Dial Daily Bread: Why Does Addiction Have Such a Vise-Grip on Human Beings?

Dear Friends of “Dial Daily Bread,”

Why does addiction have such a vise-grip on human beings? There are alcoholics longing for deliverance, drug addicts, people in the grip of hatred, lust, pornography, gambling, a sexual slavery that they hate. They are sorely tempted to feel, yes to believe, that reconciliation with the righteousness of God is impossible, at least for them. They weep their eyes out in despair.

Hardly a day goes by but what we hear of some “amazing” new medical discovery, some new pill that will help arthritics, cancer, or heart disease patients. Huge amounts of time and money are spent on these researches. Many owe their very lives to this increase of knowledge.

Is there a corresponding increase of knowledge in what the pure, true gospel is—that alone can bring deliverance to addicts? Such increase of knowledge is impossible for any people or church that feels “rich and increased with goods” in their understanding of the gospel, only those who sense their spiritual poverty can begin to learn. There is a “truth of the gospel” that is refreshingly different than the perversion that Paul says is “another gospel” of Babylon (Gal. 2:5; 1:6-9; Rev. 14:8; 18:1-4). There is no “power” in Babylon’s “gospel,” but there is in the truth (Rom. 1:16).

“The truth of the gospel” is identical to what God said is “the truth about Me” that Job’s friends had perverted with their false gospel (Job 42:7, Good News Bible). That “truth about [God]” is the truth of what His Son accomplished on His cross, for Paul says, “I will boast only about the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ; ... the world is dead to me, and I am dead to the world” (Gal 6:14, GNB). “Through [that] death” Christ paralyzed “him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and releas[ed] those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Heb 2:14, 15; the Greek word translated “destroy” means to disarm or to paralyze).

Somewhere there is some “most precious” Good News either awaiting discovery or awaiting our faith to believe it!

—Robert J. Wieland

From the “Dial Daily Bread” Archive: September 29, 1998.
Copyright © 2019 by “Dial Daily Bread.”

Dial Daily Bread: Why Does God Demand Exclusive Worship?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Why is God alone among "many gods" the holy One? Why does He demand exclusive worship? Is He divinely selfish? Why not share His worship with "lesser gods"? This short message isn't long enough for this topic, but look at Philippians 2:5-8, which is an "X-ray" of agape, the character of God. There are seven steps that the Son of God (who alone can reveal the Father) took in stepping down, lower and lower:

(1) He gave up His "equality with God," (2) "made Himself of no reputation," (3) took upon Himself "the form of a servant," (4) came "in the likeness of [fallen] men," (5) "humbled Himself," (6) "became obedient to death" (the only being in the wide universe of God who has ever become "obedient to death"), and lastly, (7) "even the death of the cross."

That's the death that involves "the curse" of God, the awful condemnation of final conscious ruin, a death infinitely worse than the physical pain involved. (See Galatians 3:13 to learn what is "the death of the cross.") It was the concentrated death of humanity, for He "tasted death for everyone" (Heb. 2:9), the total, final, giving of Himself, the "pouring out of His soul unto death" until there wasn't a drop left. He was "numbered with the transgressors, and bore the sin of" everyone (Isa. 53:12).

If a picture is worth a thousand words, there we have it: this is agape, and "God is agape" (1 John 4:8). No other being in the wide universe of the heavenly or earthly cosmos has ever made such a Sacrifice! Any "other god" is therefore an anti-agape"god." That means, to worship any "lesser god" is to worship Satan himself. No, God, our heavenly Father, our Savior and Redeemer, is not divinely selfish--refusing to share His throne with "lesser gods." He knows that to worship any "other god" means death to us; and He loves us too much to allow that.

The final crisis of earth's history will be a challenge to "worship the Lamb" alone, or to worship Baal. All worship of self, which is disguised as the worship of "Christ," is Baal-worship. Think about it!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: November 4, 1998.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Are the Old and New Covenants Dry-as-Dust Theology?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

You may be one of many who look at the Old and New Covenants as boring--dry-as-dust theology, like memorizing the Book of Leviticus.

