Keys to the Storehouse – Nations Gather

Will you be ready to be gathered with all the nations of the redeemed to eat the fruit of the tree of life and be completely healed by its leaves?

Revelation 22:2 paints this beautiful picture: “In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”

Amazingly, we are told that eating the leaves of the tree of life starts right here on this earth.

“Must we wait until we are translated before we eat of the leaves of the tree of life? He who receives into his heart the words of Christ knows what it means to eat the leaves of the tree of life. …

“The knowledge that comes from God is the bread of life. It is the leaves of the tree of life which are for the healing of the nations. The current of spiritual life thrills the soul as the words of Christ are believed and practiced. Thus it is that we are made one with Christ. The experience that was weak and feeble becomes strong. It is eternal life to us if we hold the beginning of our confidence firm unto the end.” The Upward Look, 224.

Sharing the gospel in our various walks of life, whether we travel overseas to mission fields, or work in health, schools of learning and teaching children, or just in general contact with the public, there is a work to be done for the Lord and in keeping His commandments.

The health message was promoted in the early days of our church history. “The great reason why we have sanitariums [health centers] is that these institutions may be agencies in bringing men and women to a position where they may be numbered among those who shall some day eat of the leaves of the tree of life, which are for the healing of the nations” Manuscript Releases, vol. 1, 227.

We must examine ourselves to see if we love Jesus enough to let go of the love of the world and find the true meaning and purpose in serving Him.

“The redeemed saints who have loved God and kept His commandments here, will enter in through the gates of the city and have right to the tree of life. They will eat freely of it as our first parents did before the fall. The leaves of that immortal widespread tree will be for the healing of the nations.” Maranatha, 325.

What a world of beauty and surprises awaits us!  No more divisions among nations. No more wars, fights, bloodshed, pain, crying and separation by death. All is healed.

Dear Lord, please help us to live each day for Your glory to seek others with whom to share Your truth and love. Oh Lord, we want to be in heaven with You. May we participate in Your plan to heal all nations and may we be ready to meet You very soon. Keep us faithful no matter what may come our way, is our prayer. Amen.

Editorial – The Inheritance We Are Preparing For

“In imagination I gathered with the saints around the wide-spreading tree of life. Friends and dear home relatives who had been separated from us by death were gathered there. The redeemed, white-robed multitude, who had washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, were there. No flaming guard stood around the tree of life, barring our approach. With happy, joyous songs of praise, the voices were blended in perfect harmony as we plucked of the fruit from the tree of life.

“I seemed to be there where all was peace, where no stormy conflicts of earth could ever come—heaven, a kingdom of righteousness where all the holy and pure and blest are congregated, ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands, living and walking in happy, pure intimacy, praising God and the Lamb who sitteth on the throne.

“Their voices were in perfect harmony. They never do each other wrong. Princes of heaven, the potentates of this mighty realm, are rivals only in good, seeking the happiness and joy of each other. The greatest there is least in self-esteem, and the least is greatest in his gratitude and wealth of love.

“There are no dark errors to cloud the intellect. Truth and knowledge, clear, strong, and perfect, have chased every doubt away, and no gloom of doubt casts its baleful shadow upon its happy inhabitants. No voices of contention mar the sweet and perfect peace of heaven. Its inhabitants know no sorrow, no grief, no tears. All is in perfect harmony, in perfect order and perfect bliss.

“The Great Shepherd was leading His flock to living fountains of water and to green pastures, new and delightful scenery opening continually before His people. Heaven, sweet heaven, the saints’ eternal home, the abode for the toilers, where the weary who have borne the heavy burdens through life find rest, peace, and joy! They sowed in tears, they reap with joy and triumph. Heaven is a home where sympathy is alive in every heart, expressed in every look. Love reigns there. There are no jarring elements, no discord or contentions or war of words.

