Open Face No. 102 – June 2015

In this issue:

Danger of knowing the Truth

The Mark, Name and Number

Revealing God’s Glory

Campmeeting Report

Tumeric

Faith in Action


Danger of Knowing The Truth

David Clayton

I grew up in a church which professes to be God’s special agency in the world. This church has identified itself as, “God’s remnant church”, “Modern Israel”, “The final church”. It is true that God has specially called different people and different groups from time to time, over the ages, but sometimes this idea of being special to God, above others, has resulted in positive harm to individuals and groups.

Consider the case of the Jews: They, above all others have the absolute certainty that they were called by God and given His peculiar truths. Paul speaks of these people in Romans 3:1-2.

What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.  (Rom. 3:1-2)

The passage is speaking not only of their relationship to God but of their relationship to truth. The Jews had a great advantage over other people because God committed His most important revelations exclusively to them. Truth came to them in a way that it never ever came to anyone else on earth. Exodus 20:1 tells us that God Himself spoke the truth to the Jews. God not only spoke the truth to them but with His own finger, He wrote a synopsis of what He taught them. 

In addition to all of this, God also gave them assurances in His word to make them understand that they would be His special people forever.

But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend. Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away. Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.  (Isa 41:8-11)

These are God’s words. The Hebrews were absolutely certain that they were specially chosen, specially preserved, specially taught and led. Some of these prophecies concerning them were astonishing:

Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name: If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever. Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.  (Jer 31:35-37)

Here God says that before Israel stops being His special people, the sea has to stop roaring, the stars have to stop shining, the sun and the moon have to be removed from the sky. This is what we would refer to as “the sure word of prophecy”. If you were a Jew you would have every reason to ridicule people who suggest that the Jews are no longer God’s special chosen people. Jews have the word of God Almighty through the prophets, they have the pioneers, Moses, Joshua, David, they have holy, faithful men who established the foundation on which they stand. 

Yet strangely and paradoxically, this wonderful blessing of being specially called and commissioned and given truth, became a snare to the Jews. In fact, it resulted in great harm and eventually caused them to become a hindrance to the cause of God. Their history reveals that there can be great danger in knowing the truth.

Knowing the Law

The following dialogue between Jesus and the Jews reveals the nature of the problem which developed in the attitude of the Jews.

I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father. They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.  (John 8:38-43)

This is a very interesting conversation because here, there are two parties who are telling the truth, and yet, both are in direct contradiction of each other! When the Jews said, “Abraham is our father,” did they tell the truth? Of course they did. But when Jesus suggested that they were not the children of Abraham, He was also telling the truth! The problem is, they were using two different definitions of truth. As is often the case with people who have no real connection with God, the Jews were looking at things through physical eyes, while Jesus was looking through spiritual eyes. The consequence of this warped perspective was positively harmful.

Jesus explained that it was not possible for the Jews to hear His words. Why not? Because, in spite of their claims, God was not their Father. God was His Father, but not theirs, therefore it was not possible for them to understand His words. This emphasizes the reality that understanding truth is not a matter of human ability, but rather, it is a matter of being in the right spiritual state. Those who are the spiritual children of God will understand the words of God. Those who identify themselves by physical, outward marks, but are not connected to God by His spirit, will never understand His truth. It does not matter how much they have studied or how fully they belong to the “right church,” the fact that their spiritual connection with God is wrong guarantees that they cannot learn the truth.

The Jews defined themselves by their knowledge and their genetics, not their spiritual connection with God, and that was the great danger. Knowing the truth failed the Jews. Of course God’s truth did not fail, but the Jews would have said that God’s truth had failed if they understood that the Jews are no longer God’s special people as we understand today. Today we talk about “physical Israel”, and “spiritual Israel”, but if we had lived in the days of Jesus, could we have interpreted the prophecies like that? When God said that the sun and the moon would have to stop shining before He would cast off Israel, how could they have understood that as applying to anyone except the descendants of Abraham? There was only one possible explanation; the seed of Jacob and Abraham would be God’s forever and if they went into apostasy God would bring them back to Himself. They would never be cast off.

Today we look back in hindsight, and having the advantage of the teachings of Christ, we understand that the prophecy never failed, but that God had a different definition of Israel when He gave these prophecies. God’s Son came to this earth and explained the prophecy in a way that was past man’s ability to understand. He interpreted the prophecies in such a way that the truth maintained its integrity, but it was so repackaged that those who had it originally couldn’t begin to understand it’s true meaning, though they were diligent students of these prophecies and claimed the prophets as their fathers and pioneers.

Designed to be misunderstood?

When we consider this, we may well ask, was the truth designed to be misunderstood? When we examine the Scriptures carefully, it seems that God often presents truth in such a way that it is liable to be misunderstood. Is this a reasonable conclusion, and if it is, why is this so? God often uses truth to test a person’s relationship to Himself. Notice carefully, not to test a person’s relationship to the theory of truth, but to the God of truth. Over and over people make the mistake of thinking that because they can explain a few doctrines they know the truth. But God wants people to trust in Him, not in their knowledge of doctrine.