If you have learned Old Covenant ideas in school or in church, the idea of "following the Lamb wherever He goes" probably frightens you. Those Old Covenant ideas are subtle, like a virus that burrows "bondage" deep into your soul (Gal. 4:24). They get lodged and as long as you harbor them you find it hard to understand or believe the New Covenant.

Some dear saints may even warn you against too much New Covenant in your thinking. They say it's got to be "balanced" with appropriate Old Covenant caveats. The latter rain outpouring of the Holy Spirit (that will complement Pentecost) will be purely New Covenant; and they'll be afraid of it. It'll go over their heads and they'll sleep right through the glorious Loud Cry that will lighten the earth with glory (Rev. 18:1-4). It will be like the Jews who heard Jesus preach but never knew their Messiah had come; they missed everything.

As in the time of Paul, "devout and prominent women and the chief men" can try to squash any little spark of New Covenant life in your soul (compare Acts 13:50). New Covenant gospel truth must be grabbed the moment the Lord sends it your way. "I made haste, and did not delay to keep Your commandments," says the Psalmist (119:60; meaning, to treasure God's law as ten New Covenant promises).

New Covenant life is that "more abundant" one that Jesus promised (John 10:10). "You mean you'll never have any troubles?" You'll have troubles, but you'll never be alone in them. "The Lord is my Shepherd, … I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me" (Psalm 23).

No one on earth ever lived the New Covenant more fully than the Lord Jesus Himself. Was Gethsemane boring? The cross? Strenuously tempted, He held on to believing that His Father wouldn't actually "forsake" Him. Even on His cross when it seemed for certain that He had, Jesus wouldn't give in to the doubts that assailed the dying Son of God. He chose to believethe New Covenant promises right through until He cried His shout of sunlit victory that thrilled Heaven and earth, "It's finished!"

Life apart from Him isboring. What you may think can't be true istrue: "In [His] presence is fullness of joy; ... pleasures forevermore" (Psalm 16:11). Yes, even in sharing His cross.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: March 31, 2004.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Direct Fruit of Justification by Faith

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

God has inspired His holy word, the Bible, for "all Scripture is given by inspiration of God" (2 Tim. 3:16). But He has not made the Bible difficult to understand! He has promised, "Turn at My reproof; ... I will make My words known to you" (Prov. 1:23).

One of those "words" that He "will make known" to us is "justification." Ask Him to! The root idea is to make something that was crooked become straight. On the sixth day of creation week God ended that work; when sin entered planet earth, He turned His infinite power into re-creating sinful human hearts. Justification by faith is the sinner receiving this mighty power of re-creation, that is, the new birth. The sinner's faith is awakened by his "beholding" the love of Christ revealed in His cross, just as the stricken Israelite bitten by poisonous snakes was healed by beholding, looking at, the brass serpent lifted on the pole.

You watch a hero or heroine in a movie; now spend your time more wisely by "watching" Jesus Christ. "Eat" the Bible story of the cross. Turn off your electronics; just patiently, in prayer, read about Jesus straight from Scripture. Wait before Him. God wants to hear a sincere, honest, unhurried prayer. He responds because He loves you.

I have never heard the literal voice of God, but I want to encourage those people who also must confess they haven't either; the Holy Spirit imparts spiritual life through the word, the Bible. He wants your faith to be established on the solid rock of Bible truth, not on dreams or impressions or "voices."

Will the one who is "justified by faith" live in obedience to God's word? Yes, obedience is the direct fruit of the experience of justification by faith. It has now become your joy.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: March 11, 2005.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Does Anybody Want the Reign of Sin to Go On and On?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Does anybody want the reign of sin to go on and on for decades, even centuries more? Jesus Christ has promised to return (John14:1-3, for example). At different times in history, sincere, godly people have set the time, hoping He would come, but they've always been disappointed.

The result: "the love of many [has grown] cold" (cf. Matt. 24:12) and some who used to say they believed in His personal coming have given up on the idea; just do what you can to make the present world more livable (cf. 2 Peter 3:3ff).