“With our deepest study and our broadest experience we shall never be able to describe heaven or our senses to comprehend it. All that is pure, all that is excellent and lovely is there. The possession of heaven is endless bliss, infinite glory, riches, and knowledge. The character of heaven is perfect love, holiness, peace. We know these things now only in part. ‘Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.’ 1 Corinthians 2:9. It is the discipline imposed upon us all to walk by faith and not by sight.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 9, 104, 105.

“Remember that if you speak cross words to fellow church members, you would speak the same kind of words in heaven, were you permitted to enter there. But you never will be unless you change.” General Conference Bulletin, April 6, 1903.

“No unpleasant words are spoken in heaven. There no unkind thoughts are cherished. There envy, evil surmising, hatred, and strife find no place. Perfect harmony pervades the heavenly courts.” Upward Look, 163.

“(John 14:15, 21, 23, 24 quoted.) Here are the conditions upon which every soul will be elected to eternal life. Your obedience to God’s commandments will prove your right to an inheritance with the saints in light. God has elected a certain excellence of character; and every one who, through the grace of Christ, shall reach the standard of His requirement, will have an abundant entrance into the kingdom of glory. All, who would reach this standard of character, will have to employ the means that God has provided to this end. If you would inherit the rest that remaineth for the children of God, you must become a co-laborer with God. You are elected to wear the yoke of Christ,—to bear His burden, to lift His cross. You are to be diligent ‘to make your calling and election sure.’ 2 Peter 1:10.”  Christian Education, 118.

“Both you and ourselves fully believe that holiness of life is necessary to fit us for the inheritance of saints in light.” Review and Herald, June 6, 1878.

“Those who have been tested and proved on this matter of loving others as themselves, will be pronounced meet for an inheritance with the saints in light.” Signs of the Times, July 2, 1894.

“By looking unto Jesus, by talking with Jesus, by fashioning the life after Christ’s example, they become meet for the inheritance of the saints in light, for our taste is perfected for the purity of heaven.” Signs of the Times, September 5, 1895.

“This present life is only our training-school. Here we are to be purified that at Christ’s coming we may be without spot or wrinkle or any such thing,—prepared to receive the inheritance of the saints in light.” Signs of the Times, July 17, 1901.

Nature Nugget – Champion Trees

Western North America is home to the tallest, largest, and oldest documented trees known to still be living. The Coastal Redwoods of California’s northern coast are the tallest living things in the world. Starting from seeds the size of tomato seeds, they can grow over 300 feet in only a couple hundred years. The tallest Coastal Redwood is 367 feet tall, with a width at its base of 22 feet. Due to the high tannin content of the wood, they are highly disease and insect resistant. Coastal Redwoods are also resistant to fire. Having no taproot, their roots only reach 10 to 13 feet deep and spread outward 60 to 80 feet. Because of this, the most frequent cause of death among them, aside from logging, is toppling. Coastal Redwoods commonly live more than 2,000 years, and a few are over 4,000 years old.

Another type of redwood, the Giant Sequoia, does not get quite as tall as the Coastal Redwoods but tends to be more massive. Giant Sequoias are the largest living things on earth. Trunk diameters of up to 30 feet are not uncommon, and their branches can be 50 feet long. Their bark can be 4 feet thick! The largest Giant Sequoia is known as the “General Sherman,” with a volume of over 55,000 cubic feet. It is only 274.9 feet tall, but it has a diameter at its base of 36.5 feet and a crown spread of 106.5 feet. Giant Sequoias grow at elevations of 4,900–8,200 feet on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Central California. They commonly reach an age of 2,000–3,000 years.

The oldest documented living things on earth are the Bristlecone Pines of the Great Basin areas of the Western United States. Earth’s oldest known living inhabitant, a Bristlecone Pine known as “Methuselah,” is 4,767 years old and is found in the White Mountains of California. In 1964, a Bristlecone Pine was cut down that was determined to be 4,862 years old. The age of a tree is determined by taking core samples and counting the growth rings. For each year of life, a new growth ring is produced. Bristlecone Pines are usually less than 60 feet tall. They are native to dry, windswept mountaintops above 10,000 feet.

