Rest to Your Soul

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."(Matt 11:28-30)

The rest that God promises is the eternal rest in the eternal God. Rest and peace are inseparable, there can be no rest

without peace. Not worldy peace found in the enforcement of man-made laws and exaction but the peace that the

weary heart longingly desires. 

God has provided this peace. He has broken down the wall of partition and released the weary soul from the 

grip of guilt and the power of sin. Knowing God through Jesus Christ brings deeper and more exalted conceptions of the character 

of God. Seeing the eternal Creator give His life for His creatures put His love high above all earthly attractions, it brings a 

peace in knowing that God would do all to save and has saved us "in Christ." We are asked only to believe these facts of the gospel 

and let the love of God carry us through.

Knowing who God is is essential to true rest. Knowing how He relates to us, Knowing all the dimentions of His love that He

has revealed in His Son should be the constant study of all believers. Take up the yolk of Christ and learn of Him. God invites us to

labour and find true rest.

Love of Christ

"In faith the woman of Phoenicia flung herself against the barriers that had been piled up between Jew and Gentile. Against discouragement, regardless of appearances that might have led her to doubt, she trusted the Saviour's love. It is thus that Christ desires us to trust in Him. The blessings of salvation are for every soul. Nothing but his own choice can prevent any man from becoming a partaker of the promise in Christ by the gospel.

Caste is hateful to God. He ignores everything of this character. In His sight the souls of all men are of equal value. He "hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after Him, and find Him, though He be not far from every one of us." Without distinction of age, or rank, or nationality, or religious privilege, all are invited to come unto Him and live. "Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference." "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free." "The rich and poor meet together: the Lord is the Maker of them all." "The same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Acts 17:26, 27; Gal. 3:28; Prov. 22:2; Rom. 10:11-13."(DA, 403)

God the Executioner?

When the statement is made, "Their sufferings are often represented

as a punishment visited upon them by the direct decree of

God .. ." there is no direct evaluation in the sentence itself attesting

to its being a correct or incorrect assessment of God's works.

However, there is the inference that it is not right in that it is rated

as being the more commonly held representation. Knowing that

the majority are deluded in this sphere, it is correct to assess this

as an incorrect evaluation. This is confirmed by the next sentence

which directly charges it with being a device of Satanic origin designed

to shift the blame from the devil to God. "It is thus that the

great deceiver seeks to conceal his own work."

So, not only is the above idea the result of wrong principles of Bible

interpretation, it is also the very means employed by the devil

to conceal the true nature of his own work, by attributing it to God,

while to himself he credits the work and character of God. Therefore,

it is to be rejected for what it is—a dangerous philosophy of

Satan. While his view is entertained, it is impossible to form correct

concepts of God's character.

Further, we are informed that the Lord did not leave of His own

choice. It was the Jews who "had caused the protection of God to be

withdrawn from them," thus permitting Satan to finally work his

evil designs upon them.

Then there is laid down forever the precious truth that "God does

not stand toward the sinner as an executioner of the sentence

against transgression; but He leaves the rejectors of His mercy to

themselves, to reap that which they have sown." What befell the

Jews was the natural outworking of their own course of action. It

was not something brought upon them by God. They had sown the

seed; now they must gather the certain harvest.

We have before us a revelation of the course God pursued toward

the Israelites which is the same as that with Saul. It is now necessary

to find how God Himself described what He did.

F.D.Wright 

THE WONDERFUL NUMBERER

This is a little jewel. You will hardly find this mentioned anywhere, aside from a single phrase in the

margin of the KJV Bible. For over thirty years, the only source of information the present author has ever

found for this is a brief statement in F.C. Gilbert's book, Practical Lessons for the Church of Today, pp.

606-608, published by the Review in 1902. Elder Gilbert was a converted Jew and knew Hebrew very well.

Here is his entire comment. You will value this:

The F.C. Gilbert statement-"From the text of Daniel 8:13, it appears that there were three persons

connected with that vision. As to who these three persons were, the margin of the verse makes it a little

more clear. We can receive still further clearness from a more literal translation of the text. Here is a literal

translation of the first part of the thirteenth verse:

"And I heard a holy one speaking, and a holy one said to Palmoni, who was the speaker, How long

shall be the vision,' etc.

