- A Word of Explanation
- MR No. 1301—The Two Great Principles of the Law
- MR No. 1302—A Vision Given in Oswego, New York
- MR No. 1303—Heaven and Earth Are Closely Linked; Lessons From Daniel's Prayer Experience in Daniel 9, 10
- MR No. 1304—Daniel and Revelation Have Been Unsealed, and Should Be Studied; Improved Experience Will Result
- MR No. 1305—The Message in Revelation
- MR No. 1306—Workers Not to Disparage One Another; to Set a Right Example; Health Reform Important; Counsel on Public Speaking
- MR No. 1307—Talk Light, Not Darkness; Separate From Evildoers, and Do Not Strengthen Them
- MR No. 1308—Christ is Coming Soon; Proclaim the Three Angels' Messages Do Not Sow Seeds of Discord
- MR No. 1309—All Kinds of Workers Needed; Leaders To Be Understanding And Charitable Toward Fellow Workers; Women Workers To Be Paid
- MR No. 1310—Christ and the Law
- MR No. 1311—An Appeal To Be Converted Fully to Christ, Enjoy His Love, and Be a Help to Others
- MR No. 1312—Miscellaneous Writings on Christ's Ministry, Health Reform, and the Christian Life
- MR No. 1313—Thoughts About the Pre-Flood World, Christ's Love for Man, Fruit-Bearing, Peace, and Surrender to God's Will
- MR No. 1314—Christ Our Example in Every Line of Work; Counsel on Medical Missionary Work
- MR No. 1315—The Saviour's Characteristics
- MR No. 1316—Words to Parents
- MR No. 1317—The Home Life
- MR No. 1318—Blessed Peace, But Not Healing, Received Through Season of Prayer
- MR No. 1319—To God Be the Glory; Forsake All Idols
- MR No. 1320—E.G. White Material Cited in “Ellen G. White and Picture Illustrations of? Heavenly Things?” by Merlin Burt. On File at the White Estate
- MR No. 1321—God's Unchangeable Law
- MR No. 1322—Fragments
- MR No. 1323—Brief Writings on Short Scriptural Passages and Practical Christian Living
- MR No. 1324—Speaking Appointments At Camby, Michigan; Transaction Involving Property
- MR No. 1325—Perplexity Over Proposed Trip to Australia
- MR No. 1326—Testimony to Battle Creek Church
- MR No. 1327—The Formation of Character
- MR No. 1328—Words of Counsel
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- MR No. 1330—The Need of Earnest Effort; Work the Cities; Heed the Message to Laodicea
- MR No. 1331—The Sin of Evilspeaking; A Call to Sanctified Living
- MR No. 1332—God's Church the Light of the World
- MR No. 1333—Diary Fragment—February to May, 1902; The Spirit of Thanksgiving; Importance of Unity
- MR No. 1334—Diary Selections—November, 1902; Evils in the Publishing House; Christians to Reflect Christ; Not to Speculate About God
- MR No. 1335—God to Control His Heritage
- MR No. 1336—Workers to be Educated in the School of Christ
- MR No. 1337—To Our Churches in Oakland and Berkeley: An Appeal to Repent, Be Converted, and Reform
- MR No. 1338—Reform Needed at St. Helena Health Retreat; Identify with Fellow Christians, not with Worldlings; an Appeal to Dr. Burke
- MR No. 1339—All Gifts of the Spirit to be Utilized; Christians not to be Controlled by Feelings; Look to Jesus as Example
- MR No. 1340—Living The Christ-Life Amid Corrupt Surroundings
- MR No. 1341—The Dangers of Mind-Cure; Neither Husband nor Wife to Control the Mind of the Other; an Appeal for Conversion
- MR No. 1342—Comments on EGW Staff, Also on O. A. Olsen; Counsel to Study Daniel and Revelation
- MR No. 1343—Christians to be Sanctified, and Serve as Lights in a Dark World
- MR No. 1344—Work Earnestly for the Unsaved
- MR No. 1345—A Dream About W. C. White and J. H. Kellogg
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- MR No. 1347—Guidelines for Choosing a Life Companion; How to Have a Happy Marriage
- MR No. 1348—Mistakes Made at Health Institution; No One is Without Failings; Christians are to Help One Another
- MR No. 1349—A Perfect Saviour; God's Love for Us; A New Commandment; Working with the W.C.T.U.; The Opportunities of Youth; Developing True Christian Character; Rejection of Inspired Counsel; Resisting Temptation; Justice and Grace
- MR No. 1350—God will Solve Crises When Men Do His Will; Church in a Backslidden Condition; Beldens on Norfolk Island
- MR No. 1351—Counsel Not to Return to Husband, But to Work in a Sanitarium
- MR No. 1352—No Safety in Eating Meat; Diseases Prevalent; Drawing Nigh to God
- MR No. 1353—The Great Controversy; Satan's Rebellion in Heaven; Our Need for God's Spirit
- MR No. 1354—Counsel Against Foolish Talking and Jesting; Christ our Example
- MR No. 1355—Previously Unreleased Materials Cited by Bert Haloviak in His Paper “Longing for the Pastorate: Ministry in 19th Century Adventism.” On File at the White Estate
- MR No. 1356—Does Sister White Work Miracles?
