Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
Young David, in relation to King Saul (who hated him and wanted to kill him), was loyal to the government of Israel, but that does not mean that the government of Israel needed a "king" other than the Lord Himself. The prophet Samuel anointed Saul to be the king not because that was God's will for Israel, but because the people wanted to be like the surrounding nations, and He let them have what they wanted.
The lesson we need to learn from this history is the importance of loyalty to the organized church that the Lord in His infinite wisdom has raised up.
The prophecy of Revelation 12:17 is clear: the Lord has a "remnant" church which He sustains in a world of apostasy and "Babylon" devotion. The witness is given. And 18:1-4 tells of a message that will swell to a loud cry that will "lighten the earth with glory." The call to "come out of Babylon" will sound so clearly and powerfully that multitudes who have been held back by family, friends, or even jobs, will respond:
"The message will be carried not so much by argument as by the deep conviction of the [Holy] Spirit of God. ... Many whose minds were impressed have been prevented from fully comprehending the truth or from yielding obedience. Now the rays of light penetrate everywhere, the truth is seen in its clearness, and the honest children of God sever the bands which have held them. Family connections, church relations, are powerless to stay them now. Truth is more precious than all besides. Notwithstanding the agencies combined against the truth, a large number take their stand upon the Lord's side" (The Great Controversy, p. 612).
That time has not yet come; we are still living this side of it. The second coming of Jesus is the next great event for planet earth; but just before His return, this message must go to all the world for it would not be fair for Jesus to come in glory and power unless every soul on earth has been given the full opportunity to see the truth and to choose to be loyal to it.
Let's not wait until then to take our stand! Let's do so today!
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: August 14, 2008.
Copyright © 2014 by "Dial Daily Bread."
