MANY ARE CALLED...BUT
FEW ARE CHOSEN

As we begin this final article on the true character of God for 1998, let us pray: Father God of Israel, Eternal Holy One, we come into your sacred Presence asking for your Divine blessing and favor on our hearts and minds that each precious soul reading these lines might receive the fullest revelation of truth possible...that each vessel might be filled and overflowing with the glory of your majestic character of love, fitting them for special temple duty and use in this last hour of earth's history. In your precious and holy Name I ask you and thank you dear Jesus. Amen.

Before we go into the message itself today I want to talk to you a few moments from my heart to yours. For two or three days now I have been trying to put this paper together so I can mail it out before Christmas but every day there have always been interruptions of one kind or other. Most of you have already received at least one mailing from GLC, maybe two. Just as Jesus gave them new wine when all the old was gone so the wedding guests at Cana, John 2, would have the best wine at the last, so He has saved the best information to the last for this last issue. What I am going to tell you now could not have been written earlier because our Lord has His perfect timing. He waited til now, 12:15 A.M. Wed. morning, only 11 days before "Navidad" to overflow my heart and soul with the most beautiful perfume of His glorious love I have ever experienced in all my past Decembers. I believe it was because I decided to stop being frustrated and praise Him for these delays and thank Him for His perfect timing. So, just a few minutes ago He told me what He wanted me to say as an introduction to the most important and wonderful information He has given me in my life. Perhaps some of you may think that sounds too awesome, considering all that we have been studying the last few years. Trust me, friends, it isn't. If anything, it is an understatement because the "Good News" just keeps getting better and better. How good it can get remains to be seen and depends upon how close we are willing to let Jesus come to us in these final moments of earth's history. The power of His love is more powerful than you can imagine. Song of Solomon 8:6 refers to it as the "very flame of Jehovah."

Don't You know and realize that He wants to possess you totally, to even get married to you? He is the Coming bridegroom on His way to claim His bride. Can you imagine how excited He must be? What about you? Are you excited too? What does it all mean to you? Is it a reality or not? The way our doctrines have been presented through the years has not allowed, let alone encouraged much emotion about the relationship we are to experience with our Saviour. We all were trying so hard to be good and obey all the rules and regulations that we lost the joy of the Lord in the process. Praise the Lord the character of God message has changed all of that for all of us who have entered into Jesus' great heart of love, Into the Father's Heart. So, how do you feel about Him tonight or whenever you may be reading this? Are your feelings those of one who is on the way to someone else's wedding? Or are you going to be a bride yourself? What are your plans, hopes and expectations? If you are just going to observe then you are not really emotionally involved...just a spectator. To mentally assent to the doctrines of the Bible, including the doctrines of Christ in His sanctuary along with all the rest of the Third angels' messages is not the same as truly knowing him. If you read a book you could claim to know a little about the author. But if you lived in the same house with that author you could say you know him/her well. But if you were married to this author as a man and woman are married, then you could say you are on an intimate basis with the author. Jesus is the author of the Bible. We can know about Him by reading these 66 books comprising His Word. But in order for you to truly know the author God invites you to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. He wants to enter into a relationship with you that is just as intimate as a man and wife.

So, the Marriage Supper of the Lamb is for you personally. It is your invitation to get married to your Creator of the universe. Try and think of the happiest day of your life. Recall all of your happy and joyful feelings and emotions and then multiply them by one thousand and that is how ecstatic our Saviour is about you and how excited He wants you to be about Him. Psalm 84:10 tells us that just one day in heaven is better than a thousand of our best days here. But how many Christians have you ever heard express their connection with Christ in such terms? The problem with most of the people Jesus is calling today is that they are on different wave lengths. It is like a handsome young man who is in love with a pretty young girl. The only problem is that he is clean, sober and totally honest-hearted. In contrast, she has a fascination with guys who are not clean, sober and have no integrity. It is the story of Hosea all over again.

This is our Lord's problem and heartache. But you and I can change that. Those of us who have come to know His character and desire to be like Him will naturally be attracted to Him as the flower is naturally attracted to the rays of the sun. In this article you are going to read today you are about to learn some things you never heard before from the symbols of the Jewish harvest cycle as well as from actual characters in the old testament, such as Gideon, Ruth and Esther and others. The 66 books of the bible are filled and overflowing with information that applies to us today. It is only when we know the true character of Jesus that we truly begin to understand who God really is and what this Great Controversy is all about. As we gaze into His beautiful eyes and listen to His soothing, comforting, encouraging and most beautiful voice you could ever imagine, in our minds, as Gideon learned to do, that we are ready to go to battle with Him. See Rev. 19:11-16.

During my service in the US Army as a medic from 1961-1963, I rubbed shoulders with many Green Berets and men who were studying to join that elite group. They were highly intelligent and physically fit. I had the privilege of praying with many of them and giving them Bible studies. I learned of the rigorous training required to become a Green Beret. One young man told me that in the course of one day he had done 800 push-ups. Another recounted his efforts to do five or ten chin-ups. I forget the exact number, but what I do remember is that he said that when he did the first chin-up his drill sergeant called out loud and clear, "one." He did a second one and again the DI called out "one." He did a third one and again the DI called out "one." His best efforts were not being accepted. Only the strongest and most determined passed the tests and became Green Berets. The hardest part was learning how to jump out of an air plane without any fear. Those who passed this test wore a patch on their shirt with the insignia, "Airborne." Most of them were with the 82nd Airborne Division. This was their seal of approval and proof that they were one of the very few who had successfully passed every test and were ready for the literal battlefield of this world. I don't know how many went to Viet Nam and died. It is sad to think about it for they were my friends. How thankful we can be that our great captain has promised to protect us and save us from death in the coming final battle.

In Gideon's day only a "little company" or "Remnant" were eventually selected from 32,000 volunteers. The first 22,000 left out of fear of the enemy. Only 300 were finally selected from the remaining 10,000. Yes, only 300 were free from idol worship which meant their souls were not contaminated and infected with the demons of Baal worship. It takes a lot of prayer, meditation and Bible study to become clean, pure and whole (holy) or complete through the Holy Spirit, which is the very presence of Jesus, who wants to guide your steps and direct your life. Jesus is our example. He invites us to follow Him.

One who knew Him intimately wrote in 1874: "We are forming characters for heaven. No character can be complete without trial and suffering. We must be tested, we must be tried. Christ bore the test of character in our behalf that we might bear this test in our own behalf through the divine strength He has brought to us. Christ is our example in patience, in forbearance, in meekness and lowliness of mind. He was at variance and at war with the whole ungodly world, yet He did not give way to passion and violence manifested in words and actions, although receiving shameful abuse in return for good works. He was afflicted, He was rejected and despitefully treated, yet He retaliated not. He possessed self-control, dignity, and majesty. He suffered with calmness and for abuse gave only compassion, pity, and love.

As Morris D. Lewis used to always say after he read a quote from Sister White: This was written by one who truly knew the Lord and whose pen was dipped in the ink of heaven.

This quote, unpublished in any of her regular books, as far as I know, was given to me by an SDA pastor about 1978-9. He told me that he had lost his temper with one of his members whom he forcibly removed from the church. He was reported to the conference as unfit for the ministry. Subsequently, he took a leave of absence during which time I met him. He said that he read the above quote every day, sometimes several times a day. He was a large, powerful man who sought to become weak in himself and strong only in Jesus. He had several children and a devoted wife. They all supported him 100%. He accepted the character message and was going to work with GLC when he received a call to return to the conference work. I have never heard from him since but thank God for this quote which I published in the introduction to my second book, "THE WONDERFUL TRUTH ABOUT OUR HEAVENLY FATHER," 1986.

Many SDAs no longer believe in the writings of EGW. Others go to the opposite extreme and place her writings above or on an equality with the Bible but reject her clear statements that God does not destroy. Both positions are wrong. But setting that aside for now let us take the above quote simply as it stands. Is it not logical that by beholding Jesus we can be changed little by little, day by day, as Paul says in 2 Cor. 3:18? But we must behold the true image of Jesus and not a false, counterfeit image, which Satan is holding out to the world today. Yes, the same false image with which he duped the Jewish nation. They were so fully deceived that they not only rejected Jesus and accepted Barabbas, a known murderer, but went to the insane length of publicly proclaiming Caesar as their only monarch. "We have no king but Caesar," they cried out to Pilate at Jesus' trial, severing their connection with Jehovah and canceling the theocracy and their status as God's chosen nation. Yet out of apostate Israel came God's new chosen nation, the Christian Church. The same thing is happening today. God is calling out a Remnant from the present apostasy. We have been called to be God's "Mordecai in the gate," who will receive the hatred and rejection of all Christendom as well as the world. Esther 3:2. Eventually, a death decree will be passed against us because we will not bow to the false, environmental, Sabbath-Sunday, created by the Roman Catholic Church as a day of worship to the NWO beast power or Synagogue of Satan, as identified by Jesus Himself in Rev. 3:9. But those who are faithful, like Esther of old, will be delivered. And that is what our study is about today...how to escape the coming Time of Trouble and be delivered just as Jesus promised us in Luke 21:34-36.

A fundamental Bible topic, necessary, even crucial in understanding the exciting end-time scenario (rescue operation) our Wonderful God (Jesus) has planned for us is the ancient Hebrew harvest cycle. In the parables Jesus taught are hidden the very pieces of the puzzle so vital to a correct understanding of all eschatology or end-time prophecy.

For example, let's go to Matt. 13 where Jesus tells the parable of the sower and the seed. By the way, the word "parable" in Greek simply means to "throw beside." Jesus was taking eternal truths and throwing stories (parables) beside them so as to illustrate and simplify or to make these eternal truths easy to understand. When the disciples questioned Him as to why He was speaking to the multitudes in parables He explained: "Because you have been given the chance to understand the secrets of the kingdom of Heaven..., but they have not." Matt. 13:11, Phillips. If there was ever a clear picture of the Sovereignty of God this is it. The Creator of the universe is the Master designer and architect. He is the Master Potter and we are His clay. "When a craftsman makes anything he doesn't expect it to turn round and say, 'Why did you make me like this?' The potter, for instance, is always assumed to have complete control over the clay, making with one part of the lump a lovely vase, and with another a pipe for sewage. Can we not assume that God has the same control over human clay?" Rom. 9:20, 21. Phillips. This does not mean that God is biased, mean or unjust for He showers His blessings of sun and rain on everyone equally.

The problem is that not everyone is willing to acknowledge or accept what He gives them and they murmur and complain (like Israel of old, then the serpent bites them, Num. 11) instead of thanking Him for all things as Job did even in the face of terrible losses. It is not given to the careless multitudes to understand, for they have chosen to tune their minds to worldly concerns and consequently they have tuned into station D-E-V-I-L instead of station J-E-S-U-S. "For whoever has [spiritual knowledge], to him will more be given and he will be furnished richly, so that he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away (lost)." Matt. 13:12. Amplified. Remember that the Creator ALWAYS takes the blame/responsibility for every action (good or bad) of each of His creatures. Although it is true that He gives us free will, He already knows ahead of time how we will exercise that free will. Because of this Divine foreknowledge (which He always uses for our good) He knows in advance every choice we will make and is therefore, able to accommodate our free will and accomplish His purpose as well, thus educating both the angelic and human realms together, as well as the entire universe, for we are told that our little world is the lesson book for the universe, DA 1.