But wait a moment. If we believe that Jesus Christ is a personal Being, the Son of God (and we do!), think how He must feel with this long delay and constant disappointment. He is the Bridegroom in a delayed marriage whose "disappointment is beyond description." His disappointment rather than ours deserves our attention.

Why have all the expectations of the imminence of His second coming been mistaken thus far? That in itself constitutes a "shaking" that increases in intensity as time goes on. Who will stay on board this journey of faith to its end as prophesied in the Bible? Someone inspired likened the end to swinging over a vast chasm hanging on to ropes whose support you cannot see; you can only believe because God says so.

It's nothing that our Lord has not been through; that's what His cross experience meant to Him. He had not a ray of light shining, not a word of encouragement from anyone; only the hiding of His Father's face, forsaking Him as though He were the worst sinner in the world. Nothing to hang on to except what the Bible says. Everyone either condemned Him or forsook Him.

He assures us that some will appreciate what His cross meant and "shall endure to the end" (Matt. 24:12). They are even now being gathered out all over the world. God grant us to be one!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: February 23, 2007.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Challenge to God's "Remnant Church"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

There's a fascinating link between the Book of Revelation and the Gospel of John. The former tells of God's final "Voice from heaven" that will sound in the heart of a vast number around the world to "come out of Babylon." They will respond in that last hour, symbolized as "a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues" who hear the Voice because in some way they already "follow the Lamb [the crucified Christ] wherever He goes" (18:4; 7:9; 14:4). They are already responsive to each nuance of divine leading they can sense. They love truth.

The link with John's Gospel is in 10:1-16 where Jesus lets us in on His secret: He has people everywhere who are His hidden "sheep" who "know His voice" and respond whenever He can find a human agent to proclaim the truth so clearly that honest people recognize that "Voice." To borrow Luther's crude phrase, these who proclaim the gospel don't "taste of the dish" (would you serve your guests from a dish that still has the remnants of its former cooking sticking to it?). When our preaching is marred by "self," we repulse rather than attract these "sheep."

The presence of self-love seen in the agent constitutes the "messenger" "a thief and a robber," "climbing up some other way" into Christ's "sheepfold." His true sheep run as fast as they can the other way (they "flee from [a stranger]"). And possibly the church wonders why they are not winning more souls, and why their efforts to "lighten the earth with glory" seem so stymied.

The picture in the Bible is clear: God has faithful people buried in Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, yes, maybe all the "isms" of the world, including atheism, who are not heart-satisfied where they are; they hunger for something they haven't yet found. When truth and that truth-seeker meet, nothing in earth or heaven will keep them apart.

The challenge to God's "remnant church" of these last days is: clear away the confusion that muffles the sound of that "Voice from heaven." What's on God's agenda for His church is thrilling.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: February 21, 2004.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: One of the Strangest Mysteries in the Bible

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

One of the strangest mysteries in the Bible is where we find Jesus blaming people of His day for a crime that someone else committed 800 years earlier. If someone were to blame me for starting World War I, for example, I would take offense because I wasn't even born when it started. How could Jesus, the Righteous One, be so apparently unfair?

The problem is in Matthew 23:35. Jesus is preaching His last sermon in the glorious Temple. Some may say that He was deliberately inviting His own death by laying out before the leaders their sins just as they were. (Why not be more political and soften up His words?) Then Jesus tells these august pastors of the flock that "Youmurdered Zechariah ... between the temple and the altar." The story goes that the blood of this martyr stained the stones in the pavement forever! (See 2 Chronicles 24:20, 21.)

Can't you imagine those scribes and Pharisees responding in indignation, "Why do You blame usfor a crime committed 800 years before we were born? How unfair can You be?"

But like He always did, Jesus told the truth. The same awful sin that King Joash and the leaders of his day committed when they stoned Zechariah right there in the holy Temple, these religious leaders were already nursing in their hearts--for within a few hours they would crucify the Son of God. So, in a corporate sense, they were guilty also of the murder of Zechariah!