The ages of some of the trees mentioned above would place them on the earth before the flood, which is not a problem if you consider this Spirit of Prophecy quote: “God by his miraculous power preserved a few of the different kinds of trees and shrubs alive for future generations.” Spiritual Gifts, vol. 3, 77.

There is a champion tree in Heaven whose glory surpasses that of all other trees. “The fruit of the tree of life in the Garden of Eden possessed supernatural virtue. To eat of it was to live forever. Its fruit was the antidote of death. Its leaves were for the sustaining of life and immortality.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 288. Man lost the right to eat of this tree when sin entered the world. The tree was removed from the earth before the flood and now resides in Heaven. (See “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 989; Patriarchs and Prophets, 62.) Access to the tree of life will soon be restored to man through Christ. (See Early Writings, 126.) “If you are true and humble and faithful in this life, you will be given an abundant entrance. Then the tree of life will be yours, for you will be a victor over sin; the city whose builder and maker is God will be your city.” Ibid., 125.

David Arbour writes from his home in DeQueen, Arkansas. He may be contacted by e-mail at: landmarks@stepstolife.org.

Philosophy of Education

God, by the abundance of life, is as a great magnet, drawing humanity to Himself. So close is the union that in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. In one Man—a Man made of flesh and blood like all men now living—there dwelt the spirit of wisdom. More than this, in Him are “hid all the treasures of wisdom;” and hence the life of Immanuel stands a constant witness that the wisdom of the ages is accessible to man. And the record adds, “Ye are complete in Him.” Colossians 2:3, 10.

This wisdom brings eternal life; for “this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God.” John 17:3.

Christ, at Jacob’s well, explained to the woman of Samaria, and through her to you and me, the means of gaining wisdom. The well of living water, from the depths of which the patriarch had drawn, and which he bequeathed as a rich legacy to generations following, who drank and blessed his name, symbolized heavenly wisdom. Men today mistake worldy wisdom for the wisdom described in Job 28, of which God understandeth the way and knoweth the place. Christ spoke of this latter when He said, “If thou knewest the gift of God and Who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldst have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living water.” “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink.” John 4:10; 7:37.

Why, then, if wisdom may be had for the asking, are not all fulfilled? Only one reason can be given: men in their search accept falsehood in the place of truth. This blunts their sensibilities, until the false system seems true and the true false.

There is a distinction between the wisdom of God and that of this world. (See I Corinthians 1:20; 2:6.) How, then, can we attain to the real and true wisdom?

Dealing with wisdom is education. If it be the wisdom of the world, then it is worldly education; if, on the other hand, it is a search for the wisdom of God, it is Christian education. Over these two questions, the controversy between good and evil is waging. The final triumph of truth will place the advocates of Christian education in the kingdom of God.

The Heavenly School

God’s throne, the center around which circled the worlds which had gone forth from the hand of the Creator, was the school of the universe. The Upholder of the worlds was Himself the great Teacher; and His character, love, was the theme of contemplation. Every lesson was a manifestation of His power. To illustrate the workings of the laws of His nature, this Teacher had but to speak, and before the attentive multitudes there stood the living thing. “He spake, and it was, He commanded and it stood fast.” Psalm 33:9.

Angels and the beings of other worlds in countless numbers were the students. The course was to extend through eternity; observations were carried on through limitless space and included everything from the smallest to the mightiest force, from the formation of the dewdrop to the building of the worlds, and the growth of the mind. To finish the course, if such an expression is permissible, meant to reach the perfection of the Creator Himself.

To the angelic host was given a work. The inhabitants of worlds were on probation. It was the joy of angels to minister to and teach other creatures of the universe. The law of love was everywhere written; it was the constant study of the heavenly beings. Each thought of God was taken by them; and as they saw the workings of His plans, they fell before the King of kings, crying, “Holy, holy, holy.” Eternity was all too short to reveal His love.