Let us consider an important principle: Nobody can be tested or proven when he knows everything, this is why God cannot be tempted and this is one reason why Jesus, the Son of God had to become a man. His knowledge had to be taken away, otherwise He could not have been tempted. If God wants to test our relationship to Himself, He has to place us in a position where we don’t know what is going to happen next. That’s one reason why it can be guaranteed that there are issues involved in the Mark of the Beast crisis, which are going to take us completely by surprise. It is interesting to see people absolutely confident that they know everything about the Mark of the Beast. They know that it is going to center around the issue of the Sabbath/Sunday controversy, and that those who are God’s will stand up for the Sabbath in the midst of strong persecution. They know everything, every detail, so how will they be tested? Nobody can be tested when he already knows all the answers. The story of Abraham’s great test illustrates this point.

Abraham did not have the written word of God because in his time the Scriptures had not yet been written. However, Abraham did know enough of the character of God to know that God does not destroy the innocent. When God told him that he was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham’s response to God was,

That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?  (Gen 18:25)

Abraham also knew God well enough to realize that He does not accept human sacrifice. In addition to this he had the sure word of the divine promise that God would give Abraham, descendants as the stars of heaven and that this promise would be fulfilled through Isaac. This was Abraham’s knowledge of the truth. It was the awareness of truth as God had revealed it to him in the past. But now, instead of the word of God, the living God Himself came to Abraham and said, “sacrifice your son”.

Here now we see a man’s mind torn into two parts, he is torn apart by his knowledge of truth versus his relationship with the living God. Truth says, “this cannot be”, the word of God proves that this cannot be, but the living God says, “kill your son”. This terrible conflict was necessary because God was not testing Abraham’s awareness of truth, He was testing Abraham’s relationship with God. Abraham’s decision was to choose God, above the truth of God, as he understood it, and Abraham stands forever as the only man in the Bible called “the friend of God”, and is the man who has been established as the father of, righteousness by faith.

Jesus Himself was tested in a similar way. His knowledge of truth told Him that although everyone would forsake Him on the night on which He was arrested, He would not be alone because His Father would not leave Him alone. But of course His confidence was terribly shaken when on the cross, God did indeed leave Him alone, even though He (Jesus) had never done anything to displease His Father. Christ did not know that the Father would forsake Him on the cross and in fact, such a thing was contrary to all that He knew and all His expectations. That was the test, that was the thing that tested His relationship with His Father.  Ultimately Jesus’ relationship with God triumphed over His knowledge of truth. Jesus’ agonized cry on the cross, “my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” expressed His utter bewilderment at the failure of His theology, but in spite of this, His relationship with God proved to be the strongest factor in His life.

Jesus Himself created a great dilemma for the Jews. Though He claimed to be the Son of God and the promised Messiah, His entire life was a contradiction of their understanding of truth. The prophecies of Isaiah, Micah, Daniel, Ezekiel etc. all pointed to the coming of the Messiah as an event which would exalt Israel to the pinnacle of earthly glory. They spoke of the overthrow and subjugation of the enemies of Israel, when the Seed of David would sit again in glory on the throne of His father David, when the mountain of the Lord’s house would be exalted above all mountains and all nations would flow into it. But Jesus came, a poor peasant from a town with a bad reputation. Born in a barn, conceived under questionable circumstances, He was as poor as a church mouse. Instead of gathering an army and preparing for an assault against the Romans He encouraged people to love them, and surrounded Himself with followers from the lowest tiers of society. Everything about Him was a contradiction of what they understood the truth to be. They knew with absolute certainty that He could not be who He claimed to be.

But then, Jesus brought the dead back to life! Nobody can raise the dead except God. This man presented evidence that it is impossible to explain if He was not whom He claimed to be, but He contradicted their fundamental beliefs chiseled out over the ages by their prophets and pioneers. These beliefs had stood for many hundreds of years and when this man came, everything about him contradicted what they have been taught …. but He raised the dead!

Now the Jews were caught on the horns of a dilemma, either their theology was wrong or Jesus was wrong. But by this time they had replaced God Himself with the truth, and now they worshiped doctrine instead of the living God. That was their problem, God Himself wasn’t even allowed to be God because they knew the truth better than they knew God. Can it be that throughout the ages this same kind of attitude has dogged the steps of religious people? Can it be that it follows our steps today? I know what such an experience is like, I have been there. Well established theology, interpretations of prophecy, understandings set in stone, established by the pioneers and messengers of God, come face to face with undeniable conflicting evidence. Truth never changes, but sometimes God has some definitions that we never thought about, His truths never change but sometimes He redefines it and our definition doesn’t match His definition. There is a statement from Ellen White which has come under heavy criticism in some quarters and I can understand the reason why, yet in the light of the principles we are looking at here, this statement makes a lot of sense:

God designed to prove His people. His hand covered a mistake in the reckoning of the prophetic periods. Adventists did not discover the error, nor was it discovered by the most learned of their opponents.” 