Jesus' parables are a definite and special part of that education designed to teach us "things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world." Matt. 13:35. Also keep in mind that with God there is no such thing as "time" per se, for Jesus lives in the ETERNAL NOW. In fact, someone has said, God is time itself. His entire government and law is founded on the precision of time. "And when the fullness of time was come God sent forth His son, made of a woman, made under the law to redeem them that were under the law that we might receive the adoption of sons." Gal. 4:4. So, when we read these parables in the gospels we are sitting at the feet of the Master just as verily as Peter, James and John were 2,000 years ago. Isn't that neat! Incredible! What a Wonderful God we have. That's why I always sign under my signature, Isn't Jesus Wonderful!

In private Jesus revealed to the twelve, as well as us today, the profound truths hidden in these parables. The main thing the disciples wanted Jesus to explain was the meaning of the "Tares in the field." The way they phrased the question indicates they were not only puzzled but fascinated by this story of the tares being sown among the wheat. Why? Because they always thought that God was actually doing both the good as well as the bad. But Jesus said that "An enemy" was responsible for the tares. They were on the ball enough to realize God was not the "Enemy," so they wanted to know who this mysterious "enemy" might be. In Matt. 13:37-43, Jesus explains each part which we don't have time to go into in this study. Suffice it to say, He did explain that the Devil was the enemy and his children are represented by the tares. He also explained that "THE HARVEST IS THE END OF THE WORLD; AND THE REAPERS ARE THE ANGELS." "Zizanion" is the Greek word for "tares" which simply means "false wheat." The tares look like wheat until the harvest is ripe. This immediately reminds us of the five wise and five foolish virgins of Matt. 25. It is not until the cry goes forth, "behold the bridegroom is coming" that the foolish virgins or the tares discover the truth about themselves; about their true character.

The Jewish economy was built around reaping the harvests, for there were more than one type of grain. "Now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept." Jesus then is the first of the firstfruits or what is known as the "wave offering." Lev. 23:11-20. This is very important. The words wave and sheaf are Old Testament terms not used in the New Testament, even by Paul. But when He used the word "firstfruits" in connection with the resurrection of Christ every Jew knew he was referring to the time of the harvest which would, of course, include first of all, the first of the first fruits (barley - little company) or wave offering, also known as the wave sheaf, then the first fruits (wheat or 144,000 - five wise virgins) and later the harvest of the grapes (the great multitude - five foolish virgins). If you have not studied these topics it may not register at first. Therefore, these ideas will be repeated for emphasis as it is extremely important because the barley harvest is very near. Are you barley (little company), wheat (144,000 - five wise virgins) or among the tares (five foolish virgins)? You need to meditate and pray on this matter with all of your heart for the sifting is going on right now. Are you awake? Aware? It's time to wake up or it will be too late. And that will be the worst news of your entire life. Trust me on that one, my friend. Jesus is extending His hand to you today. Don't turn away. Take it and let Him lead you safely through the terrible final events of this planet which are going to be worse than anyone could ever imagine. Do not be among those who will mourn too late: "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." Jere. 8:20.

As we continue on you will become aware of our utter dependence upon the Old Testament types which were fulfilled in Jesus, the great anti-type. Paul, as a brilliant scholar of the Old Testament and the entire Jewish system, began to see how Jesus had fulfilled all of these types and symbols very shortly after Christ appeared to him on the Damascus road. His mind was like a computer. The problem was that the information he had stored in his "hard drive" had been organized and presented to him by biased, unbelieving teachers so as to reject Jesus as the Messiah. But after this astounding face to face epiphany, Jesus revealed Himself to Saul in person, convincing him that He was indeed the Promised seed of Abraham. Paul's mind immediately began reorganizing his vast store of information with a heavenly spin on it this time which led Him to the glorious truth about Jesus; that He was indeed the Messiah.

Let's stop here for a moment and analyze this word "epiphany" because it is crucial to an understanding of how God communicates with us. If you are willing, Jesus wants you to have an epiphany in your heart and mind right now, as you read this article. Webster's dictionary defines "epiphany" as "an appearance or manifestation...of a supernatural being." In many Christian churches it is a yearly festival, held January 6, commemorating both the revealing of Jesus as the Christ to the gentiles in the persons of the Magi and the baptism of Jesus: also called the Twelfth Day. A third definition Webster gives, and perhaps the most important for us in all of our studies is that epiphany means "a moment of sudden intuitive understanding; flash of insight, a scene, experience, etc. that occasions such a moment."

We should pray every morning for these experiences to keep Jesus constantly alive in our minds and perfecting our characters more and more each day. This is best accomplished by reading and/listening to the Word of God by yourself. If your church offers services to read and discuss the Bible these are also helpful. Watching and listening to sermons on TV and radio can be helpful as well but one needs to constantly pray for extra special discernment. When you reach a certain point in your walk with Jesus He will begin to impress you to tell others what you know. Some are especially chosen by God from birth to preach the Word of God. We know this from the lives of the prophets such as Joseph, Moses, Samuel, David, Daniel, John the Baptist and Jesus Himself. As you study these and other men and women chosen by God you will usually learn they had special revelations throughout their youth, especially at the ages of 7, 12 and 17. Joseph, Daniel and David were 17 when God revealed Himself to them in a special way. Then at the age of 30 their life work began and expanded dramatically in their 37th year. I have checked this out with many other characters outside of the Bible and the pattern is very consistent. The reason I was curious is because that was happened to me at ages 17, 30 and 37. Read the lives of Martin Luther, John Wesley and Ellen White just for starters. You will see this same pattern. I only mention this so you may become aware of what may have been going on in your own life for a long time which you have consciously or unconsciously suppressed. It is not easy to be a spokesman for God due to the tremendous opposition Satan brings to try and stop you. Yet, Jesus will bring you through every trial and make you stronger if you just listen to His voice and do what He asks you to do. He will usually tell you to be quiet and listen to my voice. Don't be afraid because everything is happening just as I planned it. Everything is ok. Then He will tell you to love everyone and forgive everyone. That is the hard part for most people and the reason few pass the test to be His spokesman. God cannot trust people to deliver His final message of love with people who do not love their enemies. This is crucial. God has high profile messengers and low profile messengers. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel are high profile. Jonah, by contrast is low profile. Why? Just read his four chapter book called, Jonah, and you will know why. Jonah was an angry preacher who didn't love the human race outside of Israel. The closer you live to Jesus the more love and compassion you will have for fallen humanity.

On Dec. 2, my 90 year old friend, Esther wrote me the following: Due to my left eye giving me trouble I have not been able to study this last study you sent me but I have read enough to know that you have a most important message for us. God chose you to give His message because He knew you loved Him enough that nothing will stop you. You have the patience of Job having gone through more trying experiences than anyone I know. (It is odd that a number of people tell me this. I don't have time to think about it. My joy in the Lord is so great because of all the incredible information He gives me every day that I don't have time to worry about all the bad things Satan has brought against me. I just praise God for all things. Besides, Paul and Jesus and many others suffered much more. And we may have a lot more suffering in the future. The past has only been a "warm up" so to speak) I knew the parables were important but some of them I never knew applied to the very last days. For some time now God has been giving me experiences (epiphanies) in ways that may not seem important to others. Little things, such as falling down but catching on to something, getting food down the wrong way and getting it out before I chocked. In fact, I have some kind of "epiphany" almost every day, it seems like, showing me God's love and watch care over me. I always say, 'Thank you, dear Jesus.' The experience or epiphany that has been the greatest to me is when Jesus comes to me in a small light. The first time was after my oldest son died. I was very concerned for his salvation. One night I woke up with this worry on my mind. I was praying, 'Oh, God was my son prepared to meet you?' Then a light came. I opened my eyes and it was still there. I called a friend in the bed beside me asking her if she saw the same light. She said she didn't see it. So, it was a personal revelation just for me to let me know my son was ready to go. So, I didn't worry about him anymore. The most wonderful epiphany I had was the time when I was watching one of your video sermons while lying in bed. I was having one of those horrible "jerking" spells. But when that same light came between me and the TV I stopped jerking and have not had any more bad spells like that. Words cannot describe the glorious feeling I experienced. I prayed, 'Oh, God if I could always feel like this.' I did not hear a word but He impressed on my mind so vividly, 'have faith, study.' Since then I have prayed daily for more faith and have studied more than ever before. Pastor Mike, it has been very discouraging for me to not have even one person answer my letter based on Acts 3:21. Some don't even want to read it when I offer it to them. Only two will study with me. They both understand and believe that "God Does Not Kill" but that is about as far as they will study. All of this has made me not want to give anymore out until I was studying what you have written in this last study about the trumpets. When I read Isa. 58:1 about lifting up your voice like a trumpet, I knew God was speaking directly to me and even if my children and friends turn against me I am going to start blowing my trumpet again by mailing out these studies, even to the minister. Yes, Jesus is Wonderful! Esther.

Beloved, Esther is 90 years old. Sometimes I think she and others like her believe in GLC and yours truly, even more than I do. I first met Esther in 1993 when I held a meeting in Collegedale, Tenn. The man who set up the meeting no longer believes and recently asked to have his name removed from the mailing list. Why? Because he no longer believes in the fullness of God's character message. He told me at the meetings he could never accept what I was preaching. Esther loved it and he hated it. It was present truth beyond what he had read in my first book, "Into The Father's Heart." After the disappointment of 1844 the Lord revealed three important truths through deep Bible study and prayer by the pioneers of the third angels' messages. The first was the Heavenly Sanctuary message. The second was the Sabbath and the third was the doctrine of "Conditional immortality" which we refer to as the "STATE OF THE DEAD MESSAGE." William Miller and most of the believers in present truth of the Advent movement left after the passing of time in Oct. 22, 1844, the last date set for the coming of Christ. William Miller and almost all of the leaders rejected the Sabbath. Men such as Joseph Bates and James White accepted it and became stalwart leaders in the new movement. EGW spoke of "Walking in the advancing Light." If we do not continue up the narrow pathway we fall off down into the dark world and suffer the fate of the foolish virgins. In 1888 the basic theme was the character of God and His righteousness. That is why EGW eventually wrote in "Christ's Object Lessons," page 84, "God destroys no man," and even more in "DESIRE OF AGES, published in 1898. This is progressive revelation.

One other person who was struggling to learn more of levels three and four of the character of God died last year of cancer. A few of the others who came to the meeting still write but not like Esther. She sat on the front row and took in every word. From that very month til now she has consistently sent $100.00 every month, sometimes more. That is nearly $6,000. from just one precious soul. Now, she is telling me she is going to start blowing the trumpet even louder! This other brother has evidently decided to lay down his trumpet completely and return home, like the 22,000 in Gideon's day.

Friend of mine, Esther is a wonderful example for all of us. I almost feel ashamed of myself with my comparative youth and vitality. Do you know what I mean? How about you? How much do we actually care about the souls of others in this final hour? Permit me to sincerely ask you a personal question, which I also ask myself each day. What are you doing for Jesus? I mean, in comparison to what He has done and is doing for you? Really? I am serious. What have you actually done for Him? This is not meant to be a criticism to make you feel guilty or bad about yourself. It is simply time to be totally honest with yourself. Because friends, we are living in very serious times. And it is time to wake up and realize that.

