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04/04/2021

THE FATHER AND SON IN THE EVERLASTING GOSPEL AND FIRST ANGEL’S MESSAGE

In Revelation 14 we are showed how an important message was to be taken to the world, a message of turning the world from its idolatry to the one true God:

Revelation 14:6-7 …’And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having THE EVERLASTING GOSPEL to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, FEAR GOD, AND GIVE GLORY TO HIM; FOR THE HOUR OF HIS JUDGMENT IS COME: AND WORSHIP HIM THAT MADE HEAVEN, AND EARTH, AND THE SEA, AND THE FOUNTAINS OF WATERS.

Some look at these verses and see a “trinity god”, while others look and see only God the Father. But I want to show you that the above message involves TWO divine beings – God the Father and His only begotten DIVINE Son Jesus Christ.

There are FOUR points to focus on – 1.The Everlasting gospel – 2.Giving glory to God – 3.Judgment – 4.Worship of the Creator.

1.THE EVERLASTING GOSPEL

The everlasting gospel is the plan of salvation that God wrought out through His beloved Son Jesus Christ. In Zechariah 6:12-13 we are told of the “counsel of peace” between “the Lord” and “the Branch”, between the Father and His Son. This counsel of peace, which is the plan of salvation was, as Zechariah confirmed – “between them BOTH.” The plan of salvation was not with one being alone, nor was it between “three”, but TWO beings – God the Father and His only begotten Son.

Jesus said in John 14:1 …”ye believe in God, believe ALSO in me.” Jesus confirms that His Father is the “ONLY TRUE GOD” in John 17:3. And Jesus sums up the gospel message in John 3:16-17:

“For GOD so loved the world, that HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

The apostle John summed up his gospel by saying … “But these are written, THAT YE MIGHT BELIEVE that Jesus is the Christ, THE SON OF GOD; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” (John 20:31)

And Jesus Himself confirmed that eternal life is based upon knowing the Father and Son … “FATHER … this is life eternal, that they might KNOW THEE THE ONLY TRUE GOD, AND JESUS CHRIST, whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:1-3).

The “counsel of peace between them BOTH.” The everlasting gospel of God the Father and His beloved Son Jesus Christ. A REAL FATHER, who is the “only true God”, and “source of all life” (John 17:3, 1 Corinthians 8:6). And a REAL SON, who was begotten of the Father in eternity past, the only divine being equal with the Father (Hebrews 1, Proverbs 8:22-26, Romans 8:3).

2. GIVING GLORY TO GOD

How do we give glory to God? There are many ways for us to bring glory to God in our personal lives, through our witness to others. But these ways can only bring true glory to God if it is based upon this foundational truth – that it is all done in the name of the SON OF GOD, Jesus Christ:

Philippians 2:5,6,10,11 …’Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God … That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that EVERY TONGUE SHOULD CONFESS THAT JESUS CHRIST IS LORD, TO THE GLORY OF GOD THE FATHER.’

John 5:23 …’That all men should HONOUR THE SON, EVEN AS THEY HONOUR THE FATHER. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.’

We can only bring glory to God by honouring God’s own Son Jesus Christ. No matter how much “good” we do, if we deny the divine SONSHIP of Christ, then we are also denying the FATHER and cannot bring glory to Him in our lives. Only through THE SON can we honour and bring glory to the Father:

Matthew 16:15-17 …’He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but MY FATHER WHICH IS IN HEAVEN.’

3. JUDGMENT

We are told in Hebrews 12:22-24 that God the Father is the “judge of all.” We know these verses are speaking of the Father because Jesus is mentioned separately as the “mediator” of the covenant. But what do the scriptures also tell us regarding the judgment of the world?

John 5:22 …’For the Father judgeth no man, but hath COMMITTED ALL JUDGMENT UNTO THE SON.’

Matthew 28:18 …’And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, ALL POWER IS GIVEN UNTO ME in heaven and in earth.’

Romans 2:16 ...'In the day when GOD SHALL JUDGE the secrets of men BY JESUS CHRIST according to my gospel.'

The Father has committed all judgment unto HIS SON Jesus Christ. The Father has “GIVEN ALL POWER” unto His Son.

“CHRIST can and will judge every case; for all judgment has been COMMITTED TO HIM BY THE FATHER.” {Review and Herald, July 31, 1900, par. 14}

4. WORSHIP OF THE CREATOR

The first angel’s message tells us that worship is due to the Creator of heaven and earth. But who does the Bible say the Creator is? In Matthew 11:25, Jesus says that the Father is “Lord of heaven and earth.” And the apostles speak of God the Father as the Creator, look:

Acts 4:24-27 ...'And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice TO GOD with one accord, and said, LORD, THOU ART GOD, WHICH HAST MADE HEAVEN, AND EARTH, AND THE SEA, AND ALL THAT IN THEM IS: Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against THE LORD, AND AGAINST HIS CHRIST. For of a truth against THY HOLY CHILD JESUS, whom Thou hast anointed.'

Who are the apostles addressing? It must be God the Father, because they confirm that He has a “holy child Jesus.” And it is God the Father they are addressing as Creator. Look at also what the apostle Paul says …

Acts 14:15 ...'And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto THE LIVING GOD, WHICH MADE HEAVEN, AND EARTH, AND THE SEA, AND ALL THINGS THAT ARE THEREIN.'

1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 ...'For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve THE LIVING AND TRUE GOD; And to wait for HIS SON from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.'

Who is the “living God” Paul is speaking of who created heaven and earth? Well, again He has “A SON.” So Paul must be speaking of God the Father. So God the Father is the Creator. BUT, who did Paul confirm the Father created all things by?

Ephesians 3:9 … ‘And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in GOD, WHO CREATED ALL THINGS BY JESUS CHRIST.'

Hebrews 1:1-2 …’GOD, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us BY HIS SON, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, BY WHOM ALSO HE MADE THE WORLDS.’

So God the Father created all things by Jesus Christ. The Father and Son were BOTH involved in our creation and redemption, and to THEM ALONE our worship, fellowship and allegiance is due.

“THE SON OF GOD had WROUGHT THE FATHER’S WILL in THE CREATION of all the hosts of heaven; and TO HIM, AS WELL AS TO GOD, their HOMAGE AND ALLEGIANCE WERE DUE. Christ was still to exercise divine power, in the CREATION OF THE EARTH and its inhabitants. But in all this He would not seek power or exaltation for Himself contrary to God's plan, but would EXALT THE FATHER’S GLORY and execute His purposes of beneficence and love.” {Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 36}

1 John 1:3 …’That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and TRULY OUR FELLOWSHIP IS WITH THE FATHER, AND WITH HIS SON JESUS CHRIST.

“THE FATHER AND THE SON ALONE are to be exalted.” {Youth’s Instructor, July 7, 1898, par. 2}

…. And no, we are NOT “denying the Holy Spirit.” We simply hold to the Bible truth that the Holy Spirit is the very life, power and presence of God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ in Spirit (Acts 2:32-33; Titus 3:4-6). But the Bible is clear, there are TWO beings on the throne of heaven, NOT one or three, but TWO – God the Father and His beloved, only begotten Son Jesus Christ. This is the first angel’s message of Revelation 14. The rejection of this truth is the reason for the “fall” of the churches of Babylon and their acceptance of the coming mark of the beast.

1 John 2:22-23 …’Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? HE IS ANTICHRIST, THAT DENIETH THE FATHER AND THE SON. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.’

Are you following the TRUTH of the Father and the Son? Or are you following antichrist?

04/04/2021

PAUL SAID EVERYDAY IS ALIKE IN ROMANS 14 – WAS HE INCLUDING THE 7th DAY SABBATH?

Many people use Romans 14 as a reason to not keep the 7th day Sabbath. They believe that Paul said every day is alike and therefore it matters not whether you keep the 7th day holy or the 1st day holy or no day at all! But is this REALLY what Paul was saying? Let’s take a look at the verses in question:

Romans 14:5-6 …’One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth EVERY DAY ALIKE. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.’

The question is, does the phrase “another esteemeth EVERY DAY ALIKE” include the 7th day Sabbath? Well, what should we do? Guess, or use scripture to understand this? We should use scripture, so let us do that. In Exodus 16 we find an interesting account of when God told the Israelites what they could and couldn’t do regarding the collecting of the manna:

Exodus 16:4 …’Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate EVERY DAY, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.’

Exodus 16:26,29 …’SIX DAYS ye shall gather it; BUT ON THE SEVENTH DAY, WHICH IS THE SABBATH, IN IT THERE SHALL BE NONE … See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, LET NO MAN GO OUT OF HIS PLACE ON THE SEVENTH DAY.’

Now why did God say to Moses that the people shall go out and collect the manna EVERY DAY and then tell the people that there will be no manna to collect on the 7th day Sabbath and that they were not to go out on the 7th day Sabbath, but to remain in their places? Because the 7th day is NOT included in the “every day.” And we can see this from the creation account:

Genesis 2:2-3 …’And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God BLESSED THE SEVENTH DAY, AND SANCTIFIED IT: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.’

Do you see what God did with the 7th day? He “sanctified it”, which means to SET APART for holy use. This means the 7th day Sabbath is not reckoned with the other 6 common days, but is SET APART from them. This is why God said the Israelites were to gather the manna EVERY DAY, but not on the Sabbath day. The term “every day” refers to the 6 common days of the week, NOT the 7th day Sabbath.

Now was the apostle Paul aware of this fact? Of course he was, because he was a “Jew of Jews.” He knew very well that the 7th day Sabbath was a “SET APART” day from the others. So with this in mind, let us relook at Paul’s statement:

Romans 14:5-6 …’One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth EVERY DAY ALIKE. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.’

Paul is not talking about the “set apart” day which is the Sabbath. He is speaking of the 6 common days of the week, upon which fall certain days that are celebrated and kept, like the feast days of the Jews. We can tell that Paul is speaking of the feast days, because he brings food into the context also. The Jews who were converted to Christ thought they had to still strictly obey the feast days, whereas the Gentile converts rightly regarded “every day” of the common 6 days alike. The same can be said of Colossians 2. Here Paul also mentions food and drink and new moons and “sabbaths.” He is not including the weekly Sabbath that God instituted at creation. He is speaking of the “shadows” that were appointed AFTER sin, that pointed to Christ and ceased at the cross. These “days” were of no consequence whether you keep them or not.

Today we could include Thanksgiving, Easter, Christmas, etc. If a man wants to keep these days to the Lord, then so be it. But if another believes that these days are nothing more than a common day and doesn’t keep them, then so be it also.

This text of Paul is a reference to NON-ESSENTIALS, which is why he begins the chapter talking about “doubtful disputations.” He is in no way speaking about moral obligations, like the 7th day Sabbath of the 4th commandment. Is that a “doubtful disputation”? No, it is a clear moral obligation given by God Himself. A day that was “made FOR man” and given BEFORE any sin came into the world and BEFORE there was any Jew.

So as we can see, the “every day alike” does NOT include the 7th day Sabbath, which is “SET APART” from all other days, but are those “days” which man is free to keep or not to keep.

See our website for more about the 7th day Sabbath, God’s true holy Sabbath of rest:

https://www.end-times-prophecy.org/sabbath-truth.html

https://www.end-times-prophecy.org/sabbath-israel.html

https://www.end-times-prophecy.org/the-sabbath-day-bible.html

04/04/2021