrow. To understand this better let us turn to the second side of the decalogue and study the control of the powers which God has invested in man himself.

We will choose the command, "Thou shalt not steal." This is an excellent place to begin for the commands, "Thou shalt not kill," "Thou shalt not bear false witness," and "Thou shalt not commit adultery," are but extensions of this commandment. To kill is to steal the life of another from him, even though such theft does not give the thief the life thus stolen.. The committal of adultery robs a person of his or her life partner and the bearing of false witness robs a person of his reputation and credibility.

Now we will see how violation of the command, "Thou shalt not steal opens upon man the floodgates of woe. Consider the perfect society wherein stealing has never previously been known. The dwellers in this society have perfect trust in each other and without fear they leave their homes open at all times. Locks and bars are neither needed nor known.

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Then there comes the day when one person steps out of the way and steals the property of someone else in the village. In the depths of the night the householder is awakened by the stealthy movements of an intruder who, perceiving that his presence has been noted, flees, bearing a family treasure with him.

When the family realizes the extent of their loss and the way in which it was taken, they are surprised, numbed, horrified and fearful that if this can happen once it can happen again. The news swiftly spreads through the village and instantly a change comes over the whole place. The peace and happiness die beneath a cloud of suspicion and fear. No one knows who has done it so every one is suspect. Steps are soon taken to bar the openings and lock the doors so that protection may be obtained against a further visit from the thief.

In this, the innocent suffer with the guilty. A simple illustration from the travel world of today, will serve to show this. There was a time before anyone thought of hijacking an aircraft. In those days the passengers simply walked aboard and took their places. It was convenient and pleasant.

But then came the new era and everything changed. The wrongdoers in this connection are few in number, yet virtually every passenger who seeks to board an aircraft is now suspect. He must, even though innocent, undergo a thorough searching both of his hand baggage and his person. He suffers inconvenience and delay and longs for the return of the days of trust and good will. He is suffering punishment for the sins of another. But the punishment is not something which is being meted out by God. It is It is direct result of the crime.

Now let us return to our illustration of the village. Should more and more people follow the path of the lawbreaker and become thieves, then the problem will escalate into destructive proportions. Once the law has been cast aside and its protection removed, it is then only a matter of taking one step after another. The thief will not stop at taking merely property. He will take life and murder will worsen the situation. In order to defend themselves, the other thieves will resort to violence for self-protection. All this is precisely what has happened to bring the world to its present state of misery and woe.

As this is being written, Beirut in Lebanon is being torn to pieces with a murderous civil war, while in Northern Ireland, the Irish are slaying Irish with cold-blooded determination. What a fearfully unhappy situation in which to live. How far this is from the perfect plan God formulated for the well-being and happiness of man. Let it he emphasized that none of thi_s woe and trouble comes upon man by any act of God, but by natural outworking of the law’s being broken. God designed and gave the law as a perfect protection from all this, but man has chosen of his own free will

cast aside that protection. Before us, we see the result, It is only because the Lord is still able to exercise some restraint over mankind that man survives

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at all. Should the law be totally cast aside and anarchy reign, the extermination of the race by its own hands would be the be the swift result.

We will not spend a lot of space considering this important fact for it is not necessary. It is self-evident that the breaking of the law governing man’s relationship to man brings its own terrible results upon the world. Consider the situation as it would be today if every man and woman never stole, never lied, never killed, and in fact, kept all the ten commandments. What a wonderfully happy and secure place the world would be, not because God had arbitrarily made if so, but because that is the way keeping the law would make it. This does not mean that God’s presence is unnecessary for such happiness. It is necessary for it is by His power that the law is kept. He is the fountain of all life and without Him there is no life.

Consider what the world would be like and how long mankind would survive if all law was done away with and every person was a thief, a murderer, an adulterer, a liar, and so on. It is impossible to think of a worse situation. Every man, so long as he managed to survive, would live in a state of perpetual tenor. There would be no stability and no security.

As this grim, totally undesirable picture develops before the mind, ponder and see that the terrible conditions would not in any sense be the inflictions of God, but the result of removing the protection afforded by law. Here is the revelation of the cause and effect, and no charge can be laid to God for any of it.