Let me tell you a story I remember hearing Elder HMS Richards Sr tell many years ago. It is about a young man, who while visiting an art gallery in London or Paris, was overwhelmed with emotion while viewing a famous painting of the crucifixion of Christ. Although I am not absolutely certain, I believe his name was Count Ludwig Nicholas von Zinzendorf, 1700-1760, who was born into a wealthy family in Germany. As I recall the story he just stood for hours staring at this painting of the Saviour dying on the cross and kept exclaiming He died for me, He died for me, while tears streamed down His face, but what have I done for Him? In 1737 Zinzendorf invited the Moravians, a persecuted sect, to settle on his estates in upper Lusatia, Germany. A colony of the Moravians was also founded in Georgia about 1735 and in Pennsylvania about 1741. One of Zinzendorf's converts, Peter Bohler, was the man God used to instruct Wesley in Righteousness by Faith. His friendship, counseling, prayers and Bible instruction prepared Wesley for His famous Aldersgate conversion, May 24, 1738, in which he declared that his heart had been strangely warmed. This is typical British understatement for the most dramatic event in the life of young Wesley and possibly of 18th century England for the Wesleyan revival, without a doubt, saved England from the kind of revolution which ravaged France opening the door for the second anti-Christ of history, to take over France and cause tens of thousands of innocent young men to die in the senseless Napoleonic wars. But this would never have happened it Count Zinzendorf, Peter Bohler and John Wesley had listened to the voice of God and permitted the experience of their individual epiphanies to change their lives, just as Saul was converted to Paul.

And that is exactly what Saul (later Paul) had on the road to Damascus. An epiphany which he refers to several times in his writings. It was the turning point in his life. These special flashes of insight are available to people every day. Unfortunately, the majority of humanity do not recognize them as such and miss great blessings. A Dr. friend of mine explained once that many people's minds are open to such flashes of insight for only a few seconds or minutes every ten years or possibly in an entire lifetime. That is how closed the human mind is to the Spirit of God. But the Lord knows how to reach the hardest heart. Saul most certainly is a classic example. Typical of his bold, gung ho, choleric personality Paul acted immediately upon this fantastic information. This special, personal epiphany, was designed just for him. "And straightaway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God." Acts 9:20. He has one for you too, my friend. What would you do if you had such an experience? I want you to think about it because you may have one today. So, you need to be praying that you will be open to it.

I like the way Phillips expresses this life-changing moment in Saul's life. "Saul stayed with the disciples in Damascus for some time. Without delay he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues declaring that he is the Son of God. All his hearers were staggered and kept saying, 'Isn't this the man who so bitterly persecuted those who called on the name in Jerusalem, and came down here with the sole objective of taking back all such people as prisoners before the chief priests? But Saul went on from strength to strength, reducing to confusion the Jews who lived at Damascus by proving beyond doubt that this man is Christ." Acts. 9:19-22. Try to imagine for a moment how a person would feel if he were playing some kind of game with a rival, someone he didn't like, and wanted to beat badly. He had lost before but this time it seems like he is really winning.. beating them badly. He really feels there is no way that he can lose. It could be any game. Basketball, ping pong, or some board game, like chess. Let's use chess. He feels like Bobby Fischer. But suddenly, without warning, his opponent makes some brilliant moves, puts him in check and then takes his queen. Then he takes a rook. A few more moves and he has him check-mated. Wouldn't he be "staggered?" Although that is basically a boxing term it is a good expression to sum up a person's feelings in such a scenario.

Well, that's what Jesus did to the Jewish leadership through Saul of Tarsus, who became the Apostle Paul. They were truly staggered and brought to confusion. But, friend of mine, the truth is that this is the way God has operated throughout history. Look at David and Goliath. Read the book of Esther. And what about the resurrection of Christ? Beloved, we need to read and believe these stories because we are even now in a position where we are going to very soon need one of these kind of miracles. In this study today I am going to show you what God has already planned for those who will trust in Him in this final hour. I hope it will shock and stagger your imagination enough to really wake you up to the reality of our situation.

Because, friend of mine, like it or not we are at the end of this age...the great time of the harvest. Like Saul of old, we need an EPIPHANY to help us "figure it out," for we have all of these pieces of the puzzle we are trying to fit together so we can see the whole picture. The first piece I found that helped me was the concept of the barley harvest which a friend shared with me on the telephone more than once. It took a while for it to sink in. Why is this important? Because that is the very first grain that is harvested. Barley is symbolic of human beings who are ready for the harvest...or for Jesus' coming. But just as barley is ready to be harvested before the wheat some human beings are riper or more ready than others in their spiritual walk with God.

Now, let's see if we can find something in the Bible that would illustrate God's plan and place for the barley in these last days. The word "barley" is used 37 times in 35 verses, only three of them in the New Testament. The one I have chosen is found in the book of Judges which has 21 chapters. It is most famous for the story of Samson, 1161-1121, according to Ussher's chronology. Gideon's story begins 88 years earlier in 1249 BC. Gideon was descended from Abiezrite, of the tribe of Manasseh. His father was Joash, an idol worshipper. In fact, almost all of Israel were in a state of apostasy, or worshipping idols at this time, due to the fact that they had intermarried with the heathen tribes surrounding them which they were supposed to conquer, convert (as in the case of Ruth the Moabitess) and/or drive out of the land God had promised to them. "God had placed His people in Canaan as a mighty breastwork to stay the tide of moral evil, that it might not flood the world." Instead "The Israelites were 'mingled among the heathen, and learned their works.' Psalm 106:35. They intermarried with the Canaanites, and idolatry spread like a plague throughout the land. 'They served their idols: which were a snare unto them. Yea, they sacrificed their sons and daughters unto devils:...and the land was polluted with blood...Therefore was the wrath of the Lord kindled against His people, insomuch that He abhorred His own inheritance.'" Ps. 106:36-40. PP 544. "Wrath" here means God's protecting hand had been removed or forfeited by Israel. Wrath does not mean God is directly striking someone with a plague or some other disaster to punish them. It signifies His withdrawal due to rejection by the sinner.

So, God's chosen and professed people had failed just as God's Remnant have failed to take the final message to the world in our day. The Amalekites on the south of Canaan were the bitter enemies of Israel. In the days of Moses the Amalekites had almost been destroyed. But they had recovered and become numerous and powerful. Along with the Midianites on the eastern border, they thirsted for revenge. God's protecting hand had been forfeited (withdrawn because they rejected Him) due to Israel's idol worship so this ancient New World Order allied force saw the opportunity they had been praying for to their idols (Satan and his devils). Joined with these two powerful nations were the "children of the east" which included the Moabites, Philistines, Mesopotamians and other Canaanites. Together they numbered 135,000 battle ready soldiers. Judges 8:10. These were a wild and fierce bunch of people...hells angels, if you please, who lived out in the desert most of the time.

As soon as the harvest began to ripen they swarmed in with their flocks and herds like a devouring plague from the Jordan to the Philistine plain. They stripped the fields of their increase and robbed and maltreated all the natives in the land and then returned to the desert. All of Gideon's older brothers had been killed by the Midianites. The Israelites, who ordinarily lived in the open country, had abandoned their homes and sought refuge in walled villages, fortresses, as well as caves and the fastness among the mountains just as God's people will have to start doing in the near future. Guess how long this had been going on in Gideon's day? SEVEN YEARS. PP 546. God's people were beginning to cry out for help as will happen again in our day.

Gideon's name was well known and feared among these wicked invaders who had failed to conquer or kill him. The servant of the Lord tells us that Gideon had concealed a small quantity of grain in secrecy and was threshing or beating a small amount of wheat for survival near a winepress so as not to be noticed because the time of ripe grapes had not yet come. The enemy was not interested in the vineyard as the time of grapes was far off. "As he worked alone he sadly pondered upon the condition of Israel and considered how the oppressor's yoke might be broken off of his people." PP 546. Because God can read our minds a messenger from the courts of heaven was sent to speak to Gideon. Can you guess who this might be?

Judges 6 contains this fascinating story, which as you might have already surmised, is another epiphany. Verse 11 and on informs us that the angel of the Lord sat under an oak tree watching Gideon work. Suddenly, but silently he enters the human dimension making Himself visible to Gideon, congratulating him because God was with him and he was a man of great courage. Gideon immediately questioned how this could be true in light of all the oppression and destruction Israel was suffering. He wanted to know where the great wonders and miracles of the past were if God were really with His people. The angel did not argue with him on this point but simply said: "Go in this your might, and you shall save Israel from the hand of Midian. Have not I sent you?" v. 14. Then the angel told Gideon He would be with Him. I want to ask you a question, dear reader? Has God ever spoken to you like this? Would you like Him to? Think about that. How would it change your life? When supernatural beings communicate with humans they do not speak their words through the air like us. No. You hear their words in your mind like mental telepathy. Most people do not know this, because, sad to say, most people have never heard God's voice and would not recognize it if He spoke to them.

Actually, God speaks to people every day but they think it is their own thoughts. Of course, Satan speaks to them too and that is who they are listening to most of the time, thinking that this is just normal life. Remember that Saul thought that he was doing God's will when he was killing Christians. He had been brain washed to believe he was doing the will of God just like the Jews who crucified our Lord. Jesus revealed the truth to them but they wouldn't listen. "Ye are of your father the devil." John 8:44. They were listening to the voice of Satan, thinking it was the voice of Jehovah God.

Gideon's epiphany was very special because He not only heard the words of God in his mind but was able to see the speaker at the same time. Paul only saw a light and heard a voice. But Gideon actually saw the "angel of the Lord" who actually was Jesus. How do I know that? Because in Judges 6:12 he tells Gideon, "The Lord is with you, O Valiant warrior." He could have said, "I am with you," but He does not reveal Himself as "Jesus" to Gideon because this aspect of God had not yet been revealed to the human race. Adam and his descendants looked for a Saviour. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob talked to God. Jacob even wrestled with Him. But the incredible revelation of the lovely Saviour of Galilee we know and love was not known at this time.

This understanding has been progressive through the centuries and is even now being revealed in its fullness in our hearts and minds. Then in verse 14 we read, "And the Lord looked upon him, and said, 'Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?" Did you see the change there from the title "Angel of the Lord," to simply "Lord?" I didn't see that at first. This is the same "Lord" who spoke to Joshua all throughout his life. Notice: "And the Lord said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee." Joshua 3:7. When did the Lord begin speaking to Joshua like this? After the death of Moses. "Now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, etc." Joshua 1:1, 2. As I was typing this verse it just occurred to me that neither Joshua nor the children of Israel understood that Moses was raised from the grave and taken to heaven. This is what Jude 9 is referring to...the battle over the body of Moses. All that the people knew was that Moses went up on top of Mt. Nebo and died. No one went with him. I just stopped and read again chapter 43, "THE DEATH OF MOSES," from "Patriarchs and Prophets," pages 469 to 486. I had not read it for many years. Sure enough, no one knew that Moses was resurrected until it was revealed to Jude who tells us what happened: "But when (even) the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, judicially argued (disputed) about the body of Moses, he dared not (presume to) bring an abusive condemnation against him, but (simply) said, The Lord rebuke you! Jude 9. Cf. [Zech. 3:2.]" Amplified Bible. I would encourage you to read what EGW said in "Patriarchs and Prophets" as she enlarges upon all of this explaining how Jesus revealed all of Israel's future to Moses, including their rejection and murder of the Messiah. I have always thought that Moses probably died of cardiac arrest when he realized the 70 he had chosen became the very governing body (Sanhedrin) which officially condemned Jesus to death. EGW tells us that this 70 was not God's perfect will as He wanted to work directly with Moses, not with a committee of 70. "They (the 70) would never have been chosen had Moses manifested faith corresponding to the evidences he had witnessed of God's power and goodness...Had he relied fully upon God, the Lord would have guided him continually and would have given him strength for every emergency." PP 380. So, all of this information probably contributed to his premature death for he was in perfect health as we read in Deut. 34:7. "And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated (diminished)." Before he died Moses was assured that he would live again with His Lord. He was shown the resurrection of Christ as well as His ascension to heaven. "He saw the shining gates open to receive Him, and the host of heaven with songs of triumph welcoming their Commander. And it was there revealed to him that he himself would be one who should attend the Saviour, and open to Him the everlasting gates. As he looked upon the scene, his countenance shone with a holy radiance. How small appeared the trials and sacrifices of his life when compared with those of the Son of God!" PP 476. What a wonderful and kind Heavenly Father is our Jesus. Moses was a firstfruit type for all the dead in Christ in all ages just as Enoch and Elijah were first fruits, or first types, of those who will be translated without seeing death.