- MR No. 1357—Longing for the Pastorate: Ministry in 19th Century Adventism
- MR No. 1358—Speaking and Visiting the Sick in Boulder, Colorado, En route to Battle Creek
- MR No. 1359—Christ Provided a Perfect Pattern for True Ministry
MR No. 1310—Christ and the Law
By the crucifixion of Christ the immutability of the law of God was forever established. He was the Son of God, and had it been possible, God would have changed the law to meet man in his fallen state. But the law of God is unalterable, and the only way that man could be saved was for a Substitute to be provided, who would bear the penalty of transgression, and thus give man an opportunity to return to his loyalty.18MR 70.1
Behold the spectators who reviled Christ while He hung on the cross. Were they the abandoned class, the heathen who knew not God? “And they that passed by reviled Him, wagging their heads, and saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save Thyself. If Thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking Him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He be the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now, if He will have Him: for He said, I am the Son of God” [Matthew 27:39-43].18MR 70.2
The principalities and powers of darkness were assembled round the throne, engaged in casting the hellish shadow of unbelief into mind and heart. This was the work in which they were engaged. When the Lord created these beings to stand before His throne, they were beautiful and glorious. Their loveliness and holiness were equal to their exalted station. They were enriched with the wisdom of God, and girded with the panoply of heaven. They were Jehovah's ministers. But who could recognize in the fallen angels the glorious seraphims that once ministered in the heavenly courts?18MR 70.3
The arch-apostate, who still retained his lofty stature, led the apostate host, who were leagued with human beings in the strife against God. Satanic agencies confederated with evil men to lead the people to believe that Christ was the chief of sinners, and to make Him an object of detestation. But the priests and rulers failed to realize that in Christ divinity was enthroned in humanity. The humanity of Christ could not be separated from His divinity.18MR 71.1
Hanging on the cross, the Son of God bore the insults of Satan and his agencies. Those that Christ had declared were whited sepulchers, who deceived the people by an outward appearance of sanctity, were now reviling One who came from heaven to save a perishing world, and in whose heart a zeal for right and justice and for the glory of God was the highest object. Those who chose Barabbas, thus yoking up with Satan, gave evidence that a profession of piety and of love for God, and a claim to know the Scriptures, neither made them the sons of God nor led them to represent His character. To those who had true religion—and there were such among the spectators—it must indeed have appeared as if Satan were linked up with the men triumphantly shouting in blasphemy against One who was Commander of all heaven.18MR 71.2
Heavenly angels were not far away. They heard the mocking taunts and saw the wagging of heads. Gladly would they have broken their ranks and gone to the Son of God in His humiliation and bodily anguish, but this they were not permitted to do. It must be demonstrated before the universe what men will do when under the control of Satan. “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same, that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.”18MR 71.3
Obedience to every word that proceeds from the mouth of God is required. Had Christ conceded one jot or tittle of this, the hostility of Satan and his army would not have burst upon Him with irrepressible fury. He was able to perform marvelous works, and had He but allowed some license to sin, had He permitted evil passions to go unrebuked, men would have given Him their homage. But He rebuked all sin and hypocrisy, and they said, He is an impostor. Satan and his angels united with the priests and rulers in mocking and deriding the Son of God. Thus were the words fulfilled. “Thou shalt bruise His heel.”18MR 72.1
By those who mocked Christ as He hung on the cross, Satan and his angels were personified. He filled them with vile and loathsome speeches. He inspired their taunts. But by all this he gained nothing. He was permitted to bruise Christ's heel, but Christ was bruising his head. By working through the priests against Christ, Satan was effecting his own discomfiture and downfall.18MR 72.2
Could one sin have been found in Christ, the world would have been plunged into blackness and ruin. If Satan could have so bruised Christ's heel that He would have yielded to the physical torture, his triumph would have been complete. He could have shouted victory. The world would have been his kingdom. But Satan could only cause pain. He could not touch Christ's head unless Christ proved false to God.18MR 72.3