The final consideration to be made in this study of the outworking of violated law, is man’s relation to himself. The human body is a wonderfully designed and constructed mechanism. David, as he came to realize this, praised God in these words. "I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are Thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well." Psalm 139:14.

With David, we should have a rich appreciation of God’s blessings in giving us a body and mind of such efficiency. Even after almost six thousand years of sins degradation, there is still mighty and wonderful power remaining. Such being so, what must it have been like in the beginning when the electrical energy in Adam’s brain was twenty times as great as it is now?

"God endowed man with so great vital force that he has withstood the accumulation of disease brought upon the race in consequence of perverted habits, and has continued for six thousand years. This fact of itself is enough to evidence to us the strength and electrical energy that God gave to man at his creation. It took more than two thousand years of crime and indulgence of base passions to bring bodily disease upon the race to any great extent. If Adam, at his creation, had not been endowed with twenty times as much vital force as men now have, the race with their present habits of living in violation of natural law, would have become extinct." Testimonies 3:138, 139.

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It is impossible for a body to be made with such power and efficiency without being a finely balanced piece of complexity requiring obedience to law to keep it in perfect condition.

The laws which govern the care of this mechanism are referred to above as being natural laws and they are, but this does not mean that there is nothing in the moral law to cover this situation. He who abuses his body. thus lowering its efficiency, is robbing both God and others of the service which he would render had he the full powers of mind and body. Consider the enormous loss to the community through absenteeism from work because of sickness occasioned by careless disregard of the most simple laws of health.

More than this, the one who does not observe the laws of health and strength is destroying himself thereby breaking the commandment, "Thou shalt not kill." Therefore, while the care of the body mechanism is conformity to natural law, the breaking of those laws is also breaking the moral law.

Much study could be devoted to the relation of health and longevity to obedience to natural and moral law. Such a study would be both interesting and profitable, but we desire only to make the point that it is not God, but disobedience to those laws which brings upon the disobedient, whether wittingly or unwittingly so, a sure retribution.

It is convincingly self-evident that the man who, for instance, smokes tobacco products and drinks alcohol, steadily reduces his physical capacities and brings upon himself destructive diseases.

So clear is this evidence that even people who have long disregarded the moral law, recognize the direct connection between prolonged cigarette smoking and the incidence of lung cancer and early heart failures. More than ever, men can see that to pursue a certain course of unhealthful living will certainly bring a harvest of suffering and untimely death.

It is not God who afflicts poor sufferers with these diseases. They are the unpreventable result of the sin itself. God cannot and will not, in justice. work a miracle to counteract these evil effects, but because of this He is not to be named as the One Who has deliberately sent these punishments upon the people. He has done all that He can to save them from such troubles. In the first place He gave man the best body mechanism it was possible to give, Then, recognizing that man could not get the best out of this gift except by giving it proper care, the Lord gave him laws to protect it from the effects of wrong living. Also, God gave man the freedom to choose whether he would cherish and care for the gift, or treat it with disdain and destroy It.

So whatever suffering should then come upon man is not the responsibility or work of God. It is the direct effect of man’s works. He has only himself to blame. No charge can ever be laid to God’s account for this.

Such then is the nature of God’s law. It is a marvellously perfect provision by Him to meet our need, not His. He has not formulated it to assert

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His authority or as an instrument whereby He is given the right to punish those who do not obey Him.

The sinners breaking of the law is his own act whereby he removes the divinely provided protection from death and destruction. Not only is it against God’s principles to exercise force to compel or punish people into obeying Him, but He does not need to, for the removal of sin is guaranteed by the mere fact that it is in its own nature, a way of death and destruction. There is only one life path and that is the one God has mapped out for His people.

This is true of our relation to God, in our relation to our fellow men and in relation to ourselves. When the nature of the law as it really is, is truly understood, then our obedience to it will be far more willing and successful.