Today, as we see the building up of the present NEW WORLD ORDER we should know that the hordes of heathen are getting ready to attack the true Israel of today the same as in the days of Gideon. This article is designed to not only alert you to your danger but help you be ready to escape the coming disaster that will overtake most of God's professed, but sleeping people in spiritual Israel today throughout the world. Just as God called Gideon to break down the idol of false worship and call Israel to get ready to go to war so God is calling for volunteers to join His army today. Gideon first called all of his father's family together and sent them out as messengers to his fellow brethren tribes who were nearest to him, Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali and 32,000 responded. Have you sent any messages to your family and loved ones lately about what you know? You better get started because time is running out.

Well, we all know how the Lord told Gideon there were too many volunteers, because after the battle is over they would boast that they had won because of their superior power and might. That is amazing in light of the fact that with 135,000 enemy troops parked in the nearby valley of Jezreel they were still outnumbered four to one and then some! But God knows how evil the human heart is. So, the Lord told Gideon to "proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, 'whoever is afraid and trembling, let him return and depart from Mount Gilead.'" Well, that one little announcement cleared out 22,000 in no time at all. Now, Gideon is outnumbered 13 to 1. Basically, the same situation exists today for God's true preachers who are standing up against the enemy today are few and far between. Like those 22,000 fearful deserters, many believers today are being sifted out of the ranks for the "sifting and shaking" time is getting more and more severe. Truly, many are called but few are chosen.

Gideon had been filled with astonishment when the Lord told him his army was too large. Like their modern counterparts, fear filled their hearts when these eager volunteers saw the "tanks and black helicopters" with their nuclear arsenals and microwave weapons of destruction! But a greater test lay ahead which would reduce the remaining 10,000 to a mere 300 men. Now the odds were 350 to 3 or more than 100 to 1. Today the odds are much greater against God's army.

The final test involved how a soldier takes a simple drink of water. The 10,000 remaining were led down to the waterside expecting an immediate attack upon the enemy. "By the simplest means character is often tested. Those who in time of peril were intent upon supplying their own wants were not the men to be trusted in an emergency. The Lord has no place in His work for the indolent and self-indulgent. The men of His choice were the few who would not permit their own wants to delay them in their discharge of duty. The three hundred chosen men not only possessed courage and self-control, but they were men of faith. They had not defiled themselves with idolatry. God could direct them, and through them He could work deliverance for Israel. Success does not depend upon numbers. God can deliver by few as well as by many. He is honored not so much by the great numbers as by the character of those who serve Him." PP 549, 550.

Gideon had already received confirmation by two tests with the wet and dry fleece. Yet, in his human frailty he trembled as he looked upon the hordes before him. Jesus, who reads our every thought, already had a remedy to erase his fear. "Get up! Take your troops and attack the Midianites, for I will cause you to defeat them! But if you are afraid, first go down to the camp alone---take along your servant Phurah if you like---and listen to what they are saying down there! you will be greatly encouraged and be eager to attack." Judges 7:9-11. LB.

Now, we are very close to the symbol we are looking for. We need to pray for wisdom and insight to see how it applies to us today. Gideon obeyed the Lord and went down with his servant to the enemy encampment. Some translations read that Gideon heard two outpost guards discussing a dream. The LB, a paraphrase, pictures two men in their tent talking about a nightmare one just had. The NAS is probably the most accurate. "When Gideon came, behold, a man was relating a dream to his friend. And he said, 'Behold I had a dream; a loaf of barley bread was tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came to the tent and struck it so that it fell, and turned it upside down so that the tent lay flat. And his friend answered and said, 'This is nothing less than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given Midian and all the camp into his hand.'" Judges 7:14, 15. This dream and its interpretation is significant because it gives us an important insight into how the people thought, talked and wrote. This one tent is seen to represent the entire encampment or heathen army of several and various nations. And the one loaf of barley represents the three hundred. Remember Nebuchadnezzar's dream which he forgot? The Lord chose young Daniel from among all the "wise" men of Babylon to reveal the dream so he in turn could explain it to the king. Of course, you remember that God had given Nebuchadnezzar a dream about a huge image of various metals representing Babylon, Medio-Peria, Greece and Rome. Then he saw a stone cut out of the mountain without hands hurtled through the air and hit this metallic man on the feet and toes which were made of iron and clay causing it to collapse and crumble into thousands of little pieces which became like chaff which the Bible says the wind came and blew away. Traditionally, most Bible expositors have interpreted this stone kingdom to represent the coming of the Messiah or the Second Coming of Christ.

Jewish theologians were thinking along these same lines before the first coming of Christ. They believed the Messiah would be a super general who would organize Israel into an invincible fighting army which would conquer the world. When He refused to become their king for this purpose they rejected Him. This same basic idea still persists among most religious groups in one form or another in today's religious world. If we look at how the Messiah actually came the first time it might give us some insight into what to expect when He comes again in our day. First of all, the Messiah was born as a helpless little baby in Bethlehem. The ancient pagan date of December 25 has become a yearly ritual to celebrate His first coming. Does the Bible predict any kind of a birth in connection with the second coming of Christ? It certainly does and this fact has been overlooked the same as it was the first time.

Before I go to the first scripture which will begin to unravel the mystery of His Second Coming let me tell you how the Lord revealed this to me. It was sometime in 1980 that the Lord chose for me to understand the truth about the animal sacrifice system...that it was His permissive will and not His perfect will. That is why it was nailed to the cross. As I began giving Bible studies on this topic my understanding increased. Isaiah 66:1-4 was very powerful in persuading people that the animal sacrifice was not of God. Then I would go to Jer. 7:22 to prove that God did not even speak the animal sacrifice system, let alone write up the rules and regulations for it. This shocking revelation then opened the door to a study of the TWO LORDS (see 2 Sam. 24:1 & I Chron. 21:1) which is the third level of the character of God message.

Well, about three months ago now I was reading Isa. 66:1-4 and the Lord said to me: Go a little farther and read verses 5 and on. It was an embarrassing moment for me to realize that I didn't even know what the rest of the chapter was about. I just thought it was about the new earth and the new moons and sabbaths, etc. vs. 23, 24. In verses 5 and 6 the Lord is talking directly to a small group of people. In the RSV above v. 5 is the sub heading.

Isn't that amazing! "Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at His Word: 'Your brethren who hate you and cast you out for my Name's sake (Name here means for the sake of or because they believe in His true character) have said, 'Let the Lord be glorified, that we may see your joy' (those who do not believe in God's true character are ridiculing those who do) but it is they who shall be put to shame. 'Hark, an uproar from the city! A voice from the temple! The voice of the Lord, rendering recompense to His enemies!" Now, let me show you a parallel text in two places in the Apocalypse. "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voice in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ (Christos or Anointed or Chosen one or Messiah); and he shall reign for ever and ever." (Into the ages of the ages). Rev. 11:15. Next, let us read Rev. 12:10. "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 (Christos, anointed, chosen one, or Messiah); (why?) for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night." We will come back to Rev. 12 shortly but let us now return to Isa. 66:7. Notice in this verse Isaiah is talking about the church and the birth of not just one baby but an entire nation. "Before she (the church) was in labor she gave birth; before her pain came upon her she was delivered of a son. (KJV says "Man Child") Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall a land be born in one day? Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment. For as soon as Zion was in labor she brought forth her sons." Isa. 66:7, 8. RSV. Now put with that Rom. 8:19-23. "For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing (manifestation) of the Sons of God...because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God." Cf. I John 3:2.

Now, let us go to Rev. 12:1-5 where John sees a woman clothed with the Sun (The New Testament's glory of the first coming of the Messiah) the moon under her feet (Old Testament foundation for the church) and a crown of 12 stars which represent the 12 disciples. Then this same woman is pictured as pregnant, ready to deliver her baby at any moment. The birth pangs have already begun. Satan is there, represented by a great red dragon who is ready to eat up or devour the child as soon as it was born. Now notice v. 5 has a dual application to Jesus and to His Christos in the end time. "And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to His throne." This refers us back to Psalm 2 and Dan. 12. They are crucial to a complete understanding of the prophecies of Revelation, in this case, Rev. 12. In former articles, I have explained that the Hebrew writers often used the idea of one person or one thing to represent a group or many people or even a nation. This is a very important concept to understand. Without an understanding of this biblical truth these Scriptures will not make sense and just remain a dark mystery. Let's start with Hosea 11:1. "When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt." Please notice, beloved, that an entire nation is spoken of and referred to as one unit or entity or person even though Israel was a nation of millions of individuals. Matthew takes this prophecy, which was written 800 years before Jesus was born, and re-applies it to Christ. Notice: "And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying 'Out of Egypt have I called my son.'" Matt. 2:15.

NEWSWEEK magazine in its Dec. 14 edition did a review on a new film about Moses entitled, "THE PRINCE OF EGYPT." In this review please notice that even though the writer sees the God of the Hebrews as a "surly presence" he does ascribe "greatness" to what He thinks is the true God. His understanding of God's character is actually on the same level as God's professed people who believe it was Jesus who brought the "pyrotechnics" (fire, smoke, thunder, lightning and shaking of the mountain). Elijah learned several centuries later on the same mountain that God was in none of these. Oh, my friend are you weeping for God's people, who after 2,800 years don't know the difference between the character of Christ and Satan? What are you doing to help them learn? After this article, I hope a lot. Don't give up trying. Please notice in the quote below that Jeff Giles picked up on this Hebrew linguistic idiosyncracy of using one person or item to refer to many as Hosea did, calling the whole nation of Israel His first born son.

If Dreamworks wanted to prove there's an adult audience for animation, it should have also asked more interesting questions about faith. In the actual Book of Exodus, God is a great, surly presence. (they don't know the fireworks at Sinai was from Satan, trying to upstage Jesus) He makes Pharaoh pathologically stubborn so he can savage him and the Egyptians again and again. (with the Ten plagues) God wants to impress everybody with his pyrotechnics (power to destroy all who do not obey) and to make clear that the Hebrews are his chosen ones---that he regards them , collectively, as his firstborn son. Page 80. Ok, so even a worldly writer caught the inference I am talking about regarding how God, through the Hebrew prophets, often will use one object or person to refer to a large group of people, i.e. the barley loaf representing Gideon and his three hundred, and the one tent knocked flat symbolized the destruction of 135,000 Midianite soldiers. The same is true of prophecy. Each metal and each animal of Dan. 2 and 7 represented an entire nation. The head of gold represented Babylon, and so forth, down to the feet and toes which represented all the nations of the earth in the last days. A body of water, like a sea or ocean or lake also is used to symbolize masses of people and nations, Rev. 17:15. The reason I am telling you this is because the "Christ" or "Christos" or "chosen one" of Rev. 11:15 and 12:10 represents or symbolizes a group of people. Unless you realize this you will not understand any of the rest of what I am trying to explain in this article. Ok, enough said on that. Let's go on.