The Father and Son were often in council. Wrapped together in that glory, the universe awaited the expression of Their one will. As one of the covering cherubim, Lucifer stood the first in power and majesty of all the angelic host. His eye beheld, his ear heard, he knew of all except the deep counsels which the Father, from all eternity, had purposed in the Son.

Hitherto all eyes had turned instinctively toward the center of light. A cloud, the first one known, darkened the glory of the covering cherub. Turning his eyes inward, he reasoned that he was wronged. Had not he, Lucifer, been the bearer of light and joy to worlds beyond? Why should not his might be recognized?

The Rival System

While Lucifer thus reasoned, Christ, wrapped within the glory of the Father, was offering His life for the world at its creation. Sin had not yet entered; the world was not yet created; but as the plans were laid, the Son had said, “Should sin enter, I am, from this time, one with those We now create; and their fall will mean My life on earth.”

Here was born the rival system—selfishness facing the utter self-forgetfulness of Christ, reason over against faith.

God planted a garden eastward in Eden and from the beauties of the earth chose the most beautiful spot for the home of the new pair. In the midst of the garden stood the tree of life, the fruit of which afforded man a perfect physical food. Beneath its spreading branches God Himself visited them and, talking with them face to face, revealed to them the way of immortality. As they ate of the fruit of the tree of life and found every physical want supplied, they were constantly reminded of the need of the spiritual meat which was gained by open converse with the light from heaven. The glory of God surrounded the tree; and enwrapped in this halo, Adam and Eve spent much time in communing with the heavenly visitors. According to the divine system of teaching, they were here to study the laws of God and learn of His character. They were not only His children but students receiving instruction from the all-wise Creator.

Divine Method of Teaching

As new beauties came to their attention, they were filled with wonder. Each visit of the heavenly teachers elicited from the earthly students scores of questions which it was the delight of the angels to answer; and they in turn opened to the minds of Adam and Eve principles of living truth which sent them forth to their daily tasks of pleasure full of wondering curiosity, ready to use every God-given sense to discover illustrations of the wisdom of heaven. “So long as they remained loyal to the divine law, their capacity to know, to enjoy, and to love would continually increase. They would be constantly gaining new treasures of knowledge, discovering fresh springs of happiness, and obtaining clearer and yet clearer conceptions of the immeasurable, unfailing love of God.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 51.

The divine method of teaching is here revealed—God’s way of dealing with minds which are loyal to Him. The governing laws of the universe were expounded. Man, as if looking into a picture, found in earth, sky, and sea, in the animate and inanimate world, the exemplification of those laws. He believed; and with a heavenly light, which is the reward of faith, he approached each new subject of investigation. Divine truths unfolded continually. Life, power, happiness—these subjects grew with his growth. The angels stimulated the desire to question, and again led their students to search for answers to their own questions. At his work of dressing the garden, Adam learned truths which only work could reveal. As the tree of life gave food to the flesh and reminded him constantly of the mental and spiritual food necessary, so manual training added light to the mental discipline. The laws of the physical, mental, and spiritual world were enunciated; man’s threefold nature received attention. This was education, perfect and complete.

Unable to reach the soul of man by direct means, Satan approached it through those outer channels, the senses. He had everything to win and proceeded cautiously. If man’s mind could be gained, his great work would be accomplished. To do this, he used a process of reasoning—a method the reverse of that used by the Father in His instruction at the tree of life. The mind of Eve was strong and quickly drew conclusions; hence, when her teacher said, “If ye eat, ye shall be as gods,” in the mind of Eve arose the thought, God has immortality. “Therefore,” said Satan, “if ye eat, ye shall not surely die.” The conclusion was logically drawn; and the world, from the days of Eve to the present time, has based its religious belief on that syllogism, the major premise of which, as did Eve, they fail to recognize as false. Why? Because they use the mind to decide the truth instead of taking a direct statement from the Author of wisdom. From this one false premise comes the doctrine of the natural immortality of man, with its endless variations, some modern names of which are theosophy, spiritualism, reincarnation, and evolution. The sons and daughters of Eve condemn her for the mistake made six thousand years ago, while they themselves repeat it without question. It is preached from the pulpit; it is taught in the schoolroom; and its spirit pervades the thought of every book written whose author is not in perfect harmony with God and truth. Now began the study of “dialectics” so destructive to the Christian’s faith.