Likewise, when the character and ways of God are genuinely comprehended and appreciated, something of the infinite love and kindness of God the eternal Father, will be perceived, generating sincere praise and gratitude for His love and wisdom. Then it will be known that God did not compose that law as the symbol of His authority, imposing it upon us as the obligation of service to Him, the medium whereby He could exact our service and homage. It will be realized that the law was made for the children of God, that perfect obedience to it was the complete saviour from death and destruction. The truth will be intelligently grasped that when Adam and Eve cast aside that saviour, then Christ gave Himself to be the Saviour to bring back the lost and perishing to the safe side of the law.

It will then be recognized that when men cast aside firstly the law and then Christ as their saviours, they will have exhausted all that heaven has and can do to save them. Beyond that limit, God can go no further, for that is the totality of His resources. This leaves Him with no choice but to grant to each apostate the total separation with its attendant annihilation which he has chosen. It will then be discerned with wonder and admiration that the only role filled by God is that of a Saviour so that men perish, not because He has reached out to destroy them, but because they have refused His saving efforts.

In summary then it is right to say that the law of God is the transcript of His character, God’s righteousness and the righteousness of the law are identical so that God’s behaviour is expressed in the precepts of that law. Therefore, His behaviour is not something to which He has reined Himself as a strict discipline contrary to His nature. It is the natural expression of the tenets of the decalogue.

Because this is the only kind of obedience in which He is interested, He made man in His own image "both in outward resemblance and in character." Patriarchs and Prophets, 45. He writes that same law on our hearts so that it is also the transcript of our characters and we can and do obey the law as He obeys it—a natural outworking of our inner natures.

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Thus we are able to give the only kind of obedience the Lord can accept—an obedience that is based upon a personal "conviction of His justice and benevolence." The Great Controversy, 498.

Because the Lord can accept only a willing obedience given because of our love for Him, He will never use force to secure our allegiance, but. in perfect consistency with these principles, gives to all the "full liberty to main or to withhold obedience." Patriarchs and Prophets, 48.

As surely as Lie gives full liberty to withhold obedience, He can never punish any one of His creatures for exercising the liberty which He Himself has given.

This means then, that the punishments which do come as a result of turning from God’s way are the fruit or result of our own course of action. not the administration of such things by the hand of God.

This is better understood when it is seen that God’s law is designed by Him to be a protection from the effects of powers which otherwise have ceased to be under proper control. Sin and sinners will be destroyed, but it will be the effect of their own course of action, not the outpouring of destruction by the hand of God.

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Such then was the nature of the constitution of God’s government as it was in heaven before the entrance of sin. It was idealistic and realistic.

It was a system providing for the absolute happiness, security and fulfilment of the created ones both in heaven and throughout the universe. It placed at their disposal every needed power in infinite abundance together with full protection from any risk of those powers turning out of their appointed place of service to become agencies of destruction.

This system worked to perfection under the conditions which existed before rebellion began. Every one of God’s subjects served Him with undivided devotion because each had the inner conviction that God’s ways were the only ways of life. They understood that the law was not a code of bondage but a wonderful protection conceived for them in the heart of infinite love.

Thus no situation ever arose for which the use of force needed to be considered. No killing ever took place, no destruction was undertaken. Nothing arose to mar the perfect happiness of every created being.

It should not be difficult to see that God’s principles of government would and did work perfectly under those conditions. So far, our study has been of that sinless period.

Now the attention must be focused on the drastically changed conditions which developed after firstly angels and then men, exercised their God-given liberty to choose not to serve Him. With intense interest the entire universe looked on to see whether these principles could still operate without modification, addition, or any other changes. Would God find it necessary, after all, to personally execute punishments on those who had rebelled? Would He be compelled to solve the sin problem by exercising His infinite physical power to destroy the wrongdoers who had refused every overture of mercy?

As students and others have viewed history, they have been convinced that the entrance of sin has imposed on God the necessity to take actions He was never obliged to take before. They look at the flood, the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah, the plagues upon Egypt, the destruction of the rebels who worshipped the golden calf, the death of Korah, Dathan and Abiram, the liquidation of Sennacherib’s army, the stoning of the Sabbath breaker, the adulterer, and Achan, and many other such instances. They read the words used to describe God’s responses and conclude horn this that God did exercise force to put down rebellion, that He did punish by His own decision and decree, that He did destroy those who had rejected His last offers of mercy and that He does not therefore give all men full liberty to yield or withhold obedience.