“….Those who with sincere faith and love had looked for their Saviour, experienced a bitter disappointment. Yet the purposes of God were being accomplished; He was testing the hearts of those who professed to be waiting for His appearing.” {GC 373-4}

One close friend of mine would get upset whenever he heard this statement, because to him, it suggested that God was deliberately deceiving people. However, if we can get past the phraseology I think we can agree with the principle behind the statement. God often expresses truth in such a way that it is misunderstood. Just look at what happened to the Jews. Look across the ages, and we can find this same thing repeated over and over, the truth of God is misunderstood because on the surface it seems to be very clearly saying one thing, but it takes a revelation from God later on to reveal the true meaning. I think this is what Ellen White intended to say here. Those Millerites misunderstood the prophecy totally because they didn’t see all that was involved in the Scriptures they were studying. Later on somebody else saw it, and it became clear. This is a principle of how God operates, in dealing with His children. He chooses to test people by putting doctrine in opposition to the present, living manifestation of God. Your former understanding versus your living experience. 

Does God speak today? Do you have a living relationship with the living God where He is communicating to your mind? The relationship with God must supercede the relationship with doctrine, that’s the point I am trying to make. God is active in the present, and He is unfolding truth in the present time. You don’t have to go back 2,000 years to define what God is saying today. But like the Jews we know the truth so well that God Himself cannot adjust our thinking, not even with the most undeniable evidence. The truth is that too often, we have replaced the God of truth with the truth of God, it is an interesting, but also a frightening reality. Let’s look at a couple more examples of the same principle illustrated in the writings of Ellen White.

“I know that the Lord loves His church. It is not to be disorganized or broken up into independent atoms. There is not the least consistency in this; there is not the least evidence that such a thing will be. Those who shall heed this false message and try to leaven others will be deceived and prepared to receive advanced delusions, and they will come to nought.”  {2SM 68.3}

 This statement condemns many of us who are reading this article, because we have left the ranks of the organized church and are now a part of some independent group.

“God has made His church on the earth a channel of light, and through it He communicates His purposes and His will. He does not give to one of His servants an experience independent of and contrary to the experience of the church itself. Neither does He give one man a knowledge of His will for the entire church while the church—Christ’s body—is left in darkness. “ 439 {CCh 245.1}

Many of us are in rebellion against these statements, because we believe that, the church of which she spoke, is going to be fragmented and broken up into independent atoms, and in fact, we no longer submit to its authority. As far as these statements are concerned, our destiny is that we are going to receive, “advanced delusion” and be left in darkness. Can we see the problem? If we know only what is written, but we don’t know the living God as He works in the present, how can we ever step aside from what this statement says? The critical question is, who do we worship? Is our religious experience based on a relationship with written words, or with the living Word?

I grew up with biases and prejudices and I still struggle with many of them today. I learned very early that the only people who were accepted by God were those who spoke, “to the law and to the testimony.” This was my way of identifying who were Christians and who were false professors. If a man did not keep the Sabbath and promote the Ten Commandments, he was automatically on the side of Satan. Nothing could convince me otherwise. If he healed the sick, it was by the power of Satan, if he raised the dead, then the person could not have been really dead, but must have been only in a coma. This was the way my mind worked. No demonstration of the work of God could have convinced me that it was truly of God if the person was not a Sabbath-keeper. What would God have to do to prove to us that He works with others? I don’t know, because raising the dead was not enough.  

Of course, it is evident that there are deceptions, but then again, how are we safeguarded against deception? Our safety is a living relationship with the Lord and that is our only security. There is a relationship with God that is alive and that is the point I am making. How do we define what is true, is it based on the fact that we are absolutely certain that our interpretation is right just as the Jews were certain, or is it based on the fact that my relationship with God is living, and God is free to change my mind if He wants to? Who am I as a man to be so arrogant as to think I know everything?

So when we talk about knowing truth, ultimately here is what we need to understand. All truth, every single element of truth that exists in the word of God and in the experience of Christendom, every single bit of truth has only one single purpose, and that is, to bring us to God in Christ. Jesus said,

“… I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.  (John 14:6)

So do we know the truth? With all our theories and knowledge, if it has not brought us to a place where Jesus is our Friend, in a vital living experience, our concept of truth is wrong and there is danger in our belief that we know the truth.

Sometimes my understanding of the word will fail me and things may not materialize in the way I expected, but He is still my ultimate truth. If I know Him and am in a living relationship with Him, everything else can be wrong, every interpretation of prophecy can be wrong, every understanding of doctrine can be wrong if I have Him the living truth. This is what it was always about and what God wants us to understand and above all else to experience this.

This is the point the apostle Paul is emphasizing in 2 Cor. 3:6,

Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.  (2 Cor 3:6)

What is the letter? It is what is written. What is the spirit? In verse 17 of the same chapter it says, “the Lord is that spirit.” What we need is a relationship with the spirit, Jesus Christ, an integration into Christ Himself, not so much an integration into words and ideas. I study the Bible, I will always study the Bible because it is God’s appointed agency for bringing us to Christ, it continues to serve that purpose. It continues to help me to understand His ways better, but my relationship is not limited to the written word. When I have read the written word I turn to the living word, that’s what its purpose is. We must come to Christ understanding that divine revelation is the only way we can really understand what is true. I am not saying we are to abandon the things we have learned, but my point is that we should no allow our minds to be so closed that God Himself cannot speak to us. Some things we have learned were wrong, some people will never accept that. Like the Jews they will crucify Christ afresh every time God tries to say something different. May God save us from this arrogance which has infected so many over the ages.