The record of your sin is not like your electric light bill--you pay only for what you use; as sinners by nature we are truly guilty of all the sin ever committed--just give us enough time and opportunity. It wasn't only the Romans and the Pharisees who crucified Christ; "Were you there when they crucified my Lord?" Yes, in a corporate sense.

Christ prayed for corporate forgiveness to be given to them all, "for they know not what they do." Thank Him, and receive it.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 10, 2001.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: One Justification, Accomplished by the Savior of the World

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Justification is the best good news anyone will ever hear, for it is the proclamation from God Himself that sets you free from condemnation forever. It's the news that you walk out of prison. Imagine you've been on Death Row, and you are at last vindicated or acquitted! You'd be very happy, wouldn't you? Now, be happier "in Christ"!

Some are perplexed by what they assume is a contradiction in Romans 5. In verse 1 we read that we are "justified by faith," that is, by the believing that we do here and now, experientially. It seems to say that nothing happens until we believe, and that the initiative is up to us. But in verse 9 we read that we are "justified by [Christ's] blood," and that blood was something that happened and was shed 2000 years ago when He died on His cross.

When we are "justified by faith," there are seven blessings we experience according to Romans 5: (1) "we have peace with God," (2) "we have access ... into this grace in which we stand," (3) we "rejoice," (4) "we glory in tribulations," (5) we are no longer "disappointed" ("ashamed," King James Version), (6) "the love [agape] of God has been poured out in our hearts," (7) "the Holy Spirit [is] given to us."

Now the big question: are all these blessings the result of our doing something? Do we trigger all this? Have we taken the initiative? Or is all this the consequence of something that Christ accomplished on His cross, and now at last we have heard of it and we believe it?

It is one justification, accomplished totally by the Savior of the world. But appreciated, believed, experienced, by the repentant sinner, who lets it change his heart and his life. At last he lets the Holy Spirit change him; he stops resisting Him. Let that blessed one be you!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: March 9, 2005.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Jesus Was Asked the Really Hard Question

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

We don't know who it was but somebody once asked Jesus the really hard question: "Lord, are there few who are saved?" He gave an honest answer: "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able." He will at last be forced to inform the "many," "I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. ... There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Luke 13:23, 24, 27, 28). In the last judgment they will argue with Him vociferously, "We ate and drank in your presence, and You taught in our streets." Sorry, He says; "I do not know you" (Luke 13:26, 27). "The laborers are few," "few are chosen," etc. (Matt. 9:37; 22:14).

But wait a moment; get the full picture. The "144,000" of Revelation 7:1-4 seems like a tiny number from earth's billions, yet when John views them through a zoom lens they turn out to be "a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, ... clothed with white robes" (vs. 9). "In their mouth was found no guile [falsehood]" (14:5).

The Good News Bible(Today's English Version) says "they have never been known to tell lies." Their being "without fault" in the judgment does not mean they never havesinned; they are a pretty sorry lot down at the end of the sinful human race where "the love [agape] of many [has grown] cold" (Matt. 24:12), but they have been "justified by faith." That means, like Abraham, sinful as he was, when he "believed"his faith was "accounted to him for righteousness" (Rom. 4:3) and he stood before the throne as though he had never sinned! The sins of those who believe are cast into the ocean deeper than the Titanic and can never be retrieved.

Don't worry whether you are one of the "few" or "many." Thank the Father that His Son whom He "gave" died yoursecond death, and rejoice every moment of your life from now on. You will then obey from the heart!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: January 21, 2006.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Teachings of Jesus Separated the People Into Two Classes

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

With hundreds of different Christian denominations in the world, how can you know which one is right? Is there one with teachings you can stake your life on? Of Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity, can you be sure which one is true? This writer is positive that the biblical Christ is the Savior of the world. And He ordained His apostles to proclaim His true gospel message to the world.

But what to do about conflicts in "Christian" churches? Is the Bible clear that one is correct? It is crystal clear that the issue of "the mark of the beast" will catalyze humanity (Rev. 13:11-18). We'll have to know how to differentiate between truth and counterfeit.