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We recognize that it strongly appears that this is true, but, at the same time, we know that there is more than one way of understanding what happened. When the alternative views are considered, it will be seen that God did not behave as most have thought. It will be discerned that He neither introduced nor resorted to any measures subsequent to the fall, which He did not employ before it.

The point was developed in the last chapter that God designed His law as a protection to His creatures, not as the means of safeguarding His own position and authority. Therefore, it was emphasized, punishments were not the administration of God but natural outworking of casting aside the law’s protection through disobedience to it.

Yet, despite the inspired teachings as the true nature of the law there prevails in the world today the concept that the law was made for God’s personal exaltation. His invention to produce and maintain His position of undisputed authority. Therefore, it is seen as a device calculated to exalt One at the expense of the rest.

What is the origin of this teaching? Who was the first to introduce it see to seeing that it has no foundation in Scripture? Can the answer to this question be found?

The answer clearly written in the Scriptures wherein it is revealed when, where, and by whom these things were first taught in this world and what the result was of accepting those teachings. The origin and the effect of such teachings will be an infallible guide as to whether they are true or not.

Those representations of the character and purpose of God’s law were first taught on this earth by Satan in the Garden of Eden. He presented them to the original couple with the specific purpose of enlisting them in his rebellion against God and his method was successful. The result is that there has been opened upon this world the flood tide of every sin and iniquity which can be named.

A careful study of what took place in the Garden of Eden will reveal the truth of the above assertions.

God had made the earth, and equipped it with all the powerful life-support systems as a love gift to Adam and Eve. Because He was interested only in receiving from them a service motivated by love, He did not place them "beyond the possibility of wrong-doing. God made them free moral agents, capable of appreciating the wisdom and benevolence of His character and the justice of His requirements, and with full liberty yield _to yield or to withhold obedience." Patriarchs and Prophets, 48.

There is no point in saying that one has full liberty to withhold obedience if there is no opportunity to do so. Therefore, God provided them not only with the full liberty to withhold obedience but also the means to do so by placing the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the midst of the Garden, That was the one tree the Lord did not give them. It was His

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property, not theirs. All He asked of them was to respect it as being His. If they could always do this, and teach their children the same principles, then there could never be unhappiness in the world. There could be only perfect trust and security.

If they could learn perfect respect for another’s property, there would never be any stealing, adultery, or murder. If they could respect the time belonging to another, there could never be a Sabbath breaker.

This is what the law is all about—respect for that which belongs to another. On the first table of the law is the area of respect for that which is God’s, and, on the second, for that which is man’s.

If Adam and Eve could not respect this tree which God had reserved for the express purpose of teaching them this lesson, then, with the principle of respect being discarded, there could only be murders, thefts, adulteries, and all such terrible outworkings in the lives of men and women upon this earth.

They were given the clearest warnings of this in the words, "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Genesis 2:17.

It is just as important to see what the text does not say, as to see what it says. It does not say that in the day when they ate of it the Lord would. destroy them. It says that they would die. Granted, the text does not spell out the way they would die, and it could be interpreted to mean that they would die at God’s hands.

But Adam and Eve did not understand it that way and Satan knew this. He knew that they understood God’s words to mean that the destruction would be the result of their eating of that tree and not the act of God.

Therefore, Satan set to work to destroy their confidence in that interpretation of God’s Word and to substitute it with one of his own.

The certainty that Adam and Eve did understand God’s words to mean that their deaths would come because of their disobedience and not at the hand of a punishing God, is confirmed by Satan himself. This is deduced in the following way. Satan came, not to endorse God’s truth, but to overthrow it. Therefore, his interpretation of that Word was a false one designed to overthrow their faith in the real interpretation. There were only two possible ways of understanding God’s words. They either meant that God would personally kill them for disobeying Him, or they would die as a consequence of their wrong deeds. It is only necessary to ask which of the two Satan denied, to perceive which is the truth, and what he supported to know which is the error.