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The Mark, Name and Number

Worship is the issue

According to Revelation, everybody must worship the image of the beast or be killed.  It is interesting that the word “worship” is used. Worship is a unique experience, it suggests supreme allegiance of body, soul and spirit. It suggests unconditional submission. This is what all are required to give to the beast. It is a condition where a human system takes the place of God. Everybody who lives must submit to this system, on pain of death, must accept its philosophy regardless of conscience. This, effectively, is worship.

Mark, Name or Number

When we read Revelation 13 carefully, it seems that not everybody will necessarily receive the Mark of the beast. Each person receives either the Mark, OR the name, OR the number of the beast. What is the difference between these three things, the mark, the number and the name? 

The Mark

A mark in this context is a means of identification (Ezek. 9:4-6), it is a means of distinguishing one set of persons from others. Revelation is primarily a book of symbols, the pictures and images which we see there are not intended to be taken literally (for the most part), but should be interpreted by applying a meaning to the symbols. The mark then does not necessarily signify a literal mark, some outward symbol, tattoo or stamp, as many people believe. What it signifies is some means by which one set of people can be differentiated from the others.

The Mark of the Beast is some sin which is highly offensive to God. Those who receive it have set themselves to deliberately defy Him, which is the reason why the threatened punishment is so harsh. So we can be sure that this mark is not simply something as superficial as the placing of a tattoo or a stamp somewhere upon a person’s body. It must involve the conscience and the heart. It must involve some behavior, some commitment to something which is clearly a blatant sin, something which is clearly understood to be wrong, but which has been embraced by those who receive this mark.

This mark is received either in the forehead or the right hand. This suggests that this distinguishing characteristic may be seen either in how a person thinks (forehead), or in the things which he does (right hand). So there must be some system established which will make it demonstrable what everyone is either thinking or doing. This system must be highly efficient in identifying those who conform and those who don’t, because it will be a matter of life and death.

The Name

The name of the beast is not difficult to find.

And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. (Rev 13:1) 

There it tells you; upon the heads of the beast is the name of “blasphemy.” It says the same thing in Revelation 17:3. There, in plain sight is the name of the beast. His name is “blasphemy.”

A name in the Bible was often used to express the character of the individual so named. Several times in the Bible a person received a new name when his character changed or as a result of some unusual experience which he had. Two examples of this are Abram whose name was changed to Abraham, and Jacob whose name was changed to Israel.

So when the Bible speaks of the name of the beast, it is referring to the character, the nature of the beast. The nature of this beast is that it is a God-defying power which has as its chief identifying characteristic, the attitude of blasphemy. Not all receive the Mark of the Beast; some will receive his name or his number. This suggests that there are those who will have the same nature and character as the beast power, that is, they will manifest the same defiance of God as demonstrated by the beast and so, they will have his name.

The Number

What do numbers signify in the Bible? Two numbers which come to mind are the numbers seven and twelve. These numbers come up very often in connection with God’s operations. The seventh day, the seventh month the seventh year, the seven plagues, the seven trumpets, the seven seals the seven churches etc. We also see the twelve tribes, the twelve apostles and multiples of this number such as the 24 elders (12×2) and the 144,000 (12×12). What we can see is that the numbers seven and twelve represent God’s pattern of operation. It represents the principle on which God carries out His activities in the earth and among His people.

When we apply this idea to the number of the beast we see that the number of the beast, 666, represents the pattern of operation of the beast. It describes the principle underlying the dominance of the beast in the earth 

As we mentioned before, when studying the book of Revelation we find many clues to interpreting it by looking at the Old Testament passages which use the same language and speak of the same things. The book of Revelation is written in the language and symbolism of the Old Testament. When we apply this rule to the number of the beast we find something interesting. According to Revelation 13:18, the number of the beast is the number of a man and “his number is Six hundred threescore and six.” When we search through the Bible to find that same phrase, we find it only one other place in the Bible. It is found in 1 Kings 10:14, where it says:

Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold,  (1 Ki 10:14)

This is very interesting. In the days of Solomon, Israel attained to the pinnacle of its glory. It was the highest point to which man could attain in terms of worldly glory and the Bible measured it in terms of gold, or finances. The mark of the Beast issue will be enforced by controlling the finances of the entire planet. People who are out of harmony with the system will not be allowed to buy or sell.

The financial system, then, represents “man’s number,” the predominant characteristic of the human race when God is rejected, and it signifies the highest point to which humanity can attain, apart from God. This is the absolute truth. Take God out of the picture and what is it that drives and motivates humanity? It is always the desire for wealth, glory, and power. This is the ultimate as far as the goals of humanity are concerned; it can rise no higher without God.

Today, the prevailing spirit of godlessness has all but driven the knowledge of God out of modern society. Evolution is taught in schools as fact, while it is forbidden to pray or to mention the name of God. Along with this change there has come a different value system than existed one hundred years ago. Today, money is everything. Anything is justified in the name of financial gain.

So those who receive the number of the beast are those who are wrapped up in the financial system of the beast-controlled planet, those who are driven by the same motivation of worldly gain. For this reason they embrace the philosophies and ideals of the beast and in this way, they are said to have received the number of the beast.