And what do you do when you are convinced there is one true "remnant church" designated for these last days (Rev. 12:17; 14:12), and yet it is also torn apart by controversy and disunion? In the days of Christ, He was clear that "salvation is of the Jews" (John 4:22); the true church was that Temple in Jerusalem, which He said was "My Father's house" (2:16).

But He split that "church" wide open with controversy. If you had been living there you would have wondered how this lowly man from Nazareth could be right and the great theologians and leaders in the Temple could be wrong. But that was the way things were. Honest people were confused; they watched and listened and pondered, just as we do today.

Jesus cleared things up for us all: "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. If anyone wants to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but he who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him" (John 7:16-18).

That settled it for every honest-hearted person: the teachings of Jesus separated the people into two classes--those who ended up crying "Crucify Him!" and those who believed in Him and took up their cross to follow. And now today His teachings will again separate the world into two classes: those who accept "the mark of the beast" and those who receive "the seal of God" (Rev. 7:1-4; 17:14). We are now choosing sides. Life is serious business.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: February 5, 2004.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Jesus Loves His World Church So Much That He Sent Them Seven Special Messages

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The Lord Jesus Christ loves His church on earth so much that He has sent seven special messages to His world church in seven eras of its history since the time of Jesus and His apostles. They are recorded for us in Revelation chapters 2 and 3.

"Ephesus" (2:1-7) is the first church, that of the apostles. The Lord Jesus is happy with that "church," for He commends them for enduring persecution and for thinking clearly and exercising inspired discernment ("you cannot bear those who are evil"). The Christians there have "labored" patiently.

But He has one thing against that "church": "You have left your first love [agape]."

Careful scholars have detailed how the leaders of the early church step-by-step abandoned the truths of agapeand substituted the pagan Hellenistic concepts of love. The people blindly followed them! The Dark Ages had begun with that false doctrine imported. Even the great Protestant Reformation of the 16th century did not succeed in completely overcoming the Hellenistic ideas that had watered down agape.

What happened was that there developed a superficial view of the extent of the sacrifice of Christ on His cross. The idea was lost that Jesus had not only gone to sleep for a weekend before His resurrection, but that on His cross He had actually died the "second death" of the whole world (see Rev. 2:11, and 20:6, 14). He was serious when He screamed while on His cross, "My God, why have You forsaken Me?" Christ endured going to hell!

In consequence of losing this great truth of what happened on the cross, the early church soon fell prey to Hellenistic ideas imported into the church, one of which was the pagan doctrine of natural immortality. Today almost all Christian churches handicap themselves by holding to that Hellenistic idea.

Those who mistakenly received that false Hellenistic idea were still seventh-day Sabbath observers; but having accepted that pagan doctrine, they soon abandoned the true Sabbath and embraced the observance of the great "day of the sun" (Sunday) in place of the Lord's true holy Sabbath. Now the Dark Ages became even darker.

But there is Good News: the Books of Daniel and Revelation pinpoint the end of the Dark Ages as coming at the close of the 1260 years of papal supremacy, which began in 538 A.D. and extended to 1798 when, for the first time, the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation began to become widely understood.

Fast forwarding to the end of those Dark Ages, we find that the Holy Spirit raises up a worldwide people who distinguish themselves as those "who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ" (Rev. 12:17).

That is what is happening today, the world around. Come, take your place with them! The Lord Jesus has prepared a "place" for you there.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: November 19, 2008.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Beginning of a Deep Conversion

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Do you ever have a "gut feeling" sweep over your soul that you are "the chief of sinners" (1 Tim. 1:15), that you are "carnal, sold under sin" (Rom. 7:14), that "(in [your] flesh) nothing good dwells" (vs. 18)?

Don't despair! The great Holy Spirit of God may at last be working deep in your heart. God Himself is noticing you like He notices when a little humming bird falls on the forest floor--that's something! God in heaven is teaching you as if you were a student in His classroom. He honors you!

You become really sure that you are indeed "a child of God" when you sense that He Himself is chastising you: "'My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives'" (Heb. 12:5, 6).