Psalm 2 is a Messianic Psalm which we won't go into now, but suffice it to say the kings and rulers who are pictured as raging against the Lord Jesus and His anointed or Christos is the New World Order we see today massing like the 135,000 in Gideon's day, ready to destroy God's chosen ones before they even get a chance to go on stage and play their part. The rest of the Psalm concerns itself with God's plans going forth to total success through His anointed king or son and His vexing the wicked and laughing at their puny and futile efforts to stop Him, and then (His) offering to His Son all the kingdoms of the world if only He asks for them. It is truly a show stopping, breath taking scene that even Hollywood would be hard pressed to match. But this is not make believe or fantasy land...it is reality...the truest kind of reality...the fulfillment of God's promise to His final Remnant who have been faithful to Him and have believed His promises because they have come to know His character and to possess it by going into the very depths of His great and magnificent heart of love. Truly Paul captured the glory and emotion of the moment in I Cor. 2:9 when He paraphrased Isa. 64:4 to point out that we have no idea what wonderful things God has prepared for those who love Him. "No eye has seen, nor ear has heard, neither has the human heart thought of what God has prepared for those who love Him." ML.

The man child of Rev. 12:5 is the same as the barley loaf and the stone cut out of the mountain without hands. It is the Anointed of God, the Christos of Rev. 11:15 and 12:10. It is called God's Son and the King that He sets upon His holy hill of Zion. They are the Jewels and "special treasure" of Mal. 3:16-18. They are the wise ones and teachers of Dan. 12:1-2 who are delivered because their names are recorded in the "book of remembrance, " of Mal. 3:16. This is the same "One like the son of Man" of Dan. 7:13 who is brought before the thrones that were placed and this "stone" of Dan. 2 is obviously the same as "One like a son of Man" the "Little Company" or Remnant who are now brought before the "Ancient of Days" for the purpose of receiving "Dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him; His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom one that shall not be destroyed."

The rest of Judges 7 and 8 explain in detail how Gideon divided his three hundred men into three companies to surround the enemy on three sides. Their only escape route was up the narrow valley. Remember that Gideon nor any of his men had any kind of carnal, literal weapon in their hands. All they had was a trumpet and a torch which was kept hidden until Gideon blew his trumpet which was the signal for them to do likewise and break the pitchers so their torches became visible to that vast army. Of course, we know that 120,000 of them just began killing each other. Later this happened again in the days of good king Jehosaphat when the Lord impressed the leaders of Israel to send a choir out singing the praises of the Lord and the enemy destroyed themselves. We have already been told this is what will happen again. What we have not known is the sequence of events which will lead up to this. There is another story in which God delivered His people without carnal weapons. In fact, all they had was a choir going before them, singing praises, "Praise the Lord; for His mercy endureth forever." 2 Chron. 20:20. But, let's go back to Gideon's request for more proof that God would be with him. After he heard these two soldiers talking it was finally enough evidence to convince Gideon! He didn't ask God for anymore signs. The Bible says that He "Worshipped," and then returned to His 300 soldiers. Worship has many meanings which include "Extreme devotion, reverence, intense love and adoration." Joshua no doubt experienced all of these emotions and more as he realized how perfectly God had prepared everything for Him. Since I have been studying this story and its end time implications for us today I have wondered how many others of those 135,000 soldiers had similar dreams or nightmares about their coming defeat. Of all the stories in the Old Testament this one really fits our present situation. As we continue to pray and study I believe we are going to find more as we need them. The story of Esther is one that particularly comes to mind as it has to do with the coming death decree and EGW specifically tells us that Esther's experience has an end time application.

So, the Lord has been making this information available to God's people for a very long time...for 110 years since 1888. Sad to say, very few have taken up the banner and gone all the way with it. Now, we are coming to the very last chapter in the history of this age of the world, just before the coming of Jesus. It is high time to wake up and put on the armor of God Paul speaks of in Eph. 6. It is time to understand what the righteousness of God is all about. There is so much evil speaking and gossip and back biting going on among those who profess to believe the last message.

It is so sad and shocking when you realize that the five foolish virgins are actually people who profess to believe the third angel's messages...who claim to know the truth for these last days...the SDA message which includes the Sabbath and the State of the dead, etc. Yet, because these foolish virgins have rejected the character of God message, which is present truth, they have no extra oil in their lamps. As a result they are walking in darkness in the robes of their own foolish righteousness. The same thing happened in the days of Noah, which is another type for today. The door is about to be shut again, as in the days of Noah. Are you ready? Are you wise or foolish? Do you have enough oil in your lamp to carry you to the Father's house in time to go into the wedding? In the days of Noah they had 120 years? We have already had 110. If there is a parallel here we don't have much time left. Look at what has happened during this very decade. Foolish armed Sabbatarians, claiming to have the truth for these last days were burned to cinders in Waco, Texas. They believed God was leading them to defend themselves with literal, carnal weapons such as automatic rifles, etc. Thousands of other foolish virgins all over the world, especially in the USA, believe the same. This was our government's first armed show of force and attack against a professed Sabbath keeping group. The second such attack was against Randy Weaver whose wife and son were martyred. Randy and his family were also Sabbath keepers and have written a book about their experience and how God helped them, especially in the government's court case against them which Gerry Spence helped them win. Is it possible that these were two "trial balloons" to see how the world would react to the death of Creator worshippers? That is Sabbath keepers. As we now know, the Pope officially sanctions evolution and has called for a stricter observance of Sunday, calling it THE SABBATH OF THE LORD. Many believe that the FBI, CIA and BATF are Vatican controlled and directed by the New World Order. There is a principle in the Word of God that is very important for us to understand and follow. It is simply that all of our thoughts, positive or negative, come back to bless or haunt or curse us. This is true with nations as well as with individuals. "For the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you, your deeds shall return on your own head." In other words, everything boomerangs. Everything that goes around comes around, as they say in the world. Psalm 7:14-16 explains how all the evil plans of the wicked backfire. "Behold, the wicked man conceives evil...He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole which he has made. His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own pate (unprotected head) his violence descends." Job 18:7. "Yea, the light of the wicked is put out, and the flame of his fire does not shine...His strong steps are shortened and his own schemes throw him down."

This is especially true in the last days when a Death Decree is going to be passed against God's Sabbath keeping people. EGW has told us that the law passed against the Jewish people in the days of Esther is a prototype of what is coming in our day. Haaman was a powerful man in the government of Ahasuerus, the king of Persia. He had just been appointed as head of all the princes in the kingdom. But, he was proud, cruel and ambitious with no scruples or conscience. When Mordecai, Esther's adoptive father and cousin, also a Jew, refused to bow down to Haaman, he became so angry at Mordecai that he went to the king and was able to legally arrange for all the Jews of the realm to be put to death. He had a gallows erected for Mordecai. But Haaman was totally humiliated when the king honored Mordecai by having Haaman pull a chariot through the streets with Mordecai all dressed up and Haaman shouting to the people, "Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor." Esther 6:11. In shame and humiliation Haaman hurried home to tell his wife and counselors the latest bad news. "And Haaman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had befallen him. Then his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, 'If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the Jewish people, you will not prevail against him but will surely fall before him." Of course, this is exactly what happened and Haaman ended up on his own gallows. Isn't it interesting how the wicked never cheer each other in times of crisis. Without God in their lives they are like King Saul who went to the witch of Endor for counsel. Satan saw this opportunity to crush Saul's spirit down even more, just as Haaman's wife and wise men did to him. Thus it will be in this end time as the wicked turn upon each other.

We see this same scenario with the men who tried to get rid of Daniel by putting him in the lion's den and the entire allied force of 135,000 soldiers who had massed to destroy Israel. Gideon and his "little company" of 300 blew their trumpets, revealed their lighted torches and shouted out "The Sword of the Lord and Gideon," IT WAS PITCH BLACK DARK AND MIDNIGHT. Rudely awakened out of a sound sleep; very possibly many of them also having had some type of "barley loaf" nightmare regarding their approaching doom they began scrambling to their feet, trying to put on their shoes and pants and grab their swords, etc. The cry is going up all through the troops, "Great Chemosh or My Baal...look up there in the hills...we are surrounded." Gideon, as a type of Christ, was the leader of these 300 chosen soldiers, whom the Bible identifies as a "Barley Loaf." This is the first of the first fruits or the wave sheaf. EGW identifies them as the "Little Company," we will be dealing with this later in this study. But for now, this Little Company is also referred to as the stone that is cut out of the Mountain without hands, in Dan. 2, which hits the great image on the feet and toes and causes the entire image to crumble. All of these are symbols and types of the first of the first fruits or wave sheaf, the beginning of the final Remnant, God's spiritual Green Berets and Marines and Rangers, or special forces, are even now beginning to blow the trumpet in Zion (God's professed SDA people) for judgment or decision time must begin at the house of God, I Pet. 4:17. This is what happened in the Jesus' day and the Lord will follow the same pattern today. Because, when the Hebrew prophets wrote out a story like this it symbolized coming events far in the future the same as most of the prophecies of the Bible, such as Daniel and Revelation. Furthermore, the Hebrew mind wrote these events and symbols as accomplished facts. Even Peter mentions that although the judgment begins with the professed believers in the house of God it ends up with "them that obey not the gospel" thus encompassing the whole human race and the entire time frame in one text. Now, let's go back to Judges and Gideon's incredible victory over the New World Order of His day which is an example of the victory God is going to give us today as we are faithful in giving His final message of love to the world. Are you blowing your trumpet yet?

"And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpet in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon." Please notice these three companies of 100 each had no carnal weapon of any kind in their hands. What was the result? "And they stood every man in his place round about the camp: and all the host ran, and cried, and fled. And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the Lord (which Lord?) set every man's sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host: and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath." Judges 7:20-23. Notice how Paul refers to vessels which were the same as the pitchers that covered the torches that were set aflame at the same time as the pitcher was broken. "For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the glory (character) of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." 2 Cor. 4:5-7.

Throughout the earth God has His hidden treasures of truth for these last days in the minds and hearts of men and women who are very low profile people. They are not high profile people but ordinary nobodies, even misfits and rejects who are not rich, famous or good looking. But they are precious in the sight of God. His chosen servants He is keeping under wraps until the appointed hour. He is teaching and training them during this sifting and shaking time. They are weeping and praying for God's people. They are crying out to God for help in their daily lives. They may even have bad habits they are trying to break such as losing their temper, over eating, jealousy, smoking, etc. With Jesus' help they can and will get the victory if they persevere. If they don't they will fall off of the narrow upward path into the dark world below and be excluded from the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

There are so many facets to the end-time message that no matter which facet we investigate and study we will only be scratching the surface. The purpose of this article is to simply spark your interest so you will begin studying on your own. Take a concordance and look up all of the Hebrew and Greek words on a given subject. For example, in studying on the Marriage Supper of the Lamb you should look up each individual word such as Marriage, Supper and Lamb. I looked up the words "barley, wheat, bride, bridegroom, supper, etc." Pray and let the Lord lead you. James 1:5 is a promise that you will be given wisdom. Whenever I begin studying a new subject I usually talk to my friends about it...bouncing ideas off of them...getting feedback.