Revealing God’s Glory

Steve Day

Have you contemplated the unconditional love of God lately. This is something that we talk about, we might give mention to and of course we are aware of the Bible verses.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him might not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16

The unconditional love of God has the power to transform souls, but an important question is, how does God display his love?

Within a few months of my Baptism, I was working in a health food store and restaurant in Redlands, California. It was quite an experience. We had different rush hours when people would come through and eat. First thing in the morning there would be all the healthy-eating folks who worked in the business district, looking for fresh juice and a healthy breakfast. Then when that was over we had high school kids who would come through. But these weren’t like the football players or cheerleaders, these were Gothic kids, all dressed in black, many with well over a dozen piercings in their heads, black lipstick, colored hair etc. I thought it was funny that they were so interested in healthy food, but they were quite serious about it.

One of the owners of the restaurant had a suit shop down the street. He would see these kids in the restaurant and tell me, “Steve you have to get these kids out of the restaurant, they’ll ruin the business.” But they weren’t ruining it, they were buying juices, buying food and teaching me a valuable lesson. They were keeping our business going and they were teaching me to see the value of their souls.

I was standoffish at first, because I just didn’t know them. But as they came in day after day, I learned their names and they learned mine. We would engage in really deep conversations and we even developed such a friendship that when they found a food that we sold that had a bad ingredient, we would have a ceremonial destruction of the food (I let them dump it in the trash or pour it down the sink). All in all, we became friends but I wasn’t there long enough to get anyone to come to the church or be baptized, but I know that I left a positive imprint in their minds of what a Christian was.

It was love for them that made me reach out to them, because I saw value in them. I had received the gift of salvation and it changed my life. I wanted to give that same gift to everyone I met. I saw in the face of my Savior His love and acceptance of me, and it drew me to Him. I could not resist pursuing Him. Understanding His intentions and desires towards me, made me bold in approaching Him and the experience became so deep that it was not possible for me to turn away.

I am convinced that the revelation that Jesus Christ is God, is not the greatest revelation of the New Testament. The greatest revelation is the revelation that God is like Jesus. They are the same in character. We don’t have an angry Father and a nice half brother. The character of one is not different than the other. When we see Jesus, we have seen the Father (John 14:9)

Christ looks into the face of all of us. He knew that when were without strength and ungodly, and while we were in the midst of sinning, He died for us (Romans 5:6, 8). He reconciled us while we were enemies with Him. We fought against Him ,and yet he didn’t manifest anger or frustration, but said, “just wait until they understand that I love them and they’ll stop fighting (Romans 5:10)”.

God is love (1 John 4:8). It is God’s love that He lays on the line. He says, “when they understand that I am Love they will run to me”. We use love as a verb, but He uses it as a noun. When we talk about God, we say He is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. But these things are not God, those are just attributes. Philippians 2:7 says that He emptied himself, He humbled, divested, relinquished – however you want to look at it. He left something behind and what He left were these attributes. He couldn’t be everywhere at once, he was stuck in a body in Palestine and that’s why he said, “it is expedient that I go, so I can come back”. He grew in wisdom (Luke 2:52), but can omniscience grow in wisdom? It is clear that He left those things behind, but there was one thing which He took with Him and that was His identity. This identity included His nature, character and authority and He knew that was enough for Him to fulfill His mission.

Christ draws people to Himself by revealing His nature, His character and authority to them. That is his name, that is the name which is placed on us and that is the name which we represent in the world. We lighten the world through this revelation of His nature, character and authority. This is His glory. This is what Moses wanted to see in Exodus 33:18, and God himself declares that His glory is in the fact that He is merciful, gracious, longsuffering and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands and forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin (Exodus 34:6-7). In Isaiah 58:6-10, we see this character represented, in contrast to religion.  The essence of this character is to,

“…. loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward. Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:  (Isa 58:6-10) 

His character is his glory and it is His character that dispels the gross darkness of Isaiah 60:2 which is attempting to cover the earth.

God is Love and he looks into each of our eyes, on our worst day and says, “I want you. I see so much potential in you, can I have you?” Our Father might still be looking into your eyes, let Him have you. If we let Him possess our lives, He will manifest Himself to the world through us. This is His intention toward each and every one of us. He is not looking at any of us and saying “this one is bruised”, or, “this one is scratched and full of holes.” To each one of us it is a “yes”, never a “no”. This love cannot be experienced by talking about it, we have to empty ourselves, abandon ourselves to Him and let the fire of heaven consume and fill us.

Let us recognize that the love which He has towards us is the same love he has toward any Goth, or drug addict, the movie star, or porn addict, the one caught in adultery, or the wife beater. He can look at each of them, he can look each one square in the eye, even in the midst of sin, and say, “I want you.” God can look at a man, covered head to toe with tattoos and He doesn’t say, “I would have taken you, but …” It is always a, “yes.” Someone could have holes in their earlobes, cheeks and nose and He still says, “can I have you?”

Christ can take the person that has been marred and molested beyond recognition by Satan and not only does He still want the person, but He says, “the one who did this to you is really going to be sorry. If the Devil knew what my plans are for you, he would have stayed far away from you because the tools which he used in his efforts to destroy you, actually made you much stronger and I will use that strength to deliver many from his kingdom. He will pay and it will be glorious.”