We have generally thought that refers to our getting sick, or getting in an accident, or some such bad luck. But in fact, it's the work of the Holy Spirit convicting us of sin itself (John 16:8). Paul experienced a healthy "Christian experience" which illustrates what it means to live in tune with God on this great Day of Atonement, this cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary (cf. Dan. 8:14).

To sense that indeed you are genuinely, truly, not merely rhetorically, "less than the least of all the saints" (Eph. 3:8), is not an unhealthy experience. It may be the beginning of your at-last deep conversion. You are at last actually experiencing what Zechariah 12:10-13:1 is talking about. Not until Moses was at last deeply humbled before God was it possible for his face to shine with the light of heaven, light that astonished the people (Ex. 34:35).

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: September 29, 2005.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Death for Christ Is Not a Tragedy

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

There are several Bible characters who chose to be true to right principle in time of great peril. Some were rewarded for their faithfulness, such as Job, who chose to ignore his wife's cynical advice to "curse God and die!"; or Joseph, imprisoned for his refusal to commit adultery (who finally rose to be prime minister of an empire); and Abigail, whose wise counsel saved David from ruining his own career (and who incidentally saved her own husband from his revenge).

Abigail was rewarded well (see 1 Samuel 25). But there were others who had to suffer for their faithfulness to right principle. Queen Vashti, wife of Ahasuerus the corrupt ruler of the Persian Empire, the lady who refused his foolish command because she would not expose herself to drunken, leering officials in high positions. Vashti passes off the stage of Bible history into obscurity; we read of no vindication granted her; she apparently suffered a kind of martyrdom for upholding a standard of modesty (Esther 1:10-18).

Another person who had to suffer was John the Baptist. He was faithful to God, even while transgressing the rules of political savvy; Herod treated him like a cat treats a mouse, calling him up out of his dungeon to the royal office for conversations as though he was about to release him to freedom, giving John momentary thoughts of hope, only to send him back to his isolated cell. Finally, in a drunken stupor, Herod watches an immodest young woman dance and yields to her grisly request to have the lonely and apparently God-forsaken John beheaded (Matthew 14).

It would be nice if the Bible story instead had John miraculously released and honored, but that's not what happened. God permitted him to suffer alone as an encouragement to millions of faithful people afterward who have had to suffer, apparently forsaken by God. The only reward John gets (so far!) is to be honored posthumously by Jesus, as a prophet of whom there has been none greater (Matt. 11:11). "Be faithful until death," says Jesus, "and I will give you the crown of life" (Rev. 2:10).

But was John forsaken in his lonely dungeon cell? No, the Holy Spirit comforted him, and angels visited him up to the last. More joy than Herod ever had. Death for Christ is not a tragedy!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: April 26, 2001.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Seventh Angel Is Sounding His Trumpet

Dear Friends of “Dial Daily Bread,”

God wants every man "perfect in Christ Jesus" (Col. 1:28). Someone ridicules the idea. "Nobody can be perfect!" is the popular cry. "This is a chimera, this idea that God can ever have a bodyof people who are 'perfect in Christ Jesus.' Look at history: an unbroken record of sin and failure to be 'perfect.'"

Yes, that has been true all through the history of the first six angels blowing their trumpets (Revelation 8-10). But now we have come to "the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound" (10:7). Under the seventh trumpet something happens that has never happened in all history: "the mystery of God [is to] be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets."

Under "the sounding of the seventh angel," two phenomena develop side by side:

(1) "The nations [are] angry" (Greek, those who do not believe the gospel; nation-rage), and they become demon-possessed (Rev. 11:15, 18; 18:2). Evil runs its full course, and the wicked try to rid the earth of those who follow Christ (see 13:15). At the present time this appears impossible; but just consider what the unbelieving world will be like when God finally withdraws His Holy Spirit (see Revelation 16).

(2) At the same time this evil develops, the Holy Spirit will cleanse and purify a people who do believe the gospel, and they will gain "the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, ... and they [will] sing the song of Moses ... and the song of the Lamb" (15:2, 3). They will be a corporate bodyof people who "follow the Lamb wherever He goes" (14:4, 5).

