Newsletter
The Final Crisis
First a review of pertinent inspiration: when is the final test or crisis?
“It is in a crisis that character is revealed. When the earnest voice proclaimed at midnight, ‘Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him,’ and the sleeping virgins were roused from their slumbers, it was seen who had made preparation for the event. Both parties were taken unawares; but one was prepared for the emergency, and the other was found without preparation. So now, a sudden and unlooked-for calamity, something that brings the soul face to face with death, will show whether there is any real faith in the promises of God. It will show whether the soul is sustained by grace. The great final test comes at the close of human probation, when it will be too late for the soul's need to be supplied.”1
Final test means final test. How many tests are there after the final test? Ask any student; the final is the final, there are no more tests after the final one.
What do we know about the nature of this final test? How can we get a grip on it and be somewhat braced for it? How can we be reasonably (as much as possible) prepared for it and ultimately, be ready to come out ahead on this test?
“The word of God in His law is binding upon every intelligent mind. The truth for this time, the third angel's message, is to be proclaimed with a loud voice, meaning with increasing power, as we approach the great final test. This test must come to the churches in connection with the true medical missionary work, a work that has the Great Physician to dictate and preside in all it comprehends. Under the great Head we are to present God's word requiring obedience to the system of Bible truth, which is a system of authority and power, convicting and converting the conscience. The demand of the Word to obedience is a life-and-death question.”2
From this I gather (and I hope you do too) that the final test is about medical missionary work and the third angel’s message. Am I right? Did I read that correctly? Additionally it relates to the authority of God on some “life-and-death question”. Now, the third angel’s message is all about worship: worship of God or worship of the beast, his image and his mark. How does this relate to health reform and the medical missionary work?
Here is one way it relates:
“Those who have had the light upon the subjects of eating and dressing with simplicity in obedience to physical and moral laws, and who turn from the light which points out their duty, will shun duty in other things. If they blunt their consciences to avoid the cross which they will have to take up to be in harmony with natural law, they will, in order to shun reproach, violate the Ten Commandments.
"There is a decided unwillingness with some to endure the cross and despise the shame. Some will be laughed out of their principles. Conformity to the world is gaining ground among God's people, who profess to be pilgrims and strangers, waiting and watching for the Lord's appearing. There are many among professed Sabbathkeepers in New York who are more firmly wedded to worldly fashions and lusts than they are to healthy bodies, sound minds, or sanctified hearts.”3
Help me out here. According to the above passage, which comes first; a test on the ten commandments or a test on health reform? Alright, maybe this is too simplistic an explanation for why the final test comes in connection with the “true medical missionary work”. We are advised, in Matthew 24, to be not deceived as we come to this final test. If a “true” medical missionary work is put forward, there must be a false medical missionary work. Is that a reasonable conclusion? What would be the true medical missionary work in this test, and what would be the false? Have you ever taken a “true or false” exam? This is a “true or false” exam, but there may be more than one false answer.
“There are many ways of practicing the healing art, but there is only one way that Heaven approves. God's remedies are the simple agencies of nature that will not tax or debilitate the system through their powerful properties. Pure air and water, cleanliness, a proper diet, purity of life, and a firm trust in God are remedies for the want of which thousands are dying; yet these remedies are going out of date because their skillful use requires work that the people do not appreciate. Fresh air, exercise, pure water, and clean, sweet premises are within the reach of all with but little expense, but drugs are expensive, both in the outlay of means and in the effect produced upon the system.”4
True or False God’s remedies are: pure air and water, cleanliness, a proper diet, purity of life, and a firm trust in Him.
True or False. God’s remedies are expensive drugs.
Paul, one of the Biblical writers given wide acclaim, says, “for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”5 Well then, what is a pertinent example of faithlessness?
“Oh, how great are the possibilities that He has placed without our reach! He says, ‘Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it you.’ He promises to come to us as a Comforter to bless us. Why do we not believe these promises? That which we lack in faith we make up by the use of drugs. Let us give up the drugs, believing that Jesus does not desire us to be sick, and that if we live according to the principles of health reform, He will keep us well.”6
OK, you mathematicians, a little algebra here: “That which we lack in faith we make up by the use of drugs” and “for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” What does that make drugs?
You may be saying, “I do not use those drug company’s products”. But do you use their over-the-counter versions? (Nutraceuticals, supplements, chemical vitamins, extracts, concentrates, OK, the list is getting tedious, let’s just say things man has made) Historically these were referred to as ‘Patent Nostrums’’.
