When God Shakes His Church
George Burnside
The "Shaking" Of The Church.
AMOS 9:9 "For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth."
"I will sift the house of Israel.”
Last day Prophecies.
AMOS 8:11-12 "Behold, the days come, said the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it."
AMOS 8:9 "And it shall come to pass in that day, said the Lord God, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day."
Testimonies Volume 1, page 181.
AMOS 9:10 "All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us."
"Sinners of My people shall die by the sword." Some boast they are sinners and plan to sin to the end. REVELATION 19:21 "Sword ...out of His mouth." Contrast:
REVELATION 16:13 False doctrine "out of the mouth.” Frogs catch their prey "by their tongue." Series B, page 50. “The mighty shaking has commenced.”
Note:- "Rebels", "transgressors." go oil."
Christ will purge out of His Church.
Series B, page 57. "We are to hold fast the first principles.”
EZEKIEL 20:38 "And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the Lord."
"I will purge out ...rebels."
"And them that transgress." Prophecy comes true.
EZEKIEL 20:45-49 "Negeb" -south. "They (transgressors) shall not enter."
REVELATION 22:14 "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city."
4 Testimonies, page 89. "The shaking of God blows away multitudes like dry leaves. Prosperity multiplies a mass of professors. Adversity purges them out of the church."
General Conference Bulletin 1891, page 257. "When the law of God is made void, the church will be sifted by fiery trials, and a larger proportion than we now anticipate, will give heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils."
9 Testimonies, pages 67-68 "The light of truth which God designs shall come to the people of the world at this time is not that which the world's men of learning are seeking to impart, for these men in their research often arrive at erroneous conclusions and in their studies of many authors become enthused with theories that are of Satanic origin."
REVELATION 3:16 "So then because thou are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth."
HEBREWS 12:6 "For whom the Lord loves he chastens, and scourges every son whom he receives." "Whom the Lord loves He chastens."
HEBREWS 12:25-29 Things that cannot be shaken may remain. "Remnant" - that which remains."
5 Testimonies, page 80 "The days of purification of the church are hastening on a pace. God will have a people pure and true. The mighty sifting soon to take place."
Great Controversy, page 593-594, "Only those who have been diligent students of the Scriptures, and who have received the love of the truth will be shielded from the powerful delusions that takes the world captive."
Great Controversy, page 595 "But God will have a people upon the earth to maintain the Bible and the Bible only as the standard of all doctrine."
2 Selected Messages, page 52 "Those who do not accept the Word of God, just as it reads will be snared in his (devils) trap."
Great Controversy, page 598 "God has given us His Word."
LUKE 10:25 The lawyer said "What shall I do to inherit eternal life." - "It is written," said Jesus.
Great Controversy, page 598 "It is the first and highest duty of every rational being to learn from the Scriptures what is truth."
"Ignorance will not excuse young or old."
"It is not enough to have good intentions; it is not enough to do what a man thinks is right, or what a minister tells him is right."
"We should day by day study the Bible diligently, weighing every thought and comparing scripture with scripture."
Prophets and Kings, page 678 (Isaiah 58:13, 14) "In the time of the end every divine institution is to be restored. The breach made in the law at the time the Sabbath was changed by man, is to be repaired. God's remnant people, standing before the world as reformers, are to show that the law of God is the foundation of all enduring reform and that the Sabbath of the fourth commandment is to stand as a memorial of creation, a constant reminder of the power of God. In clear, distinct lines they are to present the necessity of obedience to all the precepts of the Decalogue. Constrained by the love of Christ, they are to co-operate with Him in building up the waste places. They are to be repairers of the breach, restorers of paths to dwell in. See verse 12.”
“The shaking of God blows away multitudes like dry leaves. Prosperity multiplies a mass of professors. Adversity purges them out of the church. As a class, their spirits are not steadfast with God. They go out from us because they are not of us; for when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, many are offended.” 4 Testimonies, page 89.
The Mighty Sifting
In the mighty sifting soon to take place we shall be better able to measure the strength of Israel. The signs reveal that the time is near when the Lord will manifest that His fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor. The days are fast approaching when there will be great perplexity and confusion. Satan, clothed in angel robes, will deceive, if possible, the very elect. There will be gods many and lords many. Every wind of doctrine will be blowing. Those who have rendered supreme homage to "science falsely so called" will not be the leaders then. Those who have trusted to intellect, genius, or talent will not then stand at the head of rank and file. They did not keep pace with the light. Those who have proved themselves unfaithful will not then be entrusted with the flock. In the last solemn work few great men will be engaged. They are self-sufficient, independent of God, and He cannot use them. The Lord has faithful servants, who in the shaking, testing time will be disclosed to view. There are precious ones now hidden who have not bowed the knee to Baal.
They have not had the light which has been shining in a concentrated blaze upon you. But it may be under a rough and uninviting exterior the pure brightness of a genuine Christian character will be revealed. In the day time we look toward heaven but do not see the stars. They are there, fixed in the firmament, but the eye cannot distinguish them. In the night we behold their genuine luster.
The time is not far distant when the test will come to every soul. The mark of the beast will be urged upon us. Those who have step by step yielded to worldly demands and conformed to worldly customs will not find it a hard matter to yield to the powers that be, rather than subject themselves to derision, insult, threatened imprisonment, and death. The contest is between the commandments of God and the commandments of men. In this time the gold will be separated from the dross in the church. True godliness will be clearly distinguished from the appearance and tinsel of it. Many a star that we have admired for its brilliancy will then go out in darkness. Chaff like a cloud will be borne away on the wind, even from places where we see only floors of rich wheat. All who assume the ornaments of the sanctuary, but are not clothed with Christ's righteousness, will appear in the shame of their own nakedness. [5 Testimonies, pages 79-81]
Rejection Of The Gift Of Prophecy
One thing is certain: Those Seventh-day Adventists who take their stand under Satan's banner will first give up their faith in the warnings and reproofs contained in the Testimonies of God's Spirit. 3 Selected Messages, page 84.
The very last deception of Satan will be to make of none effect the testimony of the Spirit of God. "Where there is no vision, the people perish" (Proverbs 29:18). Satan will work ingeniously, in different ways and through different agencies, to unsettle the confidence of God's remnant people in the true testimony. 1 Selected Messages, page 48.
The enemy has made his masterly efforts to unsettle the faith of our own people in the Testimonies. . .. This is just as Satan designed it should be, and those who have been preparing the way for the people to pay no heed to the warnings and reproofs of the Testimonies of the Spirit of God will see that a tide of errors of all kinds will spring into life. 3 Selected Messages, page 83.
It is Satan's plan to weaken the faith of God's people in the Testimonies. Next follows skepticism in regard to the vital points of our faith, the pillars of our position, then doubt as to the Holy Scriptures, and then the downward march to perdition. When the Testimonies, which were once believed, are doubted and given up, Satan knows the deceived ones will not stop at this; and he redoubles his efforts till he launches them into open rebellion, which becomes incurable and ends in destruction. 4 Testimonies, page 211.