The Effects of Doubt

Having accepted the logic of the serpent and having transferred her faith from the word of God to the tree of knowledge, at Satan’s suggestion the woman could easily be led to test the truth of all his statements by her senses. A theory had been advanced; the experimental process now began. That is the way men now gain their knowledge, but their wisdom comes otherwise. She looked upon the forbidden fruit, but no physical change was perceptible as the result of the misuse of this sense. This led her to feel more sure that the argument used had been correct. Her ears were attentive to the words of the serpent, but she perceived no change as a result of the perverted use of the sense of hearing. This, to the changing mind of the woman, was still more conclusive proof that the words of Christ and angels did not mean what she had at first thought they meant. The senses of touch, smell, and taste were in turn used; and each corroborated the conclusion drawn by the devil. The woman was deceived; and through the deception, her mind was changed. This same change of mind may be wrought either by deception or as a result of false reasoning.

Eve approached Adam with the fruit in her hand. Instead of answering in the oft-repeated words of Christ, “In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:17), he took up the logic of the serpent. Having eaten, his mind was also changed. He, who from creation had thought the thoughts of God, was yielding to the mind of the enemy.

The completeness of the change which took place is seen in the argument used when God walked in the garden in the cool of the evening. Said Adam, “The woman gave me to eat. Thou gavest me the woman. Therefore Thou art to blame.” (See Genesis 3:12.) This was another decidedly logical conclusion, from the standpoint of the wisdom of the serpent; and it was repeated by Eve, who laid the blame first on the serpent, and finally on God Himself. Self-justification, self-exaltation, self-worship—here was the human origin of the papacy, that power which “opposeth and exalteth itself above all that is called God.” II Thessalonians 2:4.

Faith Versus Reason

God, through His instruction, had taught that the result of faith would be immortal life. Satan taught, and attempted to prove his logic by a direct appeal to the senses, that there was immortal life in the wisdom that comes as the result of human reason. The method employed by Satan is that which men today call the natural method; but in the mind of God, the wisdom of the world is foolishness. The method which to the godly mind, to the spiritual nature, seems natural is foolishness to the world.

There are but two systems of education—the one based on what God calls wisdom, the gift of which is eternal life; the other based on what the world regards as wisdom but which God says is foolishness. This last exalts reason above faith, and the result is spiritual death. That the fall of man was the result of choosing the false system of education cannot be controverted. Redemption comes through the adoption of the true system of education.

Re-creation is a change of mind—an exchange of the natural for the spiritual. “Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Romans 12:2. In order to render a change possible, Christ must bruise the head of the serpent; that is, the philosophy of the devil must be disproved by the Son of God.

Man’s spiritual nature, at first the prominent part of his being, was dwarfed and overruled until it was but the “small voice” within. With the development of the physical and the intellectual to the neglect of the spiritual have come the evils of modern society—the love of display, the perversion of taste, the deformity of the body, and those attendant sins which destroyed Sodom and now threaten our cities. Man became careless in his work also, and the earth failed to yield her fullness. As a result, thorns and thistles sprang up.

True Science and Life

It is not surprising to find that the system of education introduced by Christ begins with the instruction given in the garden of Eden and that it is based on the simple law of faith. We have a greater appreciation for the gift of Christ when we dwell upon the thought that while suffering physically, while taking our infirmities into His own body, He yet preserved a sound mind and a will wholly subject to the Father’s, that by so doing, the philosophy of the archdeceiver might be overthrown by the divine philosophy.

Again, it is but natural to suppose that when called upon to decide between the two systems of education, the human and the divine, and Christian education is chosen, that man will also have to reform his manner of eating and living. The original diet of man is again made known; and for his home he is urged to choose a garden spot, away from crowded cities, where God can speak to his spiritual nature through His works.