Throughout that conversation with Eve, Satan worked up to and stressed the idea that there was no danger in eating of the tree. That would not bring death. He insinuated that there was-another reason for God’s stipulations, a reason entirely motivated self-protectionism and self interest. Therefore, he implied, without directly saying it, that if there was

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any death at all it would be God’s directly administered at, not the outworking of broken law. He was too cunning to confront Eve with this counter-interpretation in the first moments of their contact. Firstly, he must inject just enough doubt into her mind to get her thoughts working in the desired direction. So he asked in an incredulous tone if it was really true that the Lord had denied to a creature so beautiful, intelligent and worthy as herself, the right to partake of the fruit of the tree. To give more power to the suggestion ". . . the serpent continued, in a musical voice, with subtle praise of her surpassing loveliness; and his words were not displeasing." Patriarchs and Prophets, 54.

In her reply. Eve misquoted God’s words thus showing that doubt had begun to form. Whereas God had said, "Thou shalt surely die," she quoted Him as saying. "Ye shall not eat of it neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die." Genesis 3:3

The word "lest", denies the certainty and admits only a possibility. Her use of it transmitted to the serpent the information that her conviction of nature of God’s law was weakening.

Thus he was emboldened to make a direct attack on the law and the character of the One Who had made it. So he said to the woman, "Ye shall not surely die." Verse 4.

This is the attack on the law. God had said that disobedience to the law would bring death, but here Satan was saying that the law could be broken with impunity. He was arguing that there is nothing in the law which affords a protection from death. Such a claim is opposite from the truth expressed by God to Adam and Eve wherein He had said that breaking the law would bring death upon the transgressor. It is the very opposite from the truth expressed elsewhere in the Word of God and as outlined in the last chapter. Eve had the choice then of whether she would believe the truth as God told it, or Satan’s proposition. That choice is still ours today. We can either believe that the law is God’s loving provision to enable us to safely enjoy the wondrous blessings contained in the mighty powers He has given us, or we can believe Satan’s lie that the law itself is no protection is from death.

Having made the assault on the law, Satan follows it with an attack on God’s character. In order to sustain his statement that breaking the law would not bring death, he said that there was another purpose for God’s saying it would. Here are his words. "Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened. and up shall be as God, (margin) knowing good and evil." Genesis 3:4, 5.

He offered an altogether different reason for the framing of the law, from the purpose envisaged by God. He represented God as One Who was deeply concerned lest any of His creatures should ascend to a position of equality with Himself, so that the glory, honour, and power which he had previously enjoyed as His own special privilege, would have to be shared with others.

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While God had not told them, and for very good reason, Satan insinuated, there were in that tree certain magical properties which would project those who partook of it, into a gloriously superior station in the universe. While God had not revealed this to them, Satan continued, He certainly knew about it and was desperately afraid that they would partake of the tree and thus become equal with Himself. In order to be secure from such a terrible contingency, He had invented the device of puffing into them a fear of eating of the tree.

This was the base from which Satan would later develop the teaching that it is God Who destroys. There was no need to take this teaching all the way then, for he could accomplish the objective of the moment without doing so Having once established in Adam and Eve, the idea that God hat-I invented the teaching that disobedience to the law would bring depth in order to safeguard His own position, it was one more logical step to believe that God would destroy. In fact, it is illogical to think otherwise

If God was the kind of being who would stoop to inventing a lie in order to safeguard His own position, and should that lie be discovered and the people do the very thing He had commanded them not to do, then He would not quietly acquiesce to sharing His throne with them. He would naturally resort to other measures to accomplish the same purpose. The point is that a being of the character Satan represented God to be, would be unable to do anything else. Deception having failed, He would be driven to use the only other weapon available—force. He would enter into direct, physical conflict with those who sought to climb into His place and in the end when even that failed. He would have to liquidate them

In the Garden of Eden. Satan assumed the role of interpreter of God’s words. Adam and Eve accepted that interpretation and partook of the forbid^den fruit. By this means they sought to make themselves equal with God. Instead they ushered the human race into the long and fearful history of suffering and death which has been the portion of sinful man. Throughout that dark period, God has been working constantly to restore the lost condition, but through it all, Satan has continued to offer himself as the interpreter of God’s actions and words to men.