Listen! The seventh angel is sounding his trumpet! Listen to the Holy Spirit, and let Him have His way in your life. Stop resisting Him (Acts 7:51).

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 18, 2001.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Storm Is on the Way

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Every rainy winter we here in California see the same heart-breaking pictures: luxurious homes built on shifting foundations sliding down cliffs, even into the Pacific Ocean.

This must have been a common sight in Jesus' day for He draws a lesson from it. He likens those who build a house of religious belief on falsehood to those who build a mansion on a sand dune with an ocean view. They are "foolish," He says (Matt. 7:24-27). Note, He doesn't call them "wicked."

This introduces us to one of the most pathetic and tragic aspects of church life: sincere, devoted people who can't tell the difference between Bible truth and fanaticism. They are not wicked people, they don't rob banks or commit adultery, but they spin wild theories out of Bible texts wrested from common sense contexts.

Almost every church, no matter how small, seems to have one (or more) of these extremists who keep promoting their ideas. They mainly misconstrue Daniel and Revelation, but there is a solid-rock, common-sense understanding of those prophecies, and it developed in the Great Second Advent Movement of well over a century ago. The rain and storms of opposition have "beat on that house; and it [did not fall]."

But every departure from that clear-cut prophetic truth has resulted in a "house [built] on the sand," and as "the rain descended, [and] the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; ... it fell." It has left the extremists looking "foolish." But fanaticism doesn't mind the acute embarrassment of appearing naked and foolish before the world and before heaven!

To change the metaphor, Revelation 16:15 says, hang on to your clothes; all those nightmares you've ever had about appearing naked in public will be fulfilled unless you study Daniel and Revelation and know for sure what is that bed-rock foundation of truth. Heaven's Weather Service says the storm is on the way.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: February 9, 1998.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Entire Book of Revelation Is Concerned About This Issue

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

There is a sober warning in the Bible that it seems easy for us to forget. It's in Revelation14:9-12: "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God."

Then chapter 15 goes on to speak of those who have met this great challenge and have accepted the third angel's message, and "have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name" who stand on the sea of glass singing the song of the Lamb forever and ever.

In fact, the entire Book of Revelation is concerned about this issue--the mark of the beast. Chapter 7 describes that same group who sing the song of the Lamb as those who have received the seal of God, who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

In the Bible, a "seal" is interchangeable with a "mark." So the Book of Revelation tells us that in the last days just before Jesus' return in the clouds of heaven, the entire population of the earth will be divided into two groups: those who receive the "seal of God" and those who accept the "mark of the beast."

Pretty serious, isn't it? This requires very careful study. Revelation 13:8 says that "all who dwell on the earth" will worship the beast with the sole exception of those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. It's another crisis, which in principle is the same that the people faced when Jesus was here on earth. They were divided into two groups--those who believed He was the true Messiah as He claimed, and those who rejected Him. He asked them, "What do you think about the Christ?" (Matt. 22:42). They had to decide!

And so today, we have to decide between the mark of the beast and the seal of God. But the issue is far deeper than a superficial outward sign. "The third angel's message in verity" is the true message of righteousness by faith; it will lead to receiving the seal of God. A false, legalistic view will lead to the mark of the beast. It's time for serious study!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: November 12, 1997.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Breaad: Do Precisely What Jesus Said to Do--Read Daniel for Yourself

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Are you confused about how the world is going? What our future holds? What book to read that will make you understand Revelation? Or Daniel? Start looking for someone's book to explain it all and you'll probably end up in confusion unlimited (that's what Revelation's "Babylon" is). Here's some common sense guidance:

Do precisely what Jesus said to do: read Daniel for yourself. "Whoso readeth, let him understand" (Matt. 24:15; Bible texts are from the King James Version). The message is clear: The book is un-sealed today (Dan. 12:3, 4, 10). God wants you to understand! This is not to say reject all help any book can give you (several old books have given me great help); but the promise is firm that "whoso reads let the Holy Spirit (who is willing) teach him to understand." "Take heed that no man deceive you," says Jesus (Matt. 24:4).