"In the margin of the text where the words, 'that certain saint which spake' are found, these words are

written: 'The numberer of secrets, or the wonderful numberer' (Hebrew: Palmoni).

"We find then in verse 13: the speaker, called the wonderful numberer; the holy one, and Daniel. These

were the three persons in the vision. Now the more literal translation of the text makes plain that the

speaker was the one called Palmoni; for the Hebrew reads as follows: La-pal-moni, Ham-da-bar unto

Palmoni, the speaker.

"The Hebrew word, Palmoni, is a contracted word. It contains the elements of two Hebrew words. One

is, Pele, and the other is Ma-na. The Hebrew word, Pele, means wonderful. See Isaiah 9:6. The word,

Mana, means numbered. See Daniel 5:25-26. So this contracted Hebrew word, Palmoni, literally means

wonderful numberer. This Wonderful Numberer is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. See Isaiah 9:6.

"So one person in the vision, recorded in Daniel 8:13, was the Lord Jesus; the second person,

represented by the holy one, was the angel Gabriel. See Daniel 8:16, and compare with Luke 1:19. The

third person was Daniel, the prophet. There was something about this vision which Daniel could not

understand. So the angel Gabriel asked the Lord Jesus a question for the benefit of Daniel, that the desire of

Daniel might be made clear. Instead of the Lord Jesus turning to the angel Gabriel and giving him the

answer, the prophet Daniel says that the speaker turned to him, to Daniel, and gave the answer direct to

him. Here is what the prophet says:

" 'And He [that is, Palmoni, the Wonderful Numberer, Christ] said to me,' etc. Daniel 8:14.

"So Christ turned His attention directly to the prophet, and gave the answer to him personally."-F.C.

Gilbert, Practical Lessons for the Church of Today, pp. 606-608,

This is a most thrilling discovery. Here are key points to remember:

• So urgent that Christ gave it-The great truth about the 2300 days was so crucially important that

Christ Himself told it to Daniel. We know of no other time in the book of Daniel that Christ appeared and

spoke to the prophet (with the exception of 12:7-13).

• The Master Counter of numbers presents the longest time span-Christ is here called by the

unique name, "The Wonderful Numberer." Why this strange name? obviously, to call attention to the fact

that the 2300-day prophecy was of the highest importance. Only Christ Himself could present it. He alone,

the Master of all numbers, able to count the stars, was able to provide Daniel with a time span that was

greater than a third of the total time that mankind has been in this world of sin!

• An extremely important question-Daniel, in his perplexity, didn't know what to ask. Because

Daniel might not have asked it, Gabriel asked the question Daniel was thinking. He did this because the

answer was so important. The visitors from heaven did not dare wait for Daniel to think of the question; it

had to be asked for him.

• An answer so important it was given directly to Daniel-Although he had not asked the question,

Christ turned directly to Daniel and gave him the answer, He did it to imprint this keystone time span on

Daniel's mind. It would also arouse the prophet to search the Scriptures and pray for further guidance; later,

in Daniel 9, Gabriel returned and gave the prophet the starting date for this remarkable time span.

The central point of the book-How wonderful is this new insight! What a glorious, pivotal truth is the

2300-day prophecy! Bible scholars tell us it is the central point in the book of Daniel. Resulting from

careful examination of the passage, our denomination arose with a last-day message to the world:

Obedience to the law of God by enabling faith in Jesus Christ is necessary; for the investigative judgment is

soon to close and human probation will forever end.

Thank God for all His precious gifts to us. Let us not lose one of them! Do not let the critics steal any

of them from your heart.

Some critics declare that Daniel 8:14 is meaningless; others say it applies to a third-rate Syrian king.

But that passage was so important that none other than Michael our Prince gave it to us!

Vance Ferrell (A Biblical Defense Defending our Historic Beliefs about the Sanctuary in Daniel and Hebrews)

Futurism and Preterism?