As the prince of darkness inspired the priests to join the rebellion against the will of God, so he will again inspire men. He will persuade them to apostatize from the service of God, and make their religion as a weapon with which to fight against God. They may profess great zeal in God's service, but, poor souls, they are serving the prince of darkness, and as their general, Satan leads them.18MR 72.4
“And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is being interpreted, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” The wrath of God fell upon Christ. This was the hiding of the Father's countenance. Though innocent, Christ was treated as a sinner, that through His merits sinners, though guilty, might be treated as the loyal and obedient children of God. Christ died with the sins of the world imputed to Him, that His righteousness might be imputed to the sinner. When the sense of the loss of His Father's favor was withdrawn, Christ had drained the last dregs in the cup of bitterness.18MR 73.1
“Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to His mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, He said, It is finished.” There was a shriek, shrill and agonizing, and the Son of God expired. He died of a broken heart. When the spear was thrust into His side, there flowed forth blood and water. His heart was broken by His mental agony. The hearts of those who seek the Lord and find Him will be broken as they see the result of sin.18MR 73.2
What great and wonderful effects have come from the crucifixion of Christ! What a view of the character of God His sacrifice has opened to the universe! His love for man, far surpassing all human love, has lifted the law of God to its own eternal dignity. The attributes of God have been revealed, and the holy requirements of His law have been vindicated. The effects of the sacrifice on the cross are still felt; but all who would be saved must themselves have an interest in the crucified One.18MR 73.3
In His great suffering, Christ felt no pang of bitterness against His persecutors. He felt no remorse for His own sins [for He had none], but for the sins of the fallen race. Those who refuse the gift of Christ will one day feel the sting of remorse. Entire obedience to the law of God is the condition of salvation. Those who refuse this, who refuse to accept Christ, will become embittered against God. When punished for transgression, they will feel remorse, despair, and hatred. This will be the experience of all who do not enter into Christ's sufferings. It is the sure consequence of sin.18MR 73.4
We read of chains of darkness for the transgressor of God's law. We read of the worm that dieth not and of the fire that is not quenched. Thus is represented the experience of everyone that has permitted himself to be grafted into the stalk of Satan, who has cherished sinful attributes. When too late he will see that sin is the transgression of God's law. He will realize that because of transgression, his soul is cut off from God, and that God's wrath abides upon him. This is fire unquenchable. Thus the soul and body of every unrepentant sinner will be destroyed. Satan, the first transgressor, strives constantly to lead men into sin, and he who is willing to be led, who refuses to forsake his sins and receive forgiveness and grace unto salvation, will suffer the results of his course.18MR 74.1
Charged with an embassage of mercy, love, and pardon, Christ came to His own, but His own received Him not. He was buffeted by temptation, and bruised and lacerated by the cruel lash. He was crowned with thorns, and His hands and feet pierced by nails. In His dying agony on the cross He was scorned by the people who claimed to be waiting for the Messiah, but who by their actions showed the value of their spirituality. Surely Christ has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Surely He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. But did not Satan understand that while he was bruising the heel of the Son of God, the Son of God was bruising his head?18MR 74.2
By dying on the cross Christ gave His life as an offering for sin, that through His power man might turn from his sins, become converted, and be a laborer together with God. Greater love than this can never be shown. More could not be done than has been done to demonstrate the immutability of the law of God. Christ did not die to abolish the law or to detract in the slightest degree from its influence or power. He died to exalt the law and make it honorable. Full of goodness, compassion, and love, He hated only one thing—sin, “the transgression of the law.” In the very act of dying to save that which was lost, Christ reached the perfect standard of obedience as our Substitute and Surety. His death exemplified the curse of sin.18MR 75.1
“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” Obedience to this law is required; for it is the transcript of the character of God. Obedience is the proof of love. “If ye love Me,” Christ said, “keep My commandments.” In order to escape from obedience to the moral law, the teachers of today deceive poor, bewildered souls by saying that Christ's commandments and the precepts of the moral law are not the same thing. But this is not so.18MR 75.2