We need to understand who our enemy is. It is not any church, it is not any political party or ethnic group. It is not a doctrine, but a Devil who drove us from God using the tools of guilt and shame. A devil who perverted our character from the Glory of God to that of his own selfish character. Satan is our enemy, destroying us through the mystery of Iniquity which he wove into our hearts. Christ will consume that iniquity and replace it with Himself.

Jesus has reconciled us to His Father and has written His name on our hearts. He has put His mind in us and it is His glory, His character, nature and authority with which we are to lighten the world.

With Christ there is no distinction of persons (Acts 10:34), all of us are brethren (Matthew 23:8), we are all priests (Exodus 19:6). God has no preference for black or white, He makes no distinction between race or class,  Jew or Greek, bond or free, male or female. We are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28}.

Jesus said, “if I be lifted up I will draw all men unto Me (John 12:32)”. What is it that draws and what is it that repels? Jesus attracts and draws. Often we mix things up and instead of the love of Christ drawing souls, people see our rules and regulations. They see that we have burdens, shame and guilt no different than themselves, so they say, “what’s the point?” They don’t want to hear about our rules, they don’t want a 12 step program or strategies on how to manage stress. But if they could see Jesus, watch out! If they could see Jesus, He would draw them to Himself and they would then join with us in lightening the world with His glory.

Have you ever gotten a really good gift, and experienced the joy and excitement that it brings? There is a built-in desire to show everyone that gift. If you didn’t really want to take it for a test drive, if you didn’t want to show someone your new shoes or whatever you received, then that means that you didn’t really value it all that highly. Maybe your parents knew you wanted the Jordan sneakers that everyone else was wearing but they weren’t about to spend $150.00 for a pair of shoes, so they got you a cheap imitation for $35.00. They look similar but there is a difference, they weren’t Jordan’s, they were Gordan’s and the color might be slightly off. They look similar but there was something about those Jordan’s that made you want them, made you want to wear them around. But the Gordan’s get hidden at the bottom of the locker and only pulled out when it is time for PE.

Christianity is no different. Jesus said that His glory would lighten the world, yet most of us don’t want to lighten our own neighborhood. If you had a really good gift that brought untold peace and love and joy, a gift that brought life and liberty eternally in such measure that it could never be exhausted, you would take that gift and give it to everyone you know. You would share the gift and you would receive immeasurable joy every time somebody opened the box. But we’re not like that and the reason is that we don’t like our gift. We don’t want to share it because we ultimately find little joy or value in our gift, our color gets a bit off and we become just a hue of the MAN that God created us to be. We ultimately don’t like the burden that we are bearing or the false standard that we measure ourselves against.

We carry unnecessary guilt and shame because we have misunderstood the nature of our gift and that is what gets the name all messed up and causes us to hide and to pull away. Many of us will spend hours reading and studying. Most of the time we are doing so because we know we have missed it somewhere and we are trying to convince ourselves that we are right. We have fallen into a trap. The Devil has isolated us off away from the world so we will have little impact on it and all because we misunderstood the gift. We might unpackage the gift for a few hours each week, or when we think it is necessary, but this was never God’s intent. From glory to glory, man was created in glory and for glory.

There is no trial too big or a soul with no value. No child is a mistake and no life is worthless but all were created with the definite loving intent that they would become the Sons of God. That is what the world has been waiting for … the manifestation of this glory.

Campmeeting Report

At the time of this printing Brother Howard Williams and I have just recently returned from meetings in Lobelville, Tennessee, and a campmeeting in Wenatchee, Washington. Both experiences were times of spiritual refreshing and both gave evidence that God is working in a marked way.

The meetings in Lobelville were organized by Sister Melba Smith as they have been for the past few years. The meetings were primarily focused on the week-end, but there was also a meeting on the Thursday and Friday nights preceding the week-end.

What was significant about these meetings is that the majority of those who attended were not people from a Seventh-day Adventist background. Many were from the Amish, the Mennonite, the Baptist and Pentecostal background. On the Sabbath there were between 60-70 people in attendance, some of whom came from as far away as Kentucky.

On the following Sunday I spoke at an independent Mennonite Church where the Lord has opened the door for us to share over the past three years. The experience with these brethren has been a real blessing and is an evidence of the power of the message of righteousness by faith. Some people have the mistaken idea that it is our main duty to preach the doctrines of Adventism, but in truth, there is only one message which can save men and it is the message of Christ and His Righteousness. As we have focused on this, we have seen an encouraging response among those who are not of the SDA community. Christ lifted up has disarmed prejudice and drawn people from different persuasions and walks of life.

Our booklets, “The Nature of Sin,” “The Nature of Righteousness,” “The Broken Curse,” in particular have been well received with some people saying that they have never heard the gospel explained in such a clear, and simple way.

From Tennessee we moved on to the campmeeting in Washington, in the town of Wenatchee located in a beautiful and picturesque valley. This place is surrounded by rugged snow-capped mountains on all sides with bare and barren slopes. But down in the valley there is a river which is fed by the snow from the peaks. This river feeds the valley and the result is that it is a lush green place where some of the best apples, pears and cherries are grown in Washington.