One such person happened to have studied a great deal into the harvests and its symbols, etc. In discussing this with this older person I admitted that I had not realized the barley came before the wheat. I said that as far as I knew the barley or first of the first fruits or wave sheaf was not mentioned in EGW's writings. Oh, yes they are, came the ready reply. Really? Well, who are they? I asked. EGW calls them the Little Company. Well, that just opened up an entirely new area of thought. I went to the EGW index but could not find one single reference to the "Little Company." I was sure that I had read about them in Early Writings. But even in Early Writings there was no reference to the "Little Company." "What is going on here?" I wondered to myself. I have heard about keeping things under wraps and low profile, but this is ridiculous. There must be something very supernatural going on here. "I know the phrase 'Little Company' is in Early Writings," I said to myself. So, I began my own search. On page 66 I found the phrase, "little remnant," but that was not it. Then on page 86 and 87 I read about "Spirit Manifestations" and Rappings, and "rapping delusion" that could almost deceive the "very elect" "I saw that the saints must get a thorough understanding of present truth, which they will be obliged to maintain from the Scriptures. They must understand the state of the dead; for the spirits of devils will yet appear to them, professing to be beloved friends and relatives, who will declare to them that the Sabbath has been changed, also other unscriptural doctrines. They will do all in their power to excite sympathy and will work miracles before them to confirm what they declare. The people must be prepared to withstand these spirits with the Bible truth that the dead know not anything, and that they who appear to them are the spirits of devils." EW 87.

On the next page I read about a train of cars going with the speed of lightning. It seemed like the whole world was on board. "The conductor was a stately, fair person, whom all the passengers looked up to and reverenced. I was perplexed and asked my attending angel who it was. He said, 'It is Satan.' He has taken the world captive. They are given over to strong delusions, to believe a lie, that they be damned (lost)." Cf. 2T 441, 442. EGW then asked if anyone was left. She was told to look in the opposite direction "and I saw a little company traveling a narrow pathway. All seemed to be firmly united, bound together by the truth, in bundles or companies. Said the angel, 'The third angel is binding, or sealing, them in bundles for the heavenly garner.'" Notice the idea of harvest in the word "garner." Although this company looked careworn because of their severe trials and conflicts the sun shined on their countenances and they looked like they had nearly won the victory. EGW then made a reference again to the snare. "I saw that the Lord has given the world opportunity to discover the snare." EW 89. She said that enough evidence had been given in just the fact that no difference was made between the precious and the vile. Other deceptive ploys used by Satan are also discussed such as the false doctrines that the Bible is not inspired and Jesus is no more than a common man. These are also part of the final snare. I thought of Luke 21:34-36 which the Lord had impressed me to study diligently and pray about. These are the verses which speak of a SNARE that will come upon "all that dwell on the face of the whole earth." Christ specifically warned all to "take heed" and not let the cares of every day life make us drunk so we are not aware of what is going on. "Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." v. 36. Other versions say "to arrive in My Presence." For some reason I could not forget those words and kept wondering if this was some kind of a special promise to those who are faithful that they would not have to go through the horrors of the last days.

Eventually, I tied these two verses in with Mal. 3:16, 17 which speak of a "book of remembrance" for those who "fear the Lord and speak often one to another...that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His Name." I knew there are at least four words in the Bible that refer to the character of God. 1. Glory. 2. Image. 3. Likeness. and 4. Name. So, here is a book that has recorded the names of those in the last segment of time who are thinking and talking about the character of God to each other by telephone and letter and in person. Then v. 18 really intrigued me for it is talking about these same people returning from somewhere to become judges regarding the human race. Notice: "Then shall ye (the people in v. 17) return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not." Later, I heard a sermon in which the speaker read this text and then said, These have just returned from the marriage supper of the Lamb to become judges on the earth. But he didn't give any kind of proof. However, it did seem logical. I began to pray and study more and ask the Lord what it all meant. If you want to understand God's holy Word you have to talk to him about it. If you have no communication with Him you will be walking in darkness and have no more understanding of what is going on than the deceived masses who believe everything they hear and see on TV.

Just think of how many deceptions are in the land today regarding eating and drinking alone which debases the mind and body so God cannot speak to the mind clearly. Although cigarettes are now known to be very bad for you--beer and wine go unrebuked for the most part along with coffee and other harmful soft drinks which taste much different than in past decades making one wonder if something isn't being put in them on purpose to cause more health problems in the general population. But how could one prove it. In spite of the Mad Cow disease publicity through Oprah and others--hamburgers are still selling like there is no tomorrow along with many other fast food favorites which do more harm than good. Pork and meats in general are still very popular among the masses who also flock to all kinds of violent sporting events such as soccer, football and hockey to name just a few. Competition is easy to sell to the masses because it feeds the ego and helps one forget his/her problems.

But all of the above has been going on for most of this century and before except for the increased violence. What is new is the craze to talk to the experts about your future on the psychic hotline regarding your next job or lover or play with the ouija board for special answers. These are extremely dangerous activities, my friend, as you are in direct contact with Satan and his evil spirits who use these avenues as a point of entrance into your life. You don't want to know or have to find out how hard it is to get rid of those demons once they get in. Another rage of the day in most states now are the lottery and legalized casinos. Evil spirits control and run all of these things. Then you have pornography running rampant on the internet and in videos and movies introducing homosexuality and other perversions infecting and destroying young people around the world at an unprecedented rate. Drugs and abortions abound more and more. Antibiotics and contaminated vaccinations are also being given all around the world spreading sickness, disease and death like a plague.

And every single area mentioned above is because the people have been deceived. But the greatest deception of all is on God's professed people, believe it or not. They may think they have escaped most of the above, which they many have, for the most part, except for vaccinations. On this point SDAs are just as deceived as the world. But lets talk about the Ten Virgins of Matt. 25 for a moment because they are going to figure into this end time equation very definitely as we continue putting the pieces of the puzzle together. Five of the virgins are wise and five are foolish. But they all have one thing in common. They are all asleep. Question. Who wakes them up? The Bible tells us. "While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him." Matt. 25:5, 6.

A cry was made. That is what woke them up...a cry at midnight. But that does not answer the question, "Who is it that is giving this cry?" The parable does not say. In fact, Jesus never told the disciples who the virgins represent. But we can figure it out the same as they did because we know that a virgin represents a pure church. And we know Jesus is the bridegroom who is coming back to get his bride, the church. But in order that no one could ever blame Jesus for not giving enough information He sent a prophet to His Remnant people who wrote many books, one of which is "Christ's Object Lessons." In the very last chapter of this book, "To Meet the Bridegroom," EGW explains this parable and I hope you will read it for yourself for time and space do not permit an in-depth study here. The ten virgins look the same similar to the wheat and the tares. It is not until the time of the harvest that the truth becomes known to the virgins and everybody else because those who are not filled with the Spirit of God and clothed with the fine linen of His righteousness will be walking around naked in their shame before the world. What a terrible ordeal to endure for proud Laodiceans! Now, please pay attention and watch this closely for your spiritual welfare and salvation depend upon what I am going to reveal to you now.

The difference between the wise and foolish virgins become apparent to all as they make their way to the marriage supper of the Lamb to which they all have been invited. They are all excited and looking forward to meeting the bridegroom and going into the wedding. But as they go along the foolish virgins begin to notice something peculiar about their lamps. They seem to be flickering a bit. At first, they don't think about it but soon they realize the lights or fire in their lamps are going out and they become very nervous and agitated, frightened and afraid. They can still see a little from their own lamps and the lamps of the wise virgins who were wise enough to bring extra oil. But when they ask to borrow some oil the wise tell them it is not possible and they will need to go buy their own. Character cannot be transferred.

I don't know if you have ever been in one of those caves where it is so dark that you cannot see your hand in front of your face. Just imagine what it would be like if you somehow became separated from your family or group and had no flashlight or your batteries went dead. It is a terrifying thought to even imagine. Ok, that is what the foolish virgins are going to be facing in this dark world of sin very soon. Believe, me the terror is beyond your worst nightmare. The prophet has told us this in many different ways throughout her writings. What is the oil? "The oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit." COL 407. Cf. Zech. 4:1-14. A friend said that the oil represents "Present Truth." Indirectly that is true for that is what the Holy Spirit does...it helps us to find the truth of God in the Bible. "Without the Spirit of God a knowledge of His word is of no avail. The theory of truth, unaccompanied by the holy Spirit, cannot quicken the soul or sanctify the heart. One may be familiar with the commands and promises of the Bible; but unless the Spirit of God sets the truth home, THE CHARACTER WILL NOT BE TRANSFORMED." COL 408. The rest of the paragraph even states that one cannot distinguish truth from error and will be deceived by Satan. So, when Satan comes claiming to be Jesus the foolish virgins will believe him and be lost. Why? Because they do not have the extra oil which would help them detect the deceiver in his disguise. On page 411 EGW explains further that the foolish virgins are not bad people. They are not even hypocrites. They are very sincere. They have a high regard for the doctrines of the SDA Church and advocate and teach them. Isn't that amazing? Do you know people like that? People who give lots of Bible studies and persuade many people to join the church? Incredibly EGW states here on page 411 that the reason the foolish virgins are foolish is because of the following reason: Notice:

"They have not yielded themselves to the Holy Spirit's working. They have not fallen upon the Rock, Christ Jesus, and permitted their old nature to be broken up. This class are represented also by the stony-ground hearers. They receive the word with readiness, but fail of assimilating its principles. Its influence is not abiding." COL 411. I am going to stop here for a moment and let all of this sink in for a moment for I know it is heavy stuff. Let me explain some things that many sincere people do not realize.

As a pastor of many years I have known hundreds of ministers and thousands of people who professed the Lord Jesus Christ. I remember one lady in Texas, a colporteur, who confided in my wife and I that she was thinking of quitting the work. "Why? I asked her?" Because, the man who is the head of this work is pressuring me to have sex with him." Well, you could have knocked me over with a feather because that very man had just been conducting the song service. It just blew me away. I don't know what happened to this sincere lady or the colporteur leader. But it woke me up to the reality that not all who make a profession are genuine. I had been very naive up to that point. That was 1968, thirty years ago. Even the most naive believer today is aware of the tremendous immorality that has come into the church during the last three decades. Hollywood's productions and TV's sitcoms have introduced "mucho mas" degrading films with more and more profanity. Homosexuals have gone from a persecuted minority to a celebrated class honored by most of society. But back in the 60's we could not have imagined such changes. So, I guess the Lord knew that I needed to be "educated." Later, at a workers meeting a minister I had just met for the first time tried to tell me a dirty story. That hurt my heart more than I can tell you. I purposely avoided him from then on. At the same three day meeting I asked several ministers if they would like to join me for a special time of prayer each day. Of all the ones I invited only three were willing to join. One was a godly doctor. Some of the characteristics I have notice about men and women who are willing to pray is: 1. They are not proud and haughty but humble and teachable. 2. They do not criticize, gossip or condemn others. 3. They are willing to study new light with a desire to follow present truth even if they are rejected by others.

Later a conference man came and stayed in our home and told us how the conference invested the sacred money in the stock market and if we ever had any extra money he would be glad to help us invest it. We never did as we put all of our money back into the work. Again I was shocked. That was 1970. Later that same year, when Jesus spoke to me personally and called me to begin God's Last Call Ministries--that was when I really saw the demonic side of the church leaders and it was not hard for me to leave the conference work with no regrets and never look back. Praise the Lord.