“He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him.... If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with him. He that loveth Me not keepeth not My sayings, and the word which ye hear is not Mine, but the Father's which sent Me” [John 14:21, 23, 24]. This is the truth in regard to the plan of salvation. No other foundation can be laid than that which is laid.18MR 75.3
While enduring the contradiction of sinners against Himself, Christ bore insult, abuse, and mockery. This was part of the great plan. The result of Satan's working through professedly pious men must be shown. No pang of anguish that Christ endured was in vain. Thus the ransom was paid for all who accept Christ as their personal Saviour. From the Word of God they receive their title to freedom. “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” [1 Peter 1:10, 11].18MR 75.4
If we obey the commandments of God, we receive our emancipation from sin. “Whatsoever we ask of Him, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment, That we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as He gave us commandment. And he that keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him, and He in him. And hereby we know that He abideth in us, by the Spirit which He hath given us” [1 John 3:22-24].18MR 76.1
“If Christ be not risen,” wrote the apostle Paul, “Then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ: whom He raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain: ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished” [1 Corinthians 15:14-18]. “And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus” [Acts 4:33].18MR 76.2
The Roman guard saw the resurrection of Christ, and testified to it. John's testimony in regard to the life, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Christ is clear and forcible. After Christ had ascended, John's testimony concerning Christ disturbed those in power. With power he bore witness that Christ was a risen Saviour. To please the Jews the Romans had crucified Christ, and now they sought still further to please them by placing John where his voice would not be heard by Jew or Gentile. He was banished to the Isle of Patmos.18MR 76.3
Apparently the Lord permitted his enemies to triumph, as far as outward appearance was concerned. But God's hand was moving unseen in the darkness. He permitted His faithful servant to be placed where Christ could give him a more wonderful revelation of Himself to give to the world. The Lord was preparing John to endure hatred and scorn for the sake of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. He was hidden as it were on a desert island, and here Christ visited him, giving him a most wonderful view of His glory, and making known to him what was to come upon the earth. The man who exiled John was not released from his responsibility. He was the instrument used by Jehovah to carry out His eternal purpose, and the very effort to extinguish the light, placed the truth in bold relief.18MR 77.1
John was deprived of the society of his brethren and of the pleasure of association. But no man could deprive him of the light and revelation of Christ. A great light was to shine from Christ to His servant. Richly favored was this beloved disciple. With the other disciples he had traveled with Jesus, learning of Him and feasting on His word. His head had often rested on his Saviour's bosom. But he must see Him also in Patmos. On the holy Sabbath day, the risen Saviour made His presence known to John; and the testimony then given him is given also to us. God would have us search the Scriptures, that we may know what will be in the last days of this earth's history.18MR 77.2
[Revelation 1:4-7, 10-13, 17, 18, quoted.]18MR 77.3
This is a most powerful testimony, but its true significance is but dimly discerned. Let the student of Scripture carefully ponder every word in the first chapter of Revelation, for every sentence and every word is of weight and consequence.18MR 78.1
The appearance of Christ to John should be to all, believers and unbelievers, an evidence that we have a risen Christ. It should give living power to the church. At times dark clouds surround God's people. It seems as though oppression and persecution would extinguish them. But at such times the most instructive lessons are given. As in the darkest night the stars shine the brightest, so the most brilliant beams of God's glory are revealed in the deepest gloom. The darker the sky, the more clear and impressive are the beams of the Sun of Righteousness, the risen Saviour. Christ often enters prisons, and reveals Himself to His chosen ones. He is in the fire with them at the stake.18MR 78.2
The Lord has wonderful truth to make known through human instrumentalities. He permits those who turn from light and despise His warnings to show on which side they stand by oppressing His people. This will not destroy God's servants if they will hold fast to their faith. It will keep them contrite and humble, preventing them from being exalted above measure by the abundance of light given them.—Manuscript 106, 1897.18MR 78.3