This campmeeting is hosted annually by Steve and Saci (pronounced Shotsy) Noyes. They started hosting this campmeeting six or seven years ago and since that time it has grown more each year. This year there were about 70 people in attendance. Brothers Nader Mansour and Imad Awde from Australia were also speakers at these meetings along with Brother Howard and me. It was a great blessing to be able to fellowship with these brothers and to share in the work of ministry with them. The spirit of God has drawn us into blessed harmony on the most important aspects of the gospel. While there may be minor areas on which we have different opinions, on the critical truths we see eye to eye and the result was that there was a great harmony in the messages. In every single message, Christ was the central theme. Even when it became necessary to speak forcefully against the rising error of feast-keeping and similar confusing teachings, it was done from the perspective of how these things negatively affect our understanding of Christ’s work and ultimately, harm our relationship with Him.

The campmeeting climaxed with a baptism in which 12 persons committed their lives to Christ. For some, it was not the first time, but it was the first time being baptized in the Christian way, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. There were many tears of happiness as these brethren were buried in the water by Brothers Howard and Imad who conducted the baptism. It was a wonderful service and we ended the campmeeting on this note with regret that we had to part from one another, but already eagerly anticipating next year’s campmeeting.

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Tumeric

Lenworth Frankson

Turmeric belongs to the ginger family and has been used in East India and the Middle East for thousands of years. It is now one of the most highly prized spices in the world. It has a peppery flavor and lends a unique kick to foods. Turmeric has long been used as a powerful anti-inflammatory agent in both the Chinese and Indian systems of medicine. It was traditionally called “Indian saffron” because of its deep yellow-orange color and has been used throughout history as a condiment, healing remedy and textile dye.  

Ancient medicinal uses for turmeric began when it was noted as an anti-inflammatory agent, and it was then used to treat a wide variety of conditions, such as jaundice, menstrual problems, blood in the urine, hemorrhaging, toothaches, bruises, chest pain, flatulence, and colic. Turmeric has a peppery, warm and bitter flavor and a mild fragrance slightly reminiscent of orange and ginger, and while it is best known as one of the ingredients used to make curry, it is also used in some mustard to give it its bright yellow color.

The yellow or orange pigment of turmeric, which is called “curcumin”, is thought to be the primary pharmacological agent in turmeric. In numerous studies, curcumin’s anti-inflammatory effects have been shown to be comparable to the potent drugs hydrocortisone and phenylbutazone as well as over-the-counter anti-inflammatory agents such as Motrin. Unlike the drugs, which are associated with toxic effects, e.g. ulcer formation, decreased white blood cell count and intestinal bleeding, curcumin produces no toxicity.

Useful for All Cancers

Among the most exciting benefits of turmeric is its potent anti-cancer activity. Curcumin actually has the most evidence-based literature material supporting its use against cancer than any other nutrient, including vitamin D! A leading natural medicine cancer physician, Dr. William LaValley, states that turmeric appears to be universally useful for just about every type of cancer. This is interesting because cancer consists of a wide variety of different molecular processes. One reason however for this universal anti-cancer natural tendency is curcumin’s ability to affect multiple molecular targets, through multiple pathways. Once curcumin gets into a cell, it affects more than 100 different molecular pathways. Dr. LaValley explains that whether the curcumin molecule causes an increase in activity of a particular molecular target, or decreases or even inhibits the activity, studies repeatedly show that the end result is a potent anti-cancer activity. Moreover, curcumin is non-toxic, and does not adversely affect healthy cells, suggesting it selectively targets cancer cells. Research has even shown that it also works with certain chemotherapy drugs, enhancing the elimination of cancer cells.

Why so Potent

Part of the reason why curcumin appears to be such a potent medicine is that it can:

1.   Alter about 700 of your genes

2.   Positively change more than 160 different physiological pathways

3.   Make your cells’ membranes more orderly  

4.   Affect signaling molecules. For example, curcumin has been shown to directly interact with: Inflammatory molecules, DNA and RNA, Cell survival proteins and Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV1)

Inflammatory Conditions

Curcumin is capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier, which is why researchers are investigating its potential as a neuro-protective agent for neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.

The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of curcumin suggests it may also promote brain health in general.

Some research has shown that curcumin helps in preventing the accumulation of destructive compounds in the brain of Alzheimer’s patients, as well as break up existing plaques associated with the disease. People with Alzheimer’s tend to have higher levels of inflammation in their brains, and curcumin is well known for its potent anti-inflammatory properties.

Another common condition that can benefit from curcumin’s anti-inflammatory activity is osteoarthritis. Research published in 2011 found that patients who added 200 mg of curcumin a day to their treatment plan had reduced pain and increased mobility compared to the control group. Earlier research also found that a turmeric extract blocked inflammatory pathways, effectively preventing the launch of a protein that triggers swelling and pain.