The Reformers of the sixteenth century, including Martin Luther, Melanchthon, Ulric Zwingli, John

Calvin, Menno Simons, and their associates declared that the papacy was the antichrist of Bible prophecy.

Prior to that time, Rome had tried to destroy copies of the Scriptures, so the truths of Daniel and

Revelation would not be discovered. But, with the invention of printing, the circulation of Bibles, and the

preaching of the Reformers-something had to be done!

In response to Luther's anti-papal protest, two Catholic theologians, Prierias and Eck, declared the

Catholic Church to be the fifth (the stone) kingdom portrayed in Daniel 2. A very proud boast from the

little horn.

The chapters which point to Rome-But what could they do about the prophecies which pointed

directly to Rome as the antichrist power? In the book of Daniel, it was chapters 7, 8, and 9 which identified

when Rome would arise as an international power. It was those three chapters which unmasked its vicious

attempts to destroy the law of God and slay His people.

Sunday, the basis of papal authority-From AD. 1545-1563, the Council of Trent met intermittently

to devise ways to annihilate Protestantism, either by direct warfare or by infiltration. Its earlier change of

the Sabbath to Sunday was declared to be the foundation of its doctrine of Tradition (the words of men) as

superior to Scripture (see the present author's book, Beyond Pitcairn, pp. 132-135, which explains what

happened on January 18, 1562). In addition, the Jesuits were assigned the task of infiltrating palaces,

schools, and Protestant churches. Jesuit theologians were given the task of reinterpreting Bible prophecies

which pointed to the papacy.

Ribera's Futurism-Two Jesuits were especially successful in this latter task. The first was Francisco

Ribera, who in 1537-1541, developed what we today call Futurism. He declared that the prophecies of

Daniel and Revelation would not be fulfilled until the very last days when, for 2300 literal days or about 7

years, an antichrist would appear. It was theorized that, at that time, a Jewish temple would be rebuilt in old

Jerusalem. (In reality, the Muslims will never permit such a temple to be built on the Temple Mount.)

Samuel Maitland, William Burgh, John Darby, James Todd, and John Henry Newman were later

leading Protestant theologians which infiltrated Jesuits used to spread this error throughout modern

Protestantism. The Plymouth Brethren, the High Church Oxford Movement in the Anglican Church, and

the Scofield Bible especially helped in this work.

A variant of this futurism was the development of dispensationalism, one form of which pushes many

of the prophecies to the last days, to be fulfilled by the Jewish people.

Alcazar's Preterism-Another Jesuit, Luis de Alcazar (1554-1613) developed the opposite position,

known as Preterism. This is the teaching that the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation were fulfilled in

ancient times by Antiochus IV Epiphanes, Nero, and/or pagan Rome.

Hugo Grotius, of Holland, and Hammond, of England, helped further this error. Anti-Christian,

German rationalists heavily endorsed it. This included J.C. Eichhorn, G.H.A. Ewald, G.C.F. Lucke,

W.M.L. De Wette, Franz Delitzsch, and Julius Wellhausen. Since 1830, many British and American Bible

teachers have taught it to their students.

The true belief-In contrast, it should be mentioned that many faithful Christian Bible scholars held

that Rome was the antichrist of Daniel and Revelation. This included all the Reformers and, later, such men

as Manuel de Lacunza and Joseph Wolff (both mentioned in Great Controversy), Sir Isaac Newton, Adam

Clarke, Henry Drummond, and Edward Irving.

Ignatius Loyola founded the so-called "Society of Jesus" (the Jesuits) in 1534. Approved by Paul III in

1540, it immediately set to work to either destroy Protestantism or dilute its teachings, when assassination

and warfare were not feasible. For over 450 years, its agents (brilliant men selected for their tenacity) have

infiltrated governments, schools, and churches. These men gradually rose to higher positions as additional

agents were hired into the ranks.