“A practice that is laying the foundation of a vast amount of disease and of even more serious evils, is the free use of poisonous drugs. When attacked by disease, many will not take the trouble to search out the cause of their illness. Their chief anxiety is to rid themselves of pain and inconvenience. So they resort to patent nostrums, of whose real properties they know little, or they apply to a physician for some remedy to counteract the result of their misdoing, but with no thought of making a change in their unhealthful habits. If immediate benefit is not realized, another medicine is tried, and then another. Thus the evil continues.”7
But you might say, “Yeah, but, they claim a one hundred percent cure rate.” I cringe to hear that bit of worshipful praise of God’s competition. So, let me ask you, if the Witch of Endor had a one hundred percent cure rate for a disease which you believed threatened your life (the life God has given you) would that make her God’s gift of healing for you? Really, could it be, that who or what you turn to in time of illness reveals to whom or what you are directing your worship?
Does “pure air and water, cleanliness, a proper diet, purity of life, and a firm trust in God” really cure anybody of the dangerous modern diseases, plagues, or pestilences? Read the following passage. I know it is long but if it were not important I would not have included it. Pay special attention to what it is that brings about supernatural results; what happens when we pray for a miracle; what God’s stated plan for a pestilence is; what our part in healing is; and what this has to do with keeping God’s law.
“God's miracles do not always bear the outward semblance of miracles. Often they are brought about in a way which looks like the natural course of events. When we pray for the sick, we also work for them. We answer our own prayers by using the remedies within our reach. Water, wisely applied, is a most powerful remedy. As it is used intelligently, favorable results are seen. God has given us intelligence, and He desires us to make the most of His health-giving blessings. We ask that God will give bread to the hungry; we are then to act as His helping hand in relieving hunger. We are to use every blessing God has placed within our reach for the deliverance of those in danger.”
“Natural means, used in accordance with God's will, bring about supernatural results. We ask for a miracle, and the Lord directs the mind to some simple remedy. We ask to be kept from the pestilence that walketh in darkness, that is stalking with such power through the world; we are then to cooperate with God, observing the laws of health and life. Having done all that we possibly can, we are to keep asking in faith for health and strength. We are to eat that food which will preserve the health of the body. God gives us no encouragement that He will do for us what we can do for ourselves. Natural laws are to be obeyed. We are not to fail of doing our part. God says to us, ‘Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure’ (Phil. 2:12, 13).”
“We cannot disregard the laws of nature without disregarding the laws of God. We cannot expect the Lord to work a miracle for us while we neglect the simple remedies He has provided for our use, which, aptly and opportunely applied, will bring about a miraculous result.”
“Therefore, pray, believe, and work.”8
So as this crisis develops, we have our charter: to present to the people the way of the Lord.
To recap:
“The only hope of better things is in the education of the people in right principles. Let physicians teach the people that restorative power is not in drugs, but in nature. Disease is an effort of nature to free the system from conditions that result from a violation of the laws of health. In case of sickness, the cause should be ascertained. Unhealthful conditions should be changed, wrong habits corrected. Then nature is to be assisted in her effort to expel impurities and to re-establish right conditions in the system.”
“Pure air, sunlight, abstemiousness, rest, exercise, proper diet, the use of water, trust in divine power--these are the true remedies. Every person should have a knowledge of nature's remedial agencies and how to apply them. It is essential both to understand the principles involved in the treatment of the sick and to have a practical training that will enable one rightly to use this knowledge.”
“The use of natural remedies requires an amount of care and effort that many are not willing to give. Nature's process of healing and upbuilding is gradual, and to the impatient it seems slow. The surrender of hurtful indulgences requires sacrifice. But in the end it will be found that nature, untrammeled, does her work wisely and well. Those who persevere in obedience to her laws will reap the reward in health of body and health of mind.”9
God is trying to warn the world, through you, of the final test, as we near the close of probation. True health ministry is integral to the success of this mission. How are you going to do medical missionary work? It is time for us to live and teach the eight natural remedies of God.
“I wish to tell you that soon there will be no work done in ministerial lines but medical missionary work.”10
“Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”11 “Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.”12 “That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.”13
1 White, E. G. (1900). Christ’s Object Lessons. Review and Herald Publishing Association. p. 412.
2 White, E. G. (1990). Manuscript Releases, vol. 10 [Nos. 771-850]. Silver Spring, MD: Ellen G. White Estate. p. 314.
3 White, E. G. (1875). Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3. Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press Publishing Association. p. 51.
4 White, E. G. (1889). Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5. Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press Publishing Association. p. 443.
5 Romans 14:23. The Holy Bible, King James Version.
6 White, E. G. (1990). Manuscript Releases, vol. 19 [Nos. 1360-1419]. Silver Spring, MD: Ellen G. White Estate. P. 51.
7 White, E. G. (1923). Counsels on Health. Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press Publishing Association. p. 89.
8 White, E. G. (1958). Selected Messages Book 2. Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association. p. 346.
9 White, E. G. (1905). The Ministry of Healing. Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press Publishing Association. p. 127.
10 White, E. G. (1923). Counsels on Health. Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press Publishing Association. p. 533.
11 3 John 1:2. The Holy Bible, King James Version.
12 2 Chronicles 20:20. The Holy Bible, King James Version.
13 Psalms 67:2. The Holy Bible, King James Version.