God does use the senses of man; but knowledge thus gained becomes wisdom only when enlightened by the Spirit, the gateway to whose fountain is opened by the key of faith.

Beneath the tree of life originated the highest method of education—the plan that the world needs today. Beneath the branches of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil arose the conflicting system, having ever one object in view—the overthrow of the eternal principles of truth. Under one guise, then under another, it has borne sway upon the earth. Whether as Babylonish learning, Greek philosophy, Egyptian wisdom, the high glitter of papal pomp, or the more modest but no less subtle workings of modern science, the results always have been, and always will be, a savor of death unto death. Man’s reason is opposed to simple faith, but those who will finally reach the state of complete harmony with God will have begun where Adam failed. Wisdom will be gained by faith. Self will have been lost in the adoration of the great Mind of the universe; and he who was created in the image of God, who was pronounced by the Master Mind as “very good,” will, after the struggle with sin, be restored to the harmony of the universe by the simple act of faith.

Dr. E.A. Sutherland was one of the early educators at Battle Creek and Berrien Springs, and also one of the founding fathers of the college at Madison, Tennesee. He, with Percy Megan, revolutionized Christian education. Many missionaries were sent to all parts of the world after short courses at Madison College.

Inspiration – Restored Access to the Tree of Life

Dear young friends, You live in a dark and wicked world, subject to sickness, pain and death. You may see many things that look beautiful; but how soon they fade away. You may have a dear friend that you love; but soon that one may be torn from you by sickness and death, and you will then feel lonesome.

You should have something substantial to fix your minds and affections upon, that can give real satisfaction and joy, and cheer your spirits in this dark world, and cause your sorrows to bring joy in the end.

There is a blight upon everything. The earth feels the curse that God pronounced upon it, because of the disobedience of our first parents. They broke the command of God in eating of the forbidden tree, after He had given them the privilege of eating of all the other trees in the garden. They listened to the tempter, ate of the forbidden tree, and were expelled from the beautiful garden of Eden.

The earth that was then so beautiful, was cursed, and the flaming sword was placed around the tree of life to guard it, lest man, in his sin, should approach that tree, and eat of its immortal fruit, and by so doing, live in sin forever.

The tree of life was designed to perpetuate immortality. Adam and Eve could eat of that tree, and enjoy its rich immortal fruit, until they transgressed the command of God. Death was then pronounced upon them, and all that should ever live upon the earth. There was no way of escape for us; no provision that we might again have access to the tree of life, if we would repent. Whatever evils might befall us, there was then no other way than to bear them without hope of having right to the tree of life, to eat of its leaves and fruit, and be healed. We must ever suffer and groan beneath the curse.

But the Son of God, who was with the Father before the world was, took pity upon us in our lost condition, and offered to step in between us and the wrath of an offended God. Said Jesus, I will give My life for them. I will take the burden of the sins of the world upon me, and will make a way possible for these transgressors to find pardon, and enjoy Thy favor again, that they may repent and keep Thy commandments, and again have access to the tree of life. God consented to give His only Son to die for lost man (John 3:16).

The lovely Jesus laid aside His glory, and came into this dark world, and took upon Himself our nature, to be wounded for our transgression, to be bruised for our iniquities (Isaiah 53:5). O, what love for us.— He led a self-denying life, and had not where to lay His head (Matthew 8:20). He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, was despised and rejected, and finally was crucified for us (Isaiah 53:3).

But you must not think that you have nothing to do, because Christ died for you. You must repent of all your sins, and give your hearts to God, and then believe that the blood of Christ will cleanse you from all sin. Then, if you keep all the commandments of God, the Sabbath with the rest, you may through the merits of Christ, be brought back to the tree of life. This will be when Jesus comes to raise the righteous dead, and change the living saints. Then you will have right to the tree of life (Revelation 22:14), and eat of the leaves, and immortal fruit of the tree of life and live for ever in perfect happiness.

The Youth’s Instructor, August 1852.