W. S. CHAPMAN by W. S. Chapman

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Tacoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Oct 5, 1916

W. S. CHAPMAN

By W. S. Chapman

The Laodicean Message — No. 1

W. S. CHAPMAN

The peculiar wording of Rev. 3:14-18 implies that in the latter days there will be found a people claiming to be the people of God, and to have a special message to proclaim, who will, for a time, become so negligent and so unmindful of their calling that it will be necessary for God to send them a special warning and rebuke before they can be aroused to recognize their perilous condition.

Before attempting to analyze the statements made in what is known as the Laodicean message, it will be profitable to give attention to the purpose of the message, and the conditions under which it is to be given, as well as to the character and spiritual condition of the people who are to receive it.

The language used, the metaphors employed, presuppose a depth of knowledge of spiritual things among the people addressed. Startling statements are made, and solemn threatenings are employed with an evident unexplained depth of meaning that only persons of wide experience in the things of God could, with reason, be expected to comprehend. From the beginning to the end there is a ringing note of warning, as if a voice were constantly repeating, “Beware, beware!” the while it is accompanied by such pleadings from the Lord to this people, such loving, tender pleadings, as exceed in intensity anything presented elsewhere in the Scriptures. The key to the full meaning of this message and its application, is to be found in the Spirit of prophecy:—

“The message of the True Witness reveals the fact that a terrible deception is upon our people, which makes it necessary to come to them with warnings, to break their spiritual slumber, and arouse them to decided action. . . . The people slumber on in their sins. They continue to declare themselves rich, and having need of nothing. Many inquire, Why are all these reproofs given? Why do the Testimonies continually charge us with backsliding and with grievous sins? We love the truth; we are prospering; we are in no need of these testimonies of warning and reproof. But let these murmurers see their hearts, and compare their lives with the practical teachings of the Bible, let them humble their souls before God, let the grace of God illuminate the darkness, and the scales will fall from their eyes, and they will realize their true spiritual poverty and wretchedness.”—Testimonies for the Church, Vol. III, p. 254.

Looking back over Israel’s history, we find it ever the same: “The people murmured;” they would not receive correction. And we find the Lord giving as the reason for the fallen condition of his people in the latter days, the same explanation as of old: “The greatest reason why the people of God are now found in this state of spiritual blindness is, that they will not receive correction.”—Id., pp. 254, 255.

The history of God’s people all along the way reveals another startling fact,—they have never been able to stand prosperity. Under heavenly blessings they have always shown a tendency to relax in faithful labor and in the observance of God’s law, and to sit at ease in Zion, rather than to press on to further and higher victories.

“When the Israelites entered Canaan, they did not fulfil God’s purpose by taking possession of the whole land. After making a partial conquest, they settled down to enjoy the fruit of their victories. In their unbelief and love of ease, they congregated in the portions already conquered, instead of pushing forward to occupy new territory. Thus they began to depart from God. By their failure to carry out his purpose they made it impossible for him to fulfil to them his promise of blessing.

“Is not the church of today doing the same thing? With the whole world before them in need of the gospel, professed Christians congregate where they themselves can enjoy gospel privileges. They do not feel the necessity of occupying new territory, carrying the message of salvation to regions beyond. They refuse to fulfil Christ’s commission, ‘Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.’ Are they less guilty than was the Jewish church?”—Id., Vol. VIII, p. 119.

We point with pride to the advance of our missionary work in foreign fields, and, with some satisfaction, to the amount contributed to support that work. But contributions to foreign work, alone, will never save a soul. “Go ye,” is the command, and it is those who do the Father’s will who will enter the kingdom. Many cannot labor in a foreign field, but all about us in our own native land are hundreds and thousands of precious souls who never heard this truth, and who are dying, many of them as they have lived, just as truly without hope as are the savages in heathen lands, while we sit at ease, unmindful of our duty.

There is a great work about to open before the people of God, and it is to be the finishing work in a doomed world. Only those who have perfected a character and are endued with the Spirit of God will be permitted to have a part in that work. The foolish virgins will awake to find themselves destitute of the oil that made their lamps available, and will remain outside in the darkness of their own choosing. Character is built up through faithfulness in details. It is a slow process, as is the growth of the oak. God is merciful, and does not press his people; he leads them. This is why he bears with the Laodicean church.

“God will prove his people. Jesus bears patiently with them, and does not spew them out of his mouth in a moment. Said the angel, ‘God is weighing his people.’ If the message had been of as short duration as many of us supposed, there would have been no time for them to develop character.” “I was shown that the testimony to the Laodiceans applies to God’s people at the present time, and the reason it has not accomplished a greater work is because of the hardness of their hearts. But God has given the message time to do its work. The heart must be purified from sins which have so long shut out Jesus. This fearful message will do its work. . . . I saw that this message would not accomplish its work in a few short months. It is designed to arouse the people of God, to discover to them their backslidings, and to lead to zealous repentance, that they may be favored with the presence of Jesus, and be fitted for the loud cry of the third angel.”—Id., Vol. I, pp. 186, 187.

“God’s work of refining and purifying must go on until his servants are so humbled, so dead to self, that when called into active service, their eye will be single to his glory.”—Id., Vol. IV, p. 86.

It is self-evident that there is a great reformatory movement ahead of the people of God. Compare the condition of the churches with the description given above of the character of those who are to coöperate with the Lord in giving the closing message, and also see how your own character compares with that description? Then try to appreciate the immensity of the separating gulf.

Is it not time to cry aloud, to lift up the voice, and to show the people their sins? Who can doubt it? Who can fail to realize the great loss and the sure condemnation for every day that we remain in the slothful condition now prevalent?

The only hope for the Laodiceans is a clear view of their standing before God, a knowledge of the nature of their disease. They are neither cold nor hot; they occupy a neutral position, and at the same time flatter themselves that they are in need of nothing. The True Witness hates this lukewarmness. He loathes the indifference of this class of persons. Said he, ‘I would thou wert cold or hot.’ Like lukewarm water, they are nauseous to his taste.”—Id., pp. 87, 88.

The Lord always comes suddenly to his people (Mal. 3:1-3), and it will be so in the call under the loud cry. “The Lord is soon coming. The watchmen on the walls of Zion are called upon to awake to their God-given responsibility. God calls for watchmen who, in the power of the Spirit, will give to the world the last warning message; who will proclaim the time of night. He calls for watchmen who will arouse men and women from their lethargy, lest they sleep the sleep of death.”—Id., Vol. VIII, p. 304.

St. Petersburg, Fla.