Now, let me say that within the SDA Conference are good and godly men as well, like Nicodemus and Joseph of Ariamethia, members of the Sanhedrin. Some men in the conference during the first decade of God's Last Call ministry, from 1970 to 1977, helped me. One such man was even a Union President, another a conference president. They called a meeting of all the conference presidents of the North Pacific Union and let me explain my work. The meeting lasted for two and half hours. As a result of that meeting I was given permission to preach in the Oregon Conference and was no longer banned. It was a miracle.

For the last ten years GLC and yours truly has been very low profile, but the time is coming when that will change. God is going to allow those of us who are giving the last message of mercy to become well known and very high profile in the church and world. That is when the real slander and gossip will begin to try to destroy the message. But it will only cause the message to go farther and faster. If you are afraid of being criticized and slandered then don't preach this message. But if you love Jesus you will not be able to keep silent. Like Jeremiah, God's Word will be like a fire in your bones.

The servant of the Lord has told us that God's professed church is repeating the history of ancient Israel. She stated that more than once. I have the documentation if you wish to read it for yourself. In spite of the above it was not until 1975 that I found out the truth of what happened in 1888 while reading a little pamphlet. I remember how I cried for about an hour. EGW has written extensively about the rejection of the beautiful and precious message Jones and Waggoner brought at the Minneapolis Ministerial Conference in 1888. George I. Butler was the president of the General Conference at the time. He was one of the main leaders who rejected the message. EGW said if Jesus Himself had come to the meetings He would have been rejected and that He had in fact been crucified again. Some of those men are said to have repented later. I mention all of this, beloved, because the majority of people are deceived by leaders in clerical robes, who like the Jewish leaders who crucified our Lord, make a very high profession, but are actually being led by Satan.

Do you know how many churches today have placed their blessing on rock music, questionable literature and even homosexuality? It may be one thing to permit bingo and dancing but when you go against the very way God created human beings to be...to the gift of creation itself inherent in human beings, the line between the sacred and profane has been crossed and you have entered the twilight zone of the demonic without even realizing it. Very few people are close enough to God to be able to discern between the genuine and the counterfeit. That is why so many will be deceived in this last hour of earth's history. But you need not be. You can escape. Be wise, listen, learn and believe the truth.

Let us continue from COL 411. "The Spirit works upon man's heart, according to his desire and consent implanting in him a new nature; but the class represented by the foolish virgins have been content with a superficial work. They do not know God. THEY HAVE NOT STUDIED HIS CHARACTER;" Let us stop here for a moment. What did we just read? That the reason the foolish virgins are foolish is because they have not, I repeat, have not studied His character. Now, let's define the word character first of all by explaining what character is not, by definition. First of all, character is not what a person claims to be. That is your profession. Nor is character what others say you are. That is your reputation. Character, my friend is what you really are in your heart of hearts. And only Jesus revealed to us what God really is like inside of His heart of hearts when He died on that cross and never complained or felt sorry for Himself or retaliated against His enemies one single time. In fact, He forgave them all when He said, "Father forgive them for they don't even realize what they are doing." So, in order to know what God's character is really like we must go inside of Jesus' heart, which was not only broken but ripped open for all to see inside. That is what it took to break our hearts and open our eyes. That is how hard hearted human nature is.

Friends, I have been preaching about this beautiful character of our precious Lord Jesus now since the fall of 1976. You would not believe how many people have rejected me personally because of what I have told them without even taking five minutes to study the subject for themselves. And most of them were SDA ministers and leaders in the church, believe it or not.

The crisis is coming. The darkness is getting worse every day. Already the Pope has told the people that they must begin keeping Sunday holy. All kinds of crazy weather is destroying houses and lands around the globe. EGW tells us who is doing this. It is Satan. Because our God does not do that kind of thing. He is not a killer or a destroyer. "GOD DESTROYS NO MAN." This, my friend, is the dividing truth. This is what will decide whether or not you accept the Pope and His Sunday Sabbath or the true Sabbath of Jesus Christ. This is, my friend, the extra oil...the PRESENT TRUTH the Holy Spirit has revealed to God's Remnant people as the final message to go to the world. Listen and learn.

EGW goes on to explain that this is the very work Isaiah outlined in Isa. 40:9, 10 by telling people "Behold your God!" Yes, look at this wonderful Jesus who only wants to help you. You don't have to be afraid of Him anymore. He has come to save you.

So, I have been preaching and writing about this message since August of 1976. What I didn't know about was the 144,000. So, the Lord impressed me to begin an investigation, which I did, basically, under protest, as I always thought this was sort of a forbidden subject. Only fanatics talked about the 144,000. I certainly didn't want to be stigmatized as some kind of crazy, weird, fanatic who thinks that only 144,000 are going to heaven. Through prayer I finally overcame those fears and began my research and writing in 1992. One day I noticed that EGW had stated that we should strive with all of our might to be among the 144,000. Why? The answer is in the quote itself. "Let us strive with all the power that God has given us to be among the hundred and forty-four thousand. And let us do all that we can to help others gain heaven. We are to have an interest in Christ Jesus; for He is our Savior. He came to this world to be tempted in all points as we are, to prove to the universe that in this world of sin human beings can live lives that God will approve." R & H, March 9, 1905. (Partially quoted in 7BC 970).

In Rev. 14:1-3 we learn that the 144,000 are the firstfruits, redeemed or purchased from the earth. The other day I heard a man on TBN telling the people that the 144,000 would all be Jews who would give their testimony and then all be martyred. I couldn't believe it. The confusion and deception in the religious world is absolutely beyond belief. Just think of the deceptions on religious TV. First of all, they all believe Sunday is God's holy day, thus joining with the Papacy. 2. They all believe you go to heaven when you die. 3. They believe the wicked are all burning in eternal hell fire. 4. Most of them believe in speaking in tongues. 5. They believe God destroys people and is bringing all the present weather aberrations to punish sinners. Most SDAs agree with them on this. 6. Most, but not all, believe shots and vaccinations are safe and effective and necessary for good health. Most SDAs agree with them on this. 7. They do not understand or realize why God created this earth in the beginning or the ultimate plan of the ages. Neither do SDAs. 8. They definitely do not have a clue about the 144,000. Neither do SDAs. 8. They do not understand the sanctuary truth and with all of its symbols and last day applications. 9. They do not believe in the prophetic gift that was manifested among the believers after 1844 in the life of Ellen G. White which the Lord has used to correct, guide and encourage His people with.

Ok, so let's try and figure it out. Who are these 144,000 and where do they fit in to the final eschatalogical picture? Well, first of all, Rev. 7:3, 4, tells us that God Himself commands that the four winds not be loosed "till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads." The very next verse tells us that the number who are to be sealed will be 144,000. Verse 9 also speak of "a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations..." So, we have two groups. Until about two weeks ago I thought that was all that would go to heaven when Jesus comes. Before I begin explaining the barley people or wave sheaf concept let me explain a little more about the 144,000 and the great multitude.

When the Bible tells us that the 144,000 are sealed and that they are redeemed from among men that means they did not die but were translated without seeing death. EGW confirms this in Great Controversy. GC 649. Please study it out for yourself. Because the 144,000 are identified as "firstfruits" that means they are the first harvest of wheat. The 120 were the type of the 144,000, first fruits or wheat. The 144,000 then is the anti-type in our day. The 3,000 converted on the day of Pentecost were the second fruits or the rye or spelt. Exodus 9:32. Then there were other harvests after that by the 3,000 and it just kept growing and growing as Saul of Tarsus was converted and became Paul, the apostle to the gentile world of that day. Acts 9. This all resulted from the early rain at the time of Pentecost. It will be repeated in our day on a much wider scale. What I didn't know about was the barley or first of the first fruits who are the ones who give the cry "Behold the Bridegroom cometh, go you out to meet Him." This is the call or cry or shout that wakes up the Ten Virgins. This is what Gideon and His 300 represent...the barley or wave sheaf or first of the first fruits. This is an old testament type. The Jewish Harvest Cycle also is a type and the "Little Company" is the anti-type EGW saw. Let me show you how I identified this group in Early Writings. Starting on page 269 EGW begins writing about the "Shaking." This is the same as the "shaking and sifting" time when God is calling His servants who will comprise the wave sheaf. This is what happened when Gideon made His first call to go to battle against the enemy. Remember how many came out? Yes, it was 32,000. And then 22,000 left when they saw the hordes of the enemy. Then from the 10,000 only 300 were selected. On page 270 EGW said the shaking was caused mainly by the "Straight testimony called forth by the counsel of the True Witness to the Laodiceans." EGW goes into great detail describing this company who were "weeping and praying in agony of spirit" and "moved in exact order, like a company of soldiers." She says they had gained the victory. I do not believe they are all together in one place but scattered all over the earth, yet the same Spirit is moving upon them. GC 626 and 635 confirm this. It is more difficult to identify the "little company" in Great Controversy as she blends together all these harvests, 1. The barley or wave sheaf. 2. The Wheat harvest or 144,000, 3. The Rye harvest and 4. The Great Multitude which is the grape harvest. These are four distinct groups. I am going to try to delineate these for you the best I can at this time. This is my first effort for this so I thank you for your patience. I was as surprised as I am sure most of you reading this will be. Why God has chosen me to reveal this to you is a greater mystery to me than the mystery I am trying to reveal to you. I just try to do what Jesus asks me to do because I love Him so much.

Ok, let's take group #1, the barley, first of the first fruits or wave sheaf, also called "The Little Company," who are translated at the same time of the special resurrection. This translation is predicted in Dan. 12:1-3. Michael (Jesus) stands up for His people at the beginning of the time of trouble which begins when the "abomination that maketh desolate (is) set up." Dan. 12:11. This abomination is Satan going into the temple to declare himself as God. This could possibly have a dual application, in that he is in the process of going into and deceiving and thus taking possession (which include worship) of the entire human race at this time...entering into their temples by the lies he is telling via all the media and false teachers from the churches of Babylon. And he literally goes into the temple they will build in Jerusalem for him. I understand there is a mosque in Damascus which tradition proclaims to be the site for the return of the Messiah the second time. If this is true can't you picture what will happen when Satan comes claiming to be Jesus Christ? Is it possible that Satan, as the anti-christ, will enter many or most of the temples and mosques of the world dazzling them with His brilliance and glory thereby seducing the whole of Islam. These events along with the main event of him entering the temple at Jerusalem, which they plan to build, and proclaiming himself as God will begin the three time periods of 1260, 1290 and 1335. The Dome of the Rock, third most sacred shrine, is only a few yards away from the proposed temple site. Each day brings us closer to these final events. How thankful we can be that Jesus promised to deliver those who remained faithful in watching and praying. How many compose this little barley company we do not know any more than we know how many saints were raised with Jesus at the time of His resurrection.

All we know is that they are identified as "thy people," in Dan. 12:1 and "The little company" in EW 271-273. "Soon I heard the voice of God, which shook the heavens and the earth. There was a mighty earthquake. Buildings were shaken down on every side. I then heard a triumphant shout of victory, loud, musical, and clear. I looked upon the company, who, a short time before, were in such distress and bondage. Their captivity was turned. How beautiful they then looked! All marks of care and weariness were gone, and health and beauty were seen in every countenance. Their enemies, the heathen round them, fell like dead men; they could not endure the light that shone upon the delivered, holy ones. This light and glory remained upon them, until Jesus was seen in the clouds of heaven, and the faithful, tried company were changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, from glory to glory." (Now notice the last part of this quote is referring to the special resurrection of Dan. 12:2.) "And the graves were opened, and the saints came forth, clothed with immortality, crying, 'Victory over death and the grave'; and together with the living saints they were caught up to meet their Lord in the air, while rich, musical shouts of glory and victory were upon every immortal tongue." EW 272-273.