The result is that men have come to see God as One Who is constantly seeking to preserve His position and power by physically going to war with man and destroying him if he will not yield to God’s authority. In this Satan has been extremely successful, for the vast majority of mankind both in and out of the churches, firmly believe that the destructions which have wasted this world are the handiwork of a God Who is determined to assert His authority and preserve His position.

It is from these errors that the truth of God is to deliver us and it is the purpose of this book to assist in such deliverance. Before us lies the choice as to which we shall believe—the truth of God which reveals that God’s law is His wonderful provision for the blessing of every one of His children, or

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Satan’s lie that it is a cunning device to serve the interests of God at the expense of His creatures.

Thus, from the sure Word of God, comes the revelation of the time and place where, for the first time upon this earth the idea was advanced that the law of God was a measure instituted to assure Him of His rights, and that, therefore, disregard of it would not bring death as a direct consequence.

That time was at the very commencement of human history and the place was the Garden of Eden.

Likewise, the instigator of these ideas is unmasked.

He is the devil, the enemy of God and man.

Furthermore. the sad outworking of the acceptance of those ideas has been witnessed with terrible clarity throughout human history. All the misery, frustrations, suffering, disease and death, are directly traceable to that teaching.

What more evidence than this is needed to reject such philosophies entirely and eternally? This is more than enough. Thus, in reality, it is made a simple mailer to decide what the real truth is on the subject. The author of this book together with those whose support made its production possible, emphatically reject Satan’s arguments. We see God in an altogether different light from that which the devil would have us view Him., That law is God’s love gift to us, wonderfully designed to protect and preserve and to make available to us the highest opportunities of progress and development.

While we are now aware of who authored these rebellious ideas, we are to understand that this does not explain how God worked these principles out in every one of the difficult complications introduced by the sin problem. But a foundation has been laid upon which such comprehensions can be built. It will now be possible to approach every situation, knowing that the devil will continue attempting to cloud the mind with the erroneous view of what God did, exactly as he did in the Garden. There will now be the blessed tendency to reject such an interpretation and search further for the real one.

That foundation being laid, the time has come to study God’s behaviour as far as it can be understood, during the interlude of sin. May the Lord assist every reader to prayerfully and patiently wrestle with these deep problems until the truth is fully clarified in the mind unto righteousness.

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So far, study has been mainly given to the constitution of God’s government as it was formed and operated under conditions where no sin existed. It was a perfectly idealistic situation which worked faultlessly to the unmarred happiness of every creature in the universe.

Condensed into summary form, the character of God as revealed in that constitution is as follows:

The laws of that kingdom are the transcript of God’s character. Inasmuch as God is a Saviour, His laws are also designed to be a protector and deliverer from the perils contained in the existence of power.

The character of the law and of God being one, the righteousness of God is purely and entirely a voluntary, spontaneous obedience which is in no way forced either by Himself or by circumstances.

This is the only kind of obedience He will accept from His creatures—a service which springs from an intelligent conviction of His goodness, impartial justice, and love. Therefore, He created them to be like Himself both in outward resemblance and in character so that they would be able to appreciate the wonderful nature of His law and the constitution of His government.

Because He could accept only this kind of service, God could not introduce any form of compulsion such as the threat of punishment, for this would stimulate within His children the disposition to obey because they were afraid not to. No kingdom can be truly happy when the subjects obey from fear no matter how slight that fear may be.

Therefore, God gave every one of His created beings the full liberty to either give or withhold obedience, together with the opportunity to do so either way. In doing so, He demonstrated His perfect justice by clearly outlining to them the dangers inherent in the mighty powers given for their blessing and service, the protective qualities in the law, and the sure effects of disregarding that law. Having done that He left them free to go whichever way they should choose.

Under these conditions of government, so different from those practised by sinful man, there can be no place for the raining of punishments and destructions upon those who do not see things God’s Way. That system was fully operational until certain beings exercised their God-given choice to go another way. During that time there was certainly no need to punish or destroy anyone for nobody had ever disobeyed the divine principles. Death and destruction were completely unknown.

This means that during all that period, the perfect system of government never came under any real test or challenge. Therefore, if there were

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any weaknesses in the system, there was nothing to develop them to where they would be clearly visible.