Potent Antimicrobial Activity

Curcumin can help you maintain a healthy digestive system, and may be useful against health issues caused by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori (H.pylori), such as gastritis, peptic ulcer, and gastric cancer. These germs can enter your body and live in your digestive tract. After many years, they can cause sores, called ulcers, in the lining of your stomach or the upper part of your small intestine. For some people, an infection can lead to stomach cancer. H.pylori bacteria is thought to affect more than half of the world’s population, and has been identified as acarcinogen (cancer causing) by the World Health Organization. Traditionally, H. pylori infections are treated with antibiotics, but with rising drug resistance, such treatments are becoming increasingly threatened. However, curcumin has been shown to effectively stop the growth of H. pylori, in the lab, regardless of the genetic makeup of the strains. With mice, curcumin was highly effective in the eradication of the H. pylori from the infected mice.

Diabetes management 

For lowering blood sugar and reversing insulin resistance there might be no better natural treatment than adding turmeric into your diet.

In 2009, Biochemistry and Biophysical Research Communications published a study out of Auburn University that explored how supplementing with turmeric can help reverse diabetes. The study discovered that curcumin in turmeric is literally 400 times more potent than Metformin (a common diabetes drug) in activating a body function which improves insulin sensitivity which can help reverse Type 2 Diabetes.

In addition to correcting the causes of diabetes, curcumin has also been proven to help reverse many of the issues related to insulin resistance and hyperglycemia.

One of the most common complications of diabetes is damaged blood vessels, which can cause blindness. A study found that supplementing with curcumin can delay this horrible complication of diabetes because of its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties

Cholesterol regulators 

One of the reasons heart disease is such a problem in the U.S. is that people are developing pre-diabetes (excessive blood sugar) at an alarming rate.

In turn, diabetics and non-diabetics alike are suffering from a common complication called oxidative stress, which damages the inside of blood vessels.  Because of this damage to the arteries, cholesterol begins to build up to patch the damaged areas, which leads to high levels of LDL cholesterol. 

Traditionally, statin drugs (like Lipitor) are widely known to harm the kidneys and liver and cause a number of deadly side effects.  They do bring cholesterol down but never address that actual cause which is oxidative stress that is caused by high blood sugar levels and inflammation.

Thankfully, medical doctors are becoming more and more aware of the dangerous side effects of statin-drugs and prescribing natural alternatives like curcumin and fish oil instead!

A study done by Drugs in R & D found that curcumin was equal or more effective than diabetes medications at reducing oxidative stress and inflammation in the treatment of high cholesterol.

Studies like these are causing pharmaceutical companies to try and design a synthetic form of curcumin that unfortunately, will not work as well as the real thing.

Tips for Preparing and Cooking

•     Mix brown rice with raisins and cashews, and season with turmeric, cumin and coriander.

•     Although turmeric is generally a staple ingredient in curry powder, some people like to add a little extra of this spice when preparing curries. And turmeric doesn’t have to be only used in curries. This spice is delicious on healthy sautéed apples, and healthy steamed cauliflower and/or green beans and onions. For a creamy, tasty, low-calorie dip, try mixing some turmeric and dried onion with a little omega-3-rich mayonnaise, salt and pepper. Serve with raw cauliflower, celery, sweet pepper and broccoli florets.

•     Turmeric is a great spice to complement recipes that feature lentils.

•     Give salad dressings an orange-yellow hue by adding some turmeric powder to them.

For an especially delicious way to add more turmeric to your healthy way of eating, cut cauliflower florets in half and sauté with a generous spoonful of turmeric for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.

One strategy that can help increase absorption is to put one tablespoon of the organic turmeric powder into a quart of boiling water. It must be boiling when you add the powder as it will not work as well if you first put it in room temperature water and then heat the water and turmeric. After boiling it for 10 minutes you will have created a 12 percent solution that you can drink once cooled. It will have a woody taste. The turmeric will gradually fall to the bottom of the mixture. In about six hours it will be down to a six percent mixture, so it’s best to drink the water within four hours.

Many of the health benefits of turmeric can be experienced by thinking of your food as medicine. This bright yellow spice, traditionally used as food and medicine, contains potent antioxidants and benefits that studies have shown can fight diabetes, cancer, inflammation, heart disease, Alzheimer’s and high cholesterol. Turmeric is definitely not an all cure rhizome but clearly it takes its place among the world’s best and healthiest foods.

Faith in Action

The faith which only attempts what is possible is a bastard. True faith attempts and does the impossible.

The greatest act of courage is the first step.

The greatest tragedy in life is that most people spend their entire lives indefinitely preparing to live.

If you don’t boldly choose your own goals you are destined to accept someone else’s goals.


Open Face is dedicated to the promotion and the restoration of apostolic Christianity. In particular to the restoration of those truths which have been cast down to the ground and trampled underfoot by the  papacy, and adopted by her daughters.

Our purpose is to motivate our readers to commit themselves wholly to the task of personal preparation for the coming of the Lord, and to the taking of the final warning message to every nation, kindred, tongue and people.

Open Face is published bi-monthly, and is sent free of cost to all who desire to receive it.

Editor: ………..                    David Clayton

Publishing committee:         Howard Williams

………………….                    Karleen Williams

………………….                    Jennifer Clayton

………………….                    David Clayton

P.O. Box 23, Knockpatrick

Manchester, Jamaica W.I.

Phone: (304) 932-4543

Jamaica: (876) 603-0821

email: vidclay@gmail.com

Website: http://www.restorationministry.com

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