This is not the "general resurrection" but a "special translation" of a "little company" and a special resurrection of those EGW speaks of in GC 637 and EW 269-273. Three groups are raised. 1. All who have died in the faith of the third angel's message. 2. Those who pierced Him. 3. They also who mocked and derided Christ's dying agonies and 4. "The most violent opposers of His truth and His people, are raised to behold Him in His glory and to see the honor placed upon the loyal and obedient." What an incredible time that will be to be alive. Who would want to miss such a spectacle?

Now, I want to go back to Gideon and his 300. On page 546 of Patriarchs and Prophets, we read that Israel's land and people had been suffering the persecution and ravages of these wild, heathen tribes for seven years. Now, 135,000 of them had massed against Israel. Unless God intervened they probably would all be destroyed. So, that is when the angel of the Lord called Gideon and he in turn made a call to which 32,000 responded. So it will be in our day. Many have already responded to the call during the last few decades but the ranks of the independents are beginning to thin down as the battle becomes more fierce. Soon, only the faithful "little company" will remain to be translated. According to the harvest cycle, after the wave sheaf is offered (little company goes up to heaven with Jesus) there will be 40 days more. Let's take the life of Jesus as a type. On the resurrection morning Jesus went to heaven after he comforted Mary. Some believe He went up at the third hour and returned at the ninth hour. On our clocks today that would be 9:00 A.M. in the morning and 3:00 P.M. in the afternoon. This is also the time period Jesus was on the cross. This needs a lot more prayer and study because although I agree with this time sequence, I am not yet an expert at explaining it. What I do know for sure though is that this little company is identified in Scripture as the "Christos" of Rev. 11:15 and 12:10 and also the "Man child" of Rev. 12:5 and Isa. 66:7 and Psalm 2:9. See also Rev. 2:26-28 and Rev. 3:9 and Rev. 19:15 all are referring to this same wave sheaf, barley loaf, "little company" group Jesus translates first of all with many righteous dead, which are also a first fruit from the dead.

The rest of the righteous dead will be raised later at the end of the 1335 days. This little company or wave sheaf or barley loaf will go up with Jesus and stay there for six hours, just like Jesus did after the resurrection. I believe this will also fulfill Dan. 7:9-14. In v. 13 it talks about "one like the Son of man" who comes before the throne of the Ancient of Days and is "given him (the little company is spoken of here as a unit just like the Man child and Christos are spoken of as one) dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, and that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." This wave sheaf, barley company has now received their gifts and commission, Psalm 68:18; Eph. 4:8. They now return to earth with Jesus as pictured in Rev. 19, riding on white horses and wake up the ten sleeping virgins. "Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not." Mal. 3:18.

They have immortal bodies like Jesus and can appear and disappear at will. They travel by thought vibration like Adam before the fall and like Jesus did after the resurrection and like Philip did in Acts 8. This is why the New World Order cannot kill them and ends up bowing down before them and worshipping at their feet. Do you think they would do that if they were ordinary human beings they could kill with a bullet through their brain or with poison or a vaccination or a microwave weapon. Of course not. So, what happens to these people that makes them invulnerable and invincible, no longer subject to death or carnal weapons?

A few days ago the Lord helped me to discover this text. "Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them." Psalm 68:18. We know that God gave the gift of languages to the disciples on the day of Pentecost. If God's Remnant Sons are going to go to the world to give the final message of His true character of love it would seem logical that they would need to speak in the languages of the people. So, the gift of speaking in tongues is part of the "gifts" God is going to give His Chosen sons as they are manifested before the world. But they also must be able to travel without visas or passports or airplanes, cars, trains or buses or need any kind of money. Yes, they would need to travel like Jesus did after the resurrection, by mind travel or thought vibration. That is, they just think of where they wish to go and they are there in an instant. They can appear and disappear at will; Pass through walls just like Jesus. Even Philip had at least one experience like that in Acts 8 after he baptized the Eunuch.

How many are there in this barley group...this little company? Well, how many does it take to make up a company? The only place in the bible the word company is defined with numbers is in regard to the 250 princes who joined with Korah, Dathan and Abiriam in rebellion against Moses' and Aaron's leadership. Num. 26:9-10. So, we have two precedents in the Scripture to give us an idea of how large a company is...300 and 250. But EGW defines this same group as a "Little Company" who are travelling up the narrow pathway to heaven. So, it would probably be less than 300. At any rate, they are the true watchmen on the walls of Zion who are not asleep and walking in the advancing light of the Third Angels' Messages. They are the ones God chooses to wake up the ten sleeping virgins, five of whom become the 144,000.

The blowing of the trumpet and singing signifies speaking out the truth, as we read in Isa. 58:1 "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins." Read also Hosea 8:1 and every scripture that mentions a trumpet to get the total picture as to the full meaning of the trumpet. In Joel 2:1 and on, the prophet says: "Blow ye the trumpet in Zion (God's professed people), and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand; A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of darkness...etc." It goes on to describe God's final army as "A great people and a strong" the likes of which has never existed before nor ever will again. This is a description of the Barley Army which God is calling forth and preparing through a sifting and shaking process similar to what He did with Gideon's 32,000 volunteers. When His army is finally formed (how many of these true watchmen on the walls of Zion there will be of this first of the first fruits or wave sheaf we are not told) they will begin sounding the final message. Actually, it has probably already started. EGW said the final message or Third angels' message had already begun with the 1888 message of Righteousness by Faith.

Again a sifting and shaking scenario takes place and finally the five wise virgins are sealed in their foreheads. How do I know these five wise virgins become the 144,000? One reason is because Rev. 14:4 identifies them as "virgins," meaning they are not defiled with women (or the fallen churches of Babylon with their false doctrines). V. 4 also identifies them as the "firstfruits." The first fruits is the wheat harvest or wise virgins, 144,000. This would compare to the 120 who were converted on the day of Pentecost, 50 days after Jesus rose from the dead. The 120 are a type of wheat. The 144,000 are the anti-type. Exodus 9:32. Just as the 120 spoke in tongues and converted 3000 on the day of Pentecost so the 144,000 will return to discern who among the one third of the human race are desiring to serve the Lord and become their shepherds to guide them to a knowledge of the truth, as we read in Zech. 13:8-9. "And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name (character), and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God."

Many years ago I found a quote from EGW which I feel fits in here regarding the conversion of one third of the human race in this last hour of earth's history. I believe the first part of this EGW quote is talking about the little company and probably the 144,000 together who go forth and convert the one third. Please notice:

"Those who walk even as Christ walked, who are patient, gentle, kind, meek and lowly in heart, those who yoke up with Christ and lift His burdens, who yearn for souls as He yearned for them---these will enter into the joy of their Lord. They will see with Christ the travail of His soul, and be satisfied. Heaven will triumph, for the vacancies made in heaven by the fall of Satan and his angels will be filled by the redeemed of the Lord" (RH May 29, 1900). BC 7, page 949.

I believe the time is near when all these things are going to be coming to pass very rapidly. The terrible destruction recently (Nov. 1998) caused by Hurricane Mitch in Central America, especially in Honduras, in which about 11,000 were killed and millions made homeless and destitute is a clear sign that Satan is even now beginning to wreak havoc on this planet. We can expect disasters like this to continue and accelerate. We also know that the religious element of this world will call for a National Sunday Law to be enacted to get God on our side. Satan will eventually appear as Jesus and lead the world to condemn all Sabbath keepers. We know this is coming, so now is the time we need to make a full, complete and total commitment to Jesus so we will not miss out on this great opportunity to be with Him in this last hour of earth's history.

Who will God choose to wake up the sleeping virgins? In Psalm 2 we have a clue. In v. 7 The Creator declares a decree, saying: "Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of Me (Jesus) and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."

Now, if your interpretation of these three verses is that God is going to give you authority over the nations so you can go around with supernatural power to destroy people whom you deem evil and wicked, then you do not know God's character. The breaking of vessels means to help people fall on the Rock, Christ Jesus, and have their hearts broken so that they may be molded again after His Divine image. Only those with hearts full of love and compassion for humanity like the Blessed Saviour will be chosen to do this work. Only those who know and possess His character will be chosen to be among the wave sheaf. This is the time of preparation. May the Lord bless you as you pray and study on these things. Truly your friend and servant in Christ, our Lord, Pastor Mike Clute. Isn't Jesus Wonderful!

Additional notes:

The barley and flax ripen together, not side by side like the wheat and tares but in separate fields just as the rye and wheat ripen simultaneously. The important thing to understand is that the barley has to have the white linen because they are a holy priesthood unto God, Melchizedec order, the one tenth. The wise virgins or 144,000, the elect, a tithe. See Isa. 6:11-13. From the stalk of the flax comes the linen fiber. And from the carp is the golden oil. Barley looks a little like wheat but the kernel is shorter and fatter. Linseed oil comes from the carp which is at the top of the stalk. Everything has to be done exactly on time. Ex. 9:30-32. Second fruits is the rye. The first fruits are the cream of the crop. Second fruits (rye) is the same as the second harvest which is equal to the 3,000. The church is a grain harvest of the whole house of Israel. The harvest cycle continues to swell for 3 1/2 years to the whole house of Israel. The second 3 1/2 years is the time period when the great multitude (gentiles) is gathered in. This is the grape harvest. Rev. 9 and 19 need to be studied carefully to understand the symbols and the timing of the grape harvest. Some bible interpreters believe the 200,000,000 of Rev. 9:16 is referring to the converts to Christ in the grape harvest as it swells to one third of the human race spoken of in Zech. 13:8, 9. Rev. 19 also speak of riders on white horses following Jesus. Rev. 9:7 does not sound like evil men or demons. No one should be dogmatic on these points as much more study and prayer needs to be done on these Scriptures. The good grapes come from grafting into the original root stock. The grapes that are not grafted into the original stock (Israel) are unfit for eating or wine or the harvest. In Rev. 14 the grapes are gathered into the wine press of God or the fiery experiences of Zech. 13:8, 9. They must be grafted in properly from the root stock.

The wheat and rye grow in separate fields. The wheat is the tithe or 120 and the rye is the second fruits or the anti-type of the 3000. In regard to this idea of the tenth please notice Isa. 6:11-13. Isaiah asks the Lord the same thing Daniel asked. "How Long?" "Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, And the Lord have removed men far away (taken captive to foreign countries and also many killed), and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land. But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return (see Mal. 3:16-18), and shall be eaten...so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof." I believe the "eating" means their words will be believed. That is when one third of the human race will be converted as we read in Zech. 13:8, 9. Jesus said to the 12 apostles...if the branches were not pruned they would be committed to the burning. The branches go over the wall and go down to the ground. They must be cut back so stringently so they can reach up to heaven. As a final note here I would like to point out that only those who are like Christ in character will be chosen to wake up the virgins and eventually become one of the sealed 144,000. The hardest part of this is to accept and believe the character of God message on all four levels. This will be the main sacrifice for those who wish to work for God in these last days. May the Lord help each of us to be faithful. mfc.