But with the advent of the rebellion of the covering cherub, Lucifer, who made himself to be the devil and Satan, such a challenge was raised against the constitution. Before us, in the Word of God and in the annals of human history, is the record of the testing of that constitution so far as that test has gone. The final pressure is yet to be brought upon it in the earth’s closing days.

It is God’s affirmation that every principle of His government is eternally perfect, requires no adjustment or modification, and is equally applicable in situations of sinfulness as well as sinlessness. He presents His law as the only standard of righteousness for the dwellers in the purity of heaven and for those who must dwell in the midst of a sin-cursed people.

If God is wholly correct in His assertions—and certainly the publishers of this book believe that He is—then He cannot introduce any actions to deal with the sin problem, different from what He did before it appeared. Therefore, as surely as He gave His creatures full liberty to withhold obedience before they fell, must He still give them the same liberty thereafter. The granting of that liberty places God where He can neither punish nor destroy those who exercise it.

Before the fall, motivated by a heart of wondrous love, God made all things to perfection and gave them freely and fully to His children. Then, to save them from the awful possibilities involved in power out of control He expressed His love further by giving them a law to save them from suffering and death. Thus, before the fall, God fulfilled the role of a Saviour. If His claims in regard to His kingdom and its rulership are correct, then after the fall He must still occupy the role of a Saviour.

Before the fall, the law which among other things lays down the maxim, "Thou shalt not kill," was the direct expression of His character. Accordingly it was not in Him to kill. Since the fall, that law still declares, "Thou shalt not kill," and continues to be the expression of His character. This being so, it is still not in His nature to kill and for this reason, He still cannot do it.

It is God’s declaration that He changes not, that He is "the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever," that He is the "uncorruptible God," that with Him there "is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8; Romans 1:23; James 1:17. Link this great truth with the principle that what we do is the result of what we are. Before the fall, God, in faithfully acting out His character, destroyed no one. Therefore, if after the fall, He did resort to destroying, His character must have changed in order to make this possible. But God has truthfully declared that He has not changed.

Pitted against God’s testimonies, are the devil’s charges. While fully admitting that before the rebellion, no destroying ever appeared in God’s activities,

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Satan claims that the appearance of the sin problem has imposed upon God the necessity of dealing with this by liquidating those who will not serve Him.

Therefore, Satan accuses, the principles of God’s government are not perfect. This is proved, he assures all, because the Lord had to change His ways to do during the crisis what He had never done before. If Satan could verify these accusations, that which would make them so serious was the fact that God, Who bears witness that He knows all things, even the end from the beginning, had stated that His principles were so perfect that no matter what circumstances might arise, they would never require changing. If, on the other hand, the Lord had admitted that His system of government would only operate successfully with the full cooperation of every subject, requiring the introduction of death to defectors from it, then Satan would have had no case to argue. In fact, he would not have been there to argue for as a defector he would have been eliminated immediately.

Satan is as desperately anxious to win our allegiance today as he was in the Garden of Eden. Before us, then, is the task of deciding who is correct in this great controversy. Some have been taught to almost blindly have faith in God, but this is not sufficient, Our faith must be intelligent, for it to be effective. The area in which it must be truly intelligent is in this very field of the principles of the constitution of God’s government. Let the seriousness of the message of this statement be fully realized by all. "In order to endure the trial before them, they must understand the will of God as revealed in His word; they can honour Him only as they have a right conception of His character, government and purposes, and act in accordance with them." The Great Controversy, 593.

The nature of God’s constitution as it was formed and operated before the entrance of iniquity, has been clearly laid out in the Word of God. It is not difficult to understand what and how it was.

The task before us now is the much more difficult one of searching out the operation of those principles during the period when it was under the fearful test imposed by Satan and wicked men. This is the area which this study now enters. It is a field in which men have already formed their ideas of the behaviour and character of God. Men under the tutelage of Satan, by his interpretations of the Bible, have gained a very definite picture of God. Such a picture can only be correct if the devil is correct in his assertions that God has had to resort to acts of destruction in order to solve the sin problem.

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