Do precisely what the Holy Spirit invites you to do in Revelation 1:1-3. "Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep [cherish] those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand." Simple enough, right?

Mix some good self-humbling common sense with your reading. Paul cautions us, "I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man [or woman, anthropos] that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith" (Rom. 12:3). Resist the temptation to think that you are a genius; read in order to find the "bread of life" that will nourish your own famishing soul (John 6:35, 48-63). Don't wander away from the cross of Jesus into vain political or theological speculations.

Peter plants our feet on solid ground: "No prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation" (2 Peter 1:20, 21). Respect the accumulated wisdom of consecrated Protestant Bible students of past centuries; the Holy Spirit has not been asleep. He has guided the thinking of those who understood Daniel and Revelation in the time-honored historicist understandings. When Jesus said "let [the reader] understand" He obviously meant: don't resist the Holy Spirit's teaching. He wants to teach you--more than you may want to learn! What you yearn to see is Jesus in history.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: April 1, 2003.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: A Savior Who Truly Blots Outs All Our Iniquities

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Suppose someone was spending millions of dollars to hire prosecuting attorneys to pursue you relentlessly, trying to expose publicly every moral misstep or misstatement in your life. I think you would join me in praying to God as did David, "Blot out all mine iniquities" (Psalm 51:9). Wouldn't it be wonderful if the prosecuting sleuths couldn't find even one thing wrong?

We know we all have a skeleton of some kind in our closets. Romans 3:10 says, "There is none righteous, no, not one." We all want vindication in a judgment. And we must all face an eventual judgment for we read in 2 Corinthians 5:10: "We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." The word "receive" means full exposure. The sweet unconsciousness of a sudden martyr's death by a bullet (such as Lincoln and Kennedy suffered) would be more desirable compared to the agony of a protracted public humiliation of one's nakedness with no merciful covering.

We must remember that appearing before "the judgment seat of Christ" does not mean that Hewants to expose us to humiliation. He has promised that Hewill not embarrass those who will be lost--their own record will condemn them (see John 12:47, 48); and in that judgment He will vindicate those who believe in Him (vs. 47; John 3:16-19).

Thank God for a Savior who does truly blot out all our iniquities! It was He who endured the public hellish humiliation of our nakedness. Gratitude and appreciation will motivate us "henceforth" to live for Him (2 Cor. 5:14, 15, King James Version).

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: August 6, 1998.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Next Item on the Agenda: Repentance for God's Own People

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

God's love for a lost, despairing world is seen in the message of three mighty angels who "fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach ... to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people," telling (1) that "the hour of His judgment has come," (2) that "Babylon is fallen," that is, apostate, fallen Christianity that should lighten the earth with truth but instead has embraced self-worshipping paganism in its heart, and (3) don't "worship the beast and his image, [or] receive his mark" (Rev. 14:6-12).

The first message, which arose on time just after the end of the 1260 years that came in 1798, was given its first public presentation in 1831. A tragic rejection by the entrenched Protestant hierarchies made the "fall of Babylon" message relevant by 1844, and the identification of "the mark of the beast" has been proclaimed ever since.

But note: these three great angels can fly only "in the midst of heaven," like helicopters flying over the treetops, but they are severely limited in their effectiveness. They use all the marvelous "increase of knowledge" provided by modern technology, satellite preaching for example; but straining their resources to the limit, they could preach on for hundreds of years more, frustrated in their best efforts unless "another angel," a fourth, comes "down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth [is] lightened with his glory, and he [cries] mightily with a loud voice ..." (Rev. 18:1-4).

The most poignant drama of 6000 years is seen in modern "Israel's" disdaining a "most precious message" when its "beginning" came in the closing decades of the 19th century. The result of that tragic unbelief has been the loosening of the grip of those "four angels" of Revelation chapter 7 who had been commissioned to "hold the four winds of the earth" until the sealing angels "have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads" (vss. 1-3).

In simple language, the Savior of the world has been frustrated in His purpose to bring to a triumphant close His "great controversy" with Satan. The next item on the agenda: repentance for God's own people.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: September 15, 2006.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."