Vance Ferrell (A Biblical Defense Defending our Historic Beliefs about the Sanctuary in Daniel and Hebrews)

Our Good Shepherd

(a) This truth flows naturally and logically from the gospel as Good

News (Luke 15:1-10). The false idea is that like a shopkeeper, the Lord

regards us indifferently until we take the initiative to ferret Him out from

His hiding place. The truth is that He seeks us (Psalm 119:176; Ezekiel

34:16). 1

(b) If anyone is saved at last it will be due to God's initiative; if

anyone is lost at last, it will be due to his own initiative (Jeremiah 31:3;

John 3:16-19).

(c) Our salvation does not depend on our maintaining a relationship

with God; it depends on our believing that He stands at the door and

knocks—seeking to maintain that relationship with us unless we break it

off (Revelation 3:20).

R.J.Weiland (10 Truths Booklet)

Easy To Be Saved

(a) God does the loving and the giving; our part is to do the believing

(John 3:16, 17). "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who

believes" (Mark 9:23). But the word "believe" must be understood as

the Bible teaches it (Romans 10:10).

(b) "My yoke is easy, and My burden is light," and to resist, to "kick

against the goads," is "hard" (Matthew 11:28; Acts 9:5; 26:14).

(c) The reason why this is true is that "the love [agape] of Christ

constraineth us." Christ's love is active, not passive. The one who

believes the gospel cannot continue living for self (Romans 6:1, 2, 14,

15; 2 Corinthians 5:14, KJV).

(d) Christ's love for each individual person is infinitely greater than

that of a parent for a child (Psalm 27:10; 103:13).

(e) To "kick against the goads" is to resist the Holy Spirit's conviction

of Good News (John 16:7-11).

(f) Light is stronger than darkness, grace is stronger than sin, and

the Holy Spirit is stronger than the flesh (John 1:5, 9; Romans 5:20;

Galatians 5:16, 17).

(g) God is leading every person to repentance, but many refuse His

leading (Romans 2:4).

R.J Wieland (10 Truths Booklet)

God's Love Draws

(a) All the life and happiness which the world enjoys is the purchase

of Christ's sacrifice. Every loaf of bread is stamped with His cross (John

6:32, 33, 35, 50-53; cf. The Desire of Ages, p.660). This truth of total

indebtedness to Him is the basis for all genuine Christian experience.

(b) If Christ had not died for the world, we would all have perished.

The Father laid the trespasses of the world on Christ (2 Corinthians 5:19;

Isaiah 53:5, 6). Thus, in a very real sense, Christ's sacrifice has justified

"all men" by giving them a legal "verdict of acquittal" in place of that

"judgment" of "condemnation" "in Adam" (Romans 3:23, 24; 5:15-18,

NEB). When the sinner hears and believes the truth, he experiences

justification by faith (Romans 4:25; Ephesians 2:8-10).

(c) The lost deliberately negate this justification Christ has effected

for them, and take the "condemnation" back upon themselves (Hebrews

10:29; 2 Corinthians 6:1; cf. Steps to Christ, p. 27).

(d) Believers in Christ can say that "He Himself is the propitiation

for our sins." But it is "not for ours only, but also for the whole world" (1

John 2:2). "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten

Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish" (John 3:16). Since

He paid the price for all our sins, the only reason anyone can be lost is

refusal to believe, to appreciate, the gift already given "in Him" (verse

18). God does not put us in double jeopardy, for "the Lord has laid

on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:6). How then can He lay that

iniquity on us again? Paul asks (Romans 8:33-39). The lost take it back

on themselves.

(e) All this adds up to a judicial "verdict of acquittal… and life for all

men," just as surely as Adam's sin brought "a verdict… of condemnation

for all men" (Romans 5:16-18, NEB). The one who believes this Good

News is motivated to total consecration of his all to Christ (2 Corinthians

5:14, 15).

R.J.Wieland (10 Truths Booklet)

The Ten Commandments Are God's Character

Because the law which contains the Sabbath contains the same great eternal qualities of God Himself.

The CLOSE RELATIONSHIP existing between God and His law is demonstrated below to a

mathematical nicety:

1. God is JUST - Romans 3:26.                                               His law is JUST - Romans 7:12.

2. God is TRUE - John 3:33.                                                    His law is TRUE - Nehemiah 9:13.

3. God is PURE - 1 John 3:3.                                                   His law is PURE - Psalm 19:7,8.

4. God is LIGHT - 1 John 1:5.                                                   His law is LIGHT - Proverbs 6:23.

5. God is FAITHFUL - 1 Corinthians 1:9.                                   His law is FAITHFUL - Psalms 119:86.

6. God is GOOD - Nahum 1:7.                                                His law is GOOD - Romans 7:12,16.

7. God is SPIRITUAL - John 4:24.                                           His law is SPIRITUAL - Romans 7:14.

8. God is HOLY - Isaiah 6:3, 1 Peter 1:15.                              His law is HOLY - Exodus 20:8, Romans 7:12.

9. God is TRUTH - John 14:6.                                                 His law is TRUTH - Psalms 119:142,151.

10. God is LIFE - John 14:6.                                                    His law is LIFE - Matthew 19:17.

11. God is RIGHTEOUSNESS - Jeremiah 23:6.                          His law is RIGHTEOUSNESS - Psalm 119:172.

12. God is PERFECT - Matthew 5:48.                                         His law is PERFECT - James 1:25.

13. God is ETERNAL - John 8:35.                                                His law is ETERNAL - Psalms 111:7,8.

14. God is PEACE - Isaiah 9:6.                                                  His law is PEACE - Psalm 119:165.

15. God is THE WAY - John 14:6                                              His law is THE WAY - Psalm 119:30-32

16. God is SURE - 2 Timothy 2:19                                           His law is SURE - Psalm 19:7, 111:7,8

17. God is UNCHANGING - Malachi 3:6                                  His law is UNCHANGING - Psalm 111:7,8

18. God is SWEET - Psalm 34:8                                           His law is SWEET - Psalm 19:10, 119:103

19. God is WISE - Psalm 111:10                                          His law is WISE - Psalm 19:7

20. God is OUR MEDITATION - Psalm 63:6                          His law is OUR MEDITATION - Psalm 1:2

21. God is JUDGE - Psalm 50:6                                          His law is JUDGE - James 2:12

22. God is ENLIGHTENMENT - Psalm 18:27                        His law is ENLIGHTENMENT - Psalm 19:8

23. God is LOVE - 1 John 4:7,8                                           His law is LOVE - Romans 13:8-10

24. God is CLEAN - Psalm 19:9                                           His law is CLEAN - Ezekiel 22:26

25. God is BLESSED - Psalm 28:6                                       His law is BLESSED - Exodus 20:11

26. God is DELIGHT - Psalm 37:4                                          His law is DELIGHT - Psalm 1:2

27. God is WONDERFUL - Isaiah 9:6                                      His law is WONDERFUL - Psalm 119:18

28. God is LIBERTY - Isaiah 61:1                                           His law is LIBERTY - James 1:25, Psalm 119:45

29. God is COMFORT - Psalm 23:4                                       His law is COMFORT - Psalm 119:50

30. God is OUR SONG - Revelation 15:3                               His law is OUR SONG - Psalm 119:54

31. God is MERCIFUL - Exodus 34:5                                   His law is MERCIFUL - Psalm 119:58

32. God is KNOWLEDGE - Isaiah 11:2                                 His law is KNOWLEDGE - Psalm 119:66

33. God is HOPE - Psalm 130:7                                            His law is HOPE - Psalm 119:74

34. God is LIFE - Psalm 36:9                                               His law is LIFE - Proverbs 3:1,2

35. God is SOUND - Proverbs 8:13,14                                    His law is SOUND - Psalm 119:80

36. God is UNDERSTANDING - Psalm 147:5                         His law is UNDERSTANDING - Psalm 119:99

37. God is HAPPINESS - Psalm 146:5                                 His law is HAPPINESS - Proverbs 29:18

38. God is JOY - Psalm 16:11                                             His law is JOY - Psalm 119:162

God's law manifests His qualities to such an extent that He Himself identifies Himself with His

law by calling it the ROYAL LAW. James 2:8-12.

George Burnside (God's Holy Day)