A Vindication of the Seventh-Day Sabbath and the Commandments of God: With a Further History of God's Peculiar People from 1847-1848Bates, Joseph
Religion
A Vindication of the Seventh-Day Sabbath and the Commandments of God: With a Further History of God's Peculiar People from 1847-1848
Bates, Joseph
Sabbath; Seventh-Day Adventists -- Doctrinal and controversial works
Now let Zachariah, the prophet, finish this subject. In his peculiar view
of the wonderful things to take place in the last days from the tenth to
the fourteenth chapter inclusive, he says, “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 and I will hear them,
I WILL SAY IT IS MY PEOPLE; and THEY _shall say_ THE LORD IS MY
GOD.”—xiii: 8, 9. Here then, is clearly pointed out the believers in the
coming of Christ; a cry at mid-night shows first, but two parts; but
before Christ comes Zachariah shows three parts. Now for the development
of the history. The first is already described, by prolonging the days and
denying the past. The three papers Advent Herald, Advent Harbinger and
Bible Advocate, are still advocating their views, and as I have shown,
_cut_ themselves off. Second, class or part, are the spiritualizers; a
large majority of which have joined the Shakers, whose faith is, that
Christ came the second time in Ann Lee, more than seventy years ago, thus
forever _cutting_ themselves off from even looking for his personal
appearing; John calls them anti-christ—thus, “Little children it is the
last time, and as ye have heard that anti-christ _shall come_, even now
are there many anti-christs (i. e. don’t believe in any Christ—he is God,
and God is love, &c.) whereby we know it is the last time: They went out
from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would
no doubt have continued with us; but they went out that _they_ be made
_manifest_ that they were not all of us. Who is a liar but he that denieth
that Jesus is the Christ? _He is anti-christ_ that denieth the Father and
Son.”—1st John ii: 18-22 verses. John classes all such with _liars_, and
they are barred from the kingdom of heaven. In the 19th verse he says,
“they were not ALL of us.” This I think shows that some would see their
error and repent. John here embraces _all_ such believers from his day to
the last. Here, then it is clearly manifest that this second part have cut
themselves off! The third part are now in the fire (or fiery trial.); they
are to be _refined_ as silver, and _tried_ as gold; they shall call on
God, and they will be his people. They have nothing to boast of, they have
got to overcome “by their perseverance.”—[_Camp. trans._ of Luke xxi: 19.]
Jesus also distinguishes them from the other parts: “They have a little
strength (nothing to boast of,) and hast kept my word and hast not _denied
my name_.” Which one? New name—King of Kings and Lord of Lords.—Rev. iii:
8, 12. The first and second classes have denied his name. The first say he
is the Mediator, and therefore cannot have received his kingdom; the
second class have dissolved his name into vapor. Ninth